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It’s seeming likely that Biden will win the election. But the Democratic establishment failed to flip the Senate and lost seats in the House.
The very fact that this election is SO close proved two things to me. (thread)
The very fact that this election is SO close proved two things to me. (thread)
(1) We need new leadership in the DNC.
The lack of clear direction and organization from the Democratic Party has proven that. The DNC should have won these races in a landslide. It should have been easy to seize the narrative and win hearts and minds.
The lack of clear direction and organization from the Democratic Party has proven that. The DNC should have won these races in a landslide. It should have been easy to seize the narrative and win hearts and minds.
The Democratic establishment failed to do this because they are more concerned with maintaining their positions of power than truly and authentically working for the people they claim to represent.
Addressing the climate crisis, dismantling systemic racism, and defending our democracy and human rights demands bold, decisive action that will upturn the status quo — and the establishment wing of the DNC has shown time and again that it will not do that.
There’s reason that the dozens of people I spoke to knocking doors in AZ didn’t want to vote in this election. Neither party inspires them. They don’t believe that those running on a Democratic ticket will make their lives any better. How can that possibly be?
It’s time for a changing of the guard. We need to be rallying around candidate who can deliver real, substantial change — not measured incrementalism disguised behind buzzword rhetoric.
The American people see right through that, and don’t feel inspired to get to the polls.
The American people see right through that, and don’t feel inspired to get to the polls.
I’ll just wrap this point up by saying that the fact that Biden is running so fucking close to Trump absolutely blows my mind. The fact that anyone could be undecided in this election, or see them both as “equally bad” is due to the DNC’s abject failure to connect with people.
But that leads me to number (2): We have a serious misinformation problem.
America is full of silos. We have no shared reality anymore. A corporatized and sensationalized media is largely responsible for that, as is our self-selected and algorithm-fueled social media intake.
America is full of silos. We have no shared reality anymore. A corporatized and sensationalized media is largely responsible for that, as is our self-selected and algorithm-fueled social media intake.
I had so many conversations with voters in AZ who told me things that weren’t even remotely true, and that had never even entered my sphere of news. But they believed them emphatically, just like I believe the facts that I cite and share.
When Americans can pick and choose the media they consume — the way we pick and choose our favorite brands at our overstocked grocery stores — we lose the strands of shared truths that keep us connected to each together.
Siloed media consumption not only makes it possible for elections that should be won in a landslide to come down to such tight margins — it also means that we lose our ability to collectively organize. If we can’t agree on the same facts, we’ll never take to the streets together.
This is especially distressing given the current moment that we somehow must be able to meet — a president who is trying to delegitimize the very foundation of American democracy. Every vote must be counted. But that won’t happen unless we demand it.
We’ll need everyone in the streets if we’re going to defend our democracy. But if people pick and choose facts based on what best suits their worldview (and preferred candidate), we won’t have the numbers
There’s a lot more to unpack here— Trumpism still rearing its ugly head, white supremacy looming large, and the apathy (and/or disenfranchisement) of Americans towards their own political system.
So much of that is bundled into the media we consume & the narratives we accept.
So much of that is bundled into the media we consume & the narratives we accept.
