With just days left before the polls close for the final time, Kamala Harris is behind the eight-ball. Donald Trump continues to show momentum, with the polls showing a deadheat in nearly every swing state. That’s a far cry from the former president’s position in 2016 and 2020, and that has Democrats on edge.
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It’s not just the overall numbers that have the Harris campaign breaking out into a cold sweat. It’s her struggles with what should be certain key demographics, black men chief among them. On paper, she should be doing well with that group, but as her 2019 presidential campaign taught us, races aren’t run on paper.
Harris has a solution, though: She’s going to wag her finger and shame them into voting for her after code-switching into her “street” accent.
HARRIS: So, I, so part of what we have to help people understand is don’t think you in Donald Trump’s club. You’re not. He not gone be thinking about you. You think he’s having you over for dinner?
The grammar in the above excerpt isn’t me. That’s what she actually said. Apparently, Harris believes the key to earning the votes of black men is to talk to them like they are uneducated idiots. Well, that and offering them legalized weed. That’s pretty much the extent of her respect for them, which is probably why she’s struggling with black men in the first place.
Despite claiming to be an adherent of the authentic black experience, her understanding of the demographic seems to be molded by rap lyrics and TikTok videos. To her, they aren’t individuals. Instead, they are a monolith whose votes she is entitled to.
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Of course, even her attack is stupid. Has Kamala Harris been inviting random people over for dinner to show how much she thinks about them? Wouldn’t that be sort of weird? I would suggest it’s pretty patronizing to treat black men as if they are mindless dupes, desperately seeking the approval of Donald Trump instead of normal human beings who simply think his policies are preferable.
Harris’ talking down to black men is reminiscent of Barack Obama doing the same thing in mid-October.
OBAMA: And you’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses, I’ve got a problem with that. Because part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that. That’s not acceptable.
All this tut-tutting of black men (and men in general) isn’t working for Democrats, yet they just keep doubling down. They truly believe they can schoolmarm their way to victory. Maybe it’ll work, but as of now, it sure doesn’t seem to be.