Rafael Perez: Don’t blame Trump supporters, Democrats made it easy for him

Contemptuously straw-manning half the population is no way to go through life, son.


Rafael Perez: Don’t blame Trump supporters, Democrats made it easy for him + ' Main Photo'

The indignant are out in full force today, spilling their guts about their inability to comprehend how Trump won reelection, and in such a decisive manner. We’re seeing scores of journalists expressing disappointment and revulsion towards the millions of Americans who voted for Donald Trump over Kamala Harris.

One SF Gate columnist bemoaned, “My fellow Americans, and they feel so distant right now, watched Trump infect them all with his greasy feels and said, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” That’s the cold, awful truth I’m left to stew in this morning, and many mornings thereafter.[..]Trump told Americans that he wanted to rule them with a clammy fist, and they liked the idea. They liked it so much that they passed on electing a woman president for the second time in eight years. It’s that simple, that cruel, that lazy, and that irrevocable.”

Contemptuously straw-manning half the population is no way to go through life, son.

A New York Times columnist lamented, “My own instinct — which conflicts with the demands of my job — is to retreat into my family, to look for solace in time with friends, in theater and in novels, to block out the humiliating truth about what my country has decided to become.”

I suppose I can’t blame her for feeling personal embarrassment for something that is completely out of her control, given that I feel embarrassed that humanity spawned abominations like the entire Creed discography.

How could someone not care about what I care about as much as I care about it? If you’re feeling confused about how it’s possible that so many Americans cast their vote for such a vile creature, you should reflect on the diameter of the epistemic bubble that you have trapped yourself in.

It’s not that confusing, really. Just like you, the distraught Democrat who found solace in Harris’ joy, Trump supporters are susceptible to genetic political dispositions, propaganda, and all manner of cognitive malfunctions. Correct or not, putting up with four more years of liberal policies was less appetizing to them than electing a hateful old man that likes to say mean things. Like you, they are victims of species-wide intellectual short-comings.

So don’t blame them – they were only doing what they thought was best given what their cultural background and evidence suggested – blame the Democratic Party.

It was always going to be difficult to take on a cult of personality. But Democrats failed to put forth a minimally competent effort. They spent a billion dollars but forgot to do the bare minimum expected of them. They had multiple years-worth of evidence that clearly indicated that Joe Biden was in severe cognitive decline and that he would not represent a viable candidate. They failed to perceive such an obvious truth and then failed to enact a contingency plan until Biden completely embarrassed them during the debate.

Already imperiled by their first disastrous miscalculation, they chose Kamala Harris as their submission – someone who’s constructed smile represents, not solace, but a sore sight for the tired eyes of millions. The nation told Harris and Democrats exactly what it wanted but it only got an ambiguously fleshed-out skeleton of a policy profile in return.

In their opponent, Democrats had a ranting lunatic with the inability to go more than a few hours without insulting a large portion of the population. Their opponent attempted to hijack the democratic process in the last election and still, they put together a campaign that only lost by a landslide.

Latinos turned out for Trump, and that’s after all of the many insults. The “island of garbage” joke wasn’t the deadly torpedo that the Harris campaign was hoping for, it seems. Neither was all of Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric – they’re already here and they can vote – they need not concern themselves with the obstacles a coyote would encounter in escorting them north.

As it turns out, Latinos care less about insults and more about a candidate promising what they’re looking for. Politically incorrect insults can be a disqualifying calamity for some voters and an inconsequential side note for others.

Just like the embattled, disheartened, disappointed, confused writers featured in this column, Democratic leadership neglected to learn of the perspectives of those who voted against them, instead, clinging blindly to the delusion that others will care about what they care about, because, in their minds, that’s what they should care about.

Rafael Perez is a columnist for the Southern California News Group