Where Do Democrats Go from Here?

Honestly with Bari Weiss

The Free Press

News, Society & Culture

4.6 • 7.8K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2024

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Throughout the election, we heard one warning, repeated ad infinitum: A Donald Trump victory would precipitate a fascist dictatorship, and the United States would soon resemble Nazi Germany. But Democrats didn’t take up arms to defend the ramparts of democracy. They didn’t repel Trump’s storm troopers who descended on Washington. Instead, something more. . . traditional happened. President Joe Biden welcomed Donald Trump to the White House, congratulated him, and promised a “smooth transition.” (A courtesy, we should note, that Trump did not extend to Biden in 2020.) But now that Democrats have lost power—both in the White House and Congress—what changes should they make to regain it? Here to answer that question today are Freddie deBoer and Ruy Teixeira. Freddie is a writer, self-described Marxist, and longtime critic of “social justice” identity politics. Ruy is a political demographer, Democratic strategist, and co-author of the book, Where Have all the Democrats Gone? We talk about how Democrats became the party of elites, whether Kamala Harris’s loss is the death knell of identity politics, why abortion wasn’t enough to save the Democrats, and whether the party will learn any significant lessons from this historic defeat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.1	From the free press, this is honestly. I'm Michael Moynihan. For the last few months, we've heard one warning repeated ad infinitum.
0:41.2	A Donald Trump re-election would precipitate a fascist dictatorship, and the United States
0:46.6	would soon resemble Nazi Germany.
0:49.5	Then, on November 5th, Donald Trump, again, won the presidency.
0:55.0	And Democrats didn't take up arms to defend the ramparts of democracy.
1:00.0	They didn't repel Trump's stormtroopers who descended upon Washington.
1:04.0	Something more quotidian happened.
1:07.0	Well, Mr. President, elect and the former president and Donald, congratulations.
1:12.6	Thank you.
1:13.6	And I'm looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition to everything we can make sure you're accommodated, what you need.
1:22.6	And we're going to get a chance to talk about some of that.
1:24.6	Exit polls show that working class, non-college-educated, and minority voters,
1:29.3	once the sturdy base of the Democratic Party, voted for Donald Trump by unheard-of margins.
1:35.3	It was the most devastating defeat for the party in recent memory.
1:39.3	And the question now is, why?
1:43.3	Why did the Democrats lose? And what will 2024 mean for the future of the Democratic Party and the American left?
1:52.7	Did Democrats need to move further left on economic issues and embrace something like the strident left-wing populism of Bernie Sanders?
2:00.7	Was Kamala Harris simply an unlikable candidate? Or did she lose? something like the strident left-wing populism of Bernie Sanders.
2:01.2	Was Kamala Harris simply an unlikable candidate?
2:04.3	Or did she lose because she, and the party, lacked a coherent identity and message?
	...

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