I was 17 years old when Alanis Morissette released Jagged Little Pill, a rock album that conquered the charts with an impressive lineup of well-written, well-thought-out songs. Lyrically speaking, the one that made the biggest impression on me was Ironic, because of one line that teaches us so much about the need to utilize our energy in a focused manner, rather than gratuitous flexing. That line was “It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife.”
Why do I bring this up? Because those lyrics are the first thing that came into my mind upon seeing Vice President Kamala Harris getting wiped off the electoral map by President-elect Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris calls to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza
(Video: Reuters)
When it happened, naturally her supporters felt the need to come up with every excuse in the book to explain her downfall. “The country isn’t ready for a black woman president”, “She didn’t have enough time to campaign”, “Joe Biden was an albatross around her neck,” etc. All these excuses had one thing in common—they looked outward for a reason, instead of looking in the mirror.
Yes, she ran a good, traditional, run-of-the-mill political campaign. She had optimism, laughter, huge rallies, celebrities up the wazoo, a VP candidate who is personable and energetic and a ground game unlike any other. I doubt there’s a door in Pennsylvania that either she or her army of volunteers didn’t knock on.
So why wasn’t it enough?
Because her campaign was built to appeal to the kind of people who didn’t need to be convinced. People who were inclined to vote for her anyway. People who at the very least leaned toward the liberal side of the ideological spectrum. The problem is she needed to appeal to the working class in the Rust Belt states. They are not liberal, they don’t care about the size of your rallies, they don't care how optimistic you are about the future and they don’t care if Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey endorsed you or not. Ten thousand spoons, but where’s the knife?
Donald Trump speaks of ending wars
(Video: Fox News)
Trump brought a knife, a knife that sliced right through the blue wall of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin like it was slicing through butter. He understood what Harris was too busy laughing it up with celebrities to understand. These people want you to not only zero in on what bothers them but articulate a simple, easy-to-understand solution.
Perfect example - illegal immigration. A topic on the minds of many undecided voters and border state residents, like Arizona. Harris campaigned on immigration reform, which at best, sounded convoluted, including a path for citizenship, a plan to integrate the so-called “dreamers” (those who arrived as children with their parents) and so on. Truth be told, even I wasn’t entirely clear on what that reform included.
Trump’s solution—deport millions of illegal immigrants. That’s it. Round them up and deport them. Yes, it’s a despicable approach that soundly crosses the threshold into the realm of “inhumane," not to mention would likely slam into many legal and constitutional boundaries, but it was also something else - simple. Just so simple. That is why that approach caught on. Swing voters wanted a simple policy they understand, that will provide the veneer of safety, even if it’s based on an illusion. It's a campaign. It doesn't matter if it's feasible or not.
If you have any doubts about the tactical wisdom of such an approach before an election, consider this - a majority of Latino men, the very group that would be adversely affected by that policy - voted for Trump.
Another example, albeit not a deal breaker for most Americans, is the war between Israel and Hamas. For over a year, the Biden-Harris administration straddled the line between backing Israel and insisting on humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. Harris’ messaging was all over the map. No one could definitively say which side she’s on. Israelis thought she’s pro-Hamas, while the Palestinian population in Michigan believed she’s on the side of “genocide” against them. Neither is true, but nuance is persona non grata during political campaigns.
Her insistence on staying silent when it came to pro-Palestinian college protests, made even more people wonder where she stands. Lacking a clear vision from the vice president, many undecided voters pulled the lever for Trump as the default option. This was further aided by Trump’s announcement that he plans to also deport pro-Palestinian college students, as his medicine to the ailment of Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus. Once again, simplicity.
There are plenty of negative things you can say about Trump. A bully, a misogynist, an ignoramus, etc. All true. However, there’s one thing that cannot be denied. He has taken simple political messaging and elevated it into an art form. Nobody does it quite like he does. An American populace, trying to survive and desperately holding on to enough attention span for a line or two, found that simplistic view appealing. That’s how he wiped the floor with Harris.
Yes, the vice president is much smarter than Trump, and ironically, it was her intelligence that sunk her campaign. Overthinking policies, multifaceted solutions, sensible lines of action. This is the United States, Madam Vice President. You don’t win with intelligence. You win with one-dimensional simplicity.
Harris had it all. A sound campaign, great debate performance, A-list celebrities, pompous rallies, music, joy, sensible policies, a great VP companion and a CV that is nearly unmatched when it comes to dedication to public service.
But she sorely lacked the one thing she truly needed—simple answers that can be packaged into a slogan and leave little doubt about where you stand. Whether that would have been enough to win is anybody's guess, but there's little doubt it would have been one hell of a knife.
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