GUEST OPINION | What Happened Nov. 5

American Flag (Photo – Naval Surface Warriors)

…and Why You Need to Get Off of the Couch.

By Denise Robb, Ph.D.

I was in my pajamas since Tuesday night, doom scrolling until 3:00 am.

I also got the flu and cancelled classes.  As a political science professor, I dreaded coming back to school to answer the question: “Why did T. win?” Throughout this semester, the majority of my students were terrified by a second T. term.  As advisor to the Pierce College Democrats, we all traveled to Nevada multiple times to volunteer on the campaign.  Everyone in my bubble phone banked for Kamala Harris, sent postcards and shared our disgust with the growing instability/possible senility and authoritarian characteristics of her opponent.  But unlike 2016, I did not offer any assurances to anyone that “she would definitely win.”  Not this time.

I’ve spoken to Republican friends (yes, I have quite a few) and some of the people who helped run the Harris campaign.  I’ve watched chat shows and interviews, listened to podcasts and I think I now have a better understanding of why he won.  Here’s what I’ve come up with.

 Immigration and Latinos

Some good friends of mine who were recently undocumented and lean toward T. explained why. They see undocumented immigrants receiving “lots of free stuff like health care” and they resent other immigrants. They told me they see “caravans of immigrants” being let in. They told me immigrants overstay their Visas don’t show up for hearings, but they still get “free stuff.”  Of course, the logic of receiving services when you’re hiding from the government didn’t come up. They believe they get free housing and food. This is patently false.

In California those who have legal status do receive help. And undocumented immigrants can go to school and receive Medi-Cal, but they don’t get “lots of free stuff” like welfare and housing support.  But  my friends told me they know from their friends that a lot of people “don’t want to work.” While some people do not like to work, just about everyone does, and immigrants tend to take the more labor-intensive jobs without benefits of any kind. There’s a mythology here, passed not just by Russian cyberbots but by word-of-mouth. The result: T. gained 14% more Latino votes in 2024 than in 2020.

Bro-Sphere

There are podcasters like Joe Rogan who highlight and normalize male dominance.  Incel culture and young uneducated men revere T. when he says he grabs women, he will protect them “whether they like it or not” and even mimics fellatio on a mic. Tucker Carlson said “Daddy’s home” and he’s going to discipline his “bad little girl” with a “vigorous spanking.”  T. was convicted recently of sexual assault and has been a serial cheater on his various wives. Some podcasters love the misogyny and finally they are free to openly express this. This is disrupter behavior, and they love it. T. is verbalizing what many men think but would never say in public. Books have been written about the American male feeling no longer useful since women are surpassing them with college degrees. Which brings us to education.

I Love the Uneducated

As T.said, he loves the uneducated because they vote for him. And they turned out in droves. Only 37% of people in the United States have undergraduate degrees. More women than men are graduating college. Among the educated – both women and men, Harris won handily. The US is one of the lowest ranked countries in terms of math and science literacy.  We also can’t compete in reading comprehension and problem-solving skills. But in 2024 the uneducated voted.

Reproductive Care

Many pundits thought the overturning of abortion rights after 50 years would turn the tide. And in 2022 it did help elect a record 29% of women to Congress. And abortion was clearly on the ballot. Ten states had abortion initiatives on the ballot. In seven of those states it won. It failed in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota. But many of those voters split the ticket, voting for abortion rights and for Donald T. for President. When interviewed, some women said they were relieved that T. stated he would not pass a nationwide abortion ban but instead continue to leave it up to the states.  Only if you’re in the right state, is your health care is protected. That did not bother these voters.

It’s the Economy, Stupid

Yes, unemployment is low and inflation is rapidly decreasing. But that doesn’t help the fact that most people are struggling. I live in California where small houses are generally a million dollars, making them out of reach for most people in California. Average rent here is $2,155. I realize California largely voted for Harris, but in 2024, a higher percentage of people in California voted for T. than they did in 2020. Food prices are exorbitant and everything else keeps going up. The gouging continues, and instead of properly laying the blame at the feet of the corporations who took advantage of us during the pandemic, they blame Biden/Harris. Yes, people are working. But what kind of jobs do they have? This goes hand-in-hand with lack of education. People don’t understand how the economy works. The President historically gets blamed for any economic distress, even if it was caused by a natural disaster or the previous administration.  The result: two-thirds of the American voters said the American economy was in poor shape. This, they blame on Biden and Harris.

Not My President

While one would assume that most people are horrified by the way Donald T. speaks about women, immigrants, minorities, the disabled, and on and on, the truth is the majority of people aren’t really bothered by it. They either don’t think he would do those things, they think he’s just kidding around, or they don’t care because they are not in those groups. As academics, we warned people about the hallmarks of fascism. Rachel Maddow interviewed numerous guests who warned us that T. has all the hallmarks of a nascent Hitler, and we spread the word. But most of America is thinking about how to put food on the table, how to get their kids to school, how to get to work when they must ride the bus. They may not even have time to vote. Most people don’t know what a fascist is or does and they may not care. The common refrain I heard when knocking on doors was “I don’t like either candidate.”  What is it they’re not saying?

What America was Built On

When we knocked on doors, people wouldn’t say “I don’t think we should have a woman president.” Or “A Black woman is not fit to be President.” They didn’t say it They didn’t have to. T. repeatedly said Harris was not “really Black” and that she was “dumb as a rock” and that she “slept her way to the top.” The old, familiar tropes.

America must face this simple fact: we continue to be a racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, transphobic country.  Living in the melting pot of Los Angeles with mostly liberal people or basking in the confines of an academic setting, we forget the simple truth: America has come a long way but has a long way to go. I’m not sure we will have a woman president in my lifetime but perhaps in my students’ lifetimes.

There are other factors, and academics have pointed out that authoritarianism like Putin and Victor Orban are on the rise in other countries. Anti-incumbent sentiment is rampant. But many Democratic incumbents in the U.S. retained their seats. Many people just voted for T. and left the voting booth. While turnout in 2024 was comparable to 2020, Democratic turnout was much lower.

Where Do We Go Now?

We know some of the biggest problems that may lead to a dictatorship in the coming months and the punishing of T.’s enemies by his sycophantic Supreme Court that has granted him partial immunity for “official acts.” One of the main reasons I am an educator is because of the lack of civic education. I’ve heard so many conspiracy theories and made-up stories from people who don’t read or absorb real news but rather watch three-minute TikTok Videos. We need more people to be educated and empathetic.

California has taken a huge step forward by including media literacy in the curriculum for the entire state. Every state needs this. We also need affordable housing. Meaningful AI-resistant jobs. Protection from climate change. 2030 is the deadline for the climate emergency and T. and his henchmen think it’s a hoax. We need to embed climate literacy in every school. We need more people to know about the issues and to vote. We need to counter Fox News and other phony news outlets that spew lies so often that they owe Dominion Voting $787 million. Democrats need to create more TikTok and YouTube viral videos from trusted news sources. Everyone who realizes the danger we are facing needs to, as T. says, “get off the couch.”

In the meantime, I got dressed. I’m ready to fight another day.

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