Let’s get real about why Harris lost to Trump

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A fair number of press observers criticized mainstream news outlets for not reporting on Donald Trump more critically during the campaign for president. Yeah, the press could have done a better job, at least when it came to its obsession about polls. But I think the criticism was overblown. I mean, did anyone reading the newspaper or watching television news not know what Trump was about? I’ll note that polling showed that voters who relied on mainstream outlets favored Trump’s opponent by a wide margin.

I will take issue with one important aspect of press coverage since the election, however. That’s the analysis that Kamala Harris lost because of voter concerns about the economy and immigration. That no doubt was a factor with some voters. But, as I wrote several weeks ago, the core of Trump’s base voted for him because he espoused hatred for the same people they do. 

No one is going to admit to their bigotry — racism, misogyny, homophobia — in the polls and exit surveys that reporters have cited in their “what went wrong” analyses. But that was an underlying reason for the Trump vote and outlets should not be pretending otherwise.

To back up my point, consider this new poll reported by Politico:

A week before the election, just 8 percent of self-identified Trump voters described the economy as on the “right track,” the polling found. But after Trump’s victory, that number swung to 28 percent — still a minority, but a substantial swing in a span of just a few weeks when economic conditions did not change dramatically.

Something else that’s starting to grind my gears: Bluesky, the new darling of many liberals who are justifiably looking for an alternative to Twitter. I signed up for an account a couple of weeks ago and am underwhelmed — and kind of annoyed.  

First, there are too many damn posts with pictures of people’s pets. Then there’s the ranting and raving about Trump. Enough already.  

I’m trying to scale back my Twitter consumption because it’s getting increasingly populated with junk. And I don’t like patronizing a business owned by Elon Musk. (A number of Tesla owners are having buyer’s remorse.) But as an alternative, Bluesky is meh.

How about a platform that seeks to inform, not incite? 

The new president of the union that represents Buffalo police officers has been suspended three times for misconduct. Mind you, it takes a lot to get suspended, given the department’s permissive culture and the ineffectiveness of its internal affairs unit. The details of the suspensions are further troubling. 

It was bound to happen: a snowstorm closes the Thruway, preventing trucks from delivering The Buffalo News from Cleveland, where it’s printed, to customers in Buffalo. No papers on Saturday, no papers again on Sunday. The situation underscores how the decision to close down its downtown Buffalo printing plant has undermined the paper.

Speaking of bad decisions, conditions for the Bills home game Sunday night, the result of a two-foot snowfall, are a reminder what a bone-headed decision it was to build the new stadium in the snow belt.

Ken Kruly in his Politics and Other Stuff published a primer on the upcoming mayor’s race in Buffalo. Smart stuff.

Andrew Cuomo has an ally testing the waters for a possible run for mayor of New York City, reports Jimmy Vielkind of The Wall Street Journal.

A report from the Empire Center concludes that the incomes of one-third of Medicaid recipients in New York are higher than permissible under the program. The Empire Center added: “44 percent of the state’s population is currently receiving Medicaid or Medicaid-like coverage, which is 20 points higher than the U.S. average and seven points higher than any other state.”

Is Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, a misogynist and worse? His own mother said yes — absolutely. In an email to her son in 2018, she wrote: “You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego.”

Efforts to suppress First Amendment rights to protest the war in Gaza have had a chilling effect on university campuses, according to stories from The Intercept and New York Times. Elsewhere, The Guardian outlines steps Joe Biden can take to protect civil liberties before Trump begins his assault. 

I’ll listen to Christmas songs now that Thanksgiving is over. Here’s one with a powerful message, especially given what’s going on in the world today.

Jim Heaney