I'll keep this short. It wasn't misogyny that lost Vice President Kamala Harris the election. It wasn't racism, white supremacy, or Biden. Much consideration will be given to how the Democrats faced such a significant defeat against such a heavily flawed candidate, and the party must understand that the answers won't be found in the voices and squeals of its most vocal members. Even the popular justification of displeasure with the economy doesn't paint the complete picture of Harris' loss.

Many Americans who were eager to vote for Joseph Biden in 2020 were less enthusiastic about his pick for Vice President. At most, approval was about 50/50 among registered Democrats, if memory serves, to say nothing of Independents like myself. Add to this the manner in which Harris became the official nominee of the Democratic party, people not having a sense of who she was as a person or how she'd govern, and the rushed presidential campaign that meant she'd have three months to run a perfect race; she had already been dealt a losing hand before her campaign even got off the ground.

However, the factor that shares at least as much of the responsibility as the perceived poor economy for Donald Trump's ascendance back into power was the people's dislike of the culture and policies that became the standard of the new progressives on the left. I'm talking about defunding the police, identity politics, the insistence on pushing gender ideology on children, issues in women's sports, reparations, DEI, victim culture, the refusal to strongly denounce the students on college campuses and hostile protestors in major cities effectively supporting Hamas, illegal immigration, the rebuke of Western values, and more. And if reading this causes anyone to develop a denialistic or dismissive wince, please take this to heart—the circles you run in or the cubic centimeters within your own skull have separated you so much from the common man that you are the one who is out of touch. And it's a fucking shame because now it comes at such a grave cost. Sam Harris, the closest thing I have as an ideological proxy, already spelled out why in a great article, so I won't.

If the Democrats are to regain their footing in future elections, they must unequivocally reject the far-left ideas that have taken root in the party and return to a centrist position. At the very least, they must understand that these are divisive and complex issues that cannot be assumed to represent their electorate's core values and social beliefs. This is not just a suggestion, but a vital step towards future electoral success.

And to the MAGA Republicans on cloud nine, especially those soon to occupy the White House and the future administration, remember—your allegiance is to the country and its constitution, not a party, and certainly not one individual.