[Neurons] 2024 Neurons #51 POST-MORTEMS & THE ELECTION

Sun Nov 17 23:45:00 EST 2024

From: L. Michael Hall

2024 Neurons #51

November 18, 2024

POST-MORTEMS & THE ELECTION

Figuring Out 'What Went Wrong?'

What went wrong?  How did Kamala Harris lose so badly?  And how did Donald
Trump win so decisively?  Since the election there has been over a week of
post-mortems and a lot of it degenerated into various "blame games."  And
just about every democrat was targeted for the blame-Biden for getting out
so late, for not supporting Harris more, for hiding his cognitive decline,
for blowing the debate.

Harris for not having a specific agenda, for not answering questions, for
her word-salads, for not accepting tough interviews.  The democrat party for
not having a primary, for a Woke agenda.  The media for covering up Biden's
decline, for not asking follow-up questions of Harris, not focusing on the
everyday issues of the voters (economy, inflation, border, etc.).  Obama for
scolding black  men.  The voters for being ignorant, being brainwashed, for
their racism, sexism, etc.

As "the blame game" by which various commentators, and others who were
invited to chime in-people tended to think in very simplistic either/or
ways.  A few, however, knew how to distinguish blame from responsibility.  I
was impressed by Stephen Smith, a very thoughtful democrat pundit, who
identified a whole range of factors that came together to create the
situation.  He also used the post-mortem as it is designed-as a way to learn
from mistakes and to correct them.  He focused on responses and
responsibility rather than judging people.  His focus was on learning and
understanding.

When I think about it-Trump's overwhelming victory was in spite of so many
things.  He won in spite of having a lower "favorability" rating, in spite
of being labeled a felon (due to the lawfare bring by Biden's DOJ), and in
spite of being called the worst of names, Nazi, Hitler, Fascist, etc.  He
won in spite of talking like a gruff blue-color worker, in spite of the
media's bias against him (90% of all media reports were negative about him).
And in spite of all of that-Americans voted overwhelmingly for him.  So, how
did that happen?  The lawfare did not work; the media bias didn't work; the
assassination attempts did not work; and the name-calling didn't work.  So
how do we explain that?

A Psychological Perspective

As a psychologist here's my view of the victory as a psychological victory,
rather than a political one.  It seems to me that there were several
psychological factors which worked to his advantage.  

First, everyday reality won.  The reality of grocery prices, gas prices,
mortgages, rent, etc.  won. And media's spin that the economy was getting
better did not deceive people.  Everyday people could tell the difference
between media spin about the economy and the reality of the economy as they
experience it. (Neurons #49)

Second, authenticity won.  I wrote about this earlier (Neurons #46).  You
may not like how Donald Trump sometimes speaks, but he speaks his mind and
he is authentic.  The same cannot be said for Harris at all.  She was far
too cautious, too hesitant to say what she actually thought, to explain why
she changed her mind about many things, to answer questions.  She played the
role of a "politician" far too well.  There were also too many
contradictions in her.  On the one hand, "nothing comes to mind" regarding
anything she would do different from the four years of the Biden
administration, but on the other hand, she is going to "turn the page."  On
the one hand she was a prosecutor, but on the other hand she could not say
she would vote for proposition 36 in California making shoplifting a crime.

Third, memory won.  People remembered what life was like when Trump was
President (2017- 2020) in contrast to what life has been like under
Harris/Biden (2021-224).  Repeatedly people exited the poles saying, "I had
more money in my pocket."  "There were no new wars under Trump."  "There was
no invasion at the border."  They remembered and that memory made the
difference.  The current reality was too painful and Harris and other
democrats running for office did not communicate that they under their pain.

Fourth, common sense won.  You can't "defund the police" and then claim that
you will make people safer.  You can't open up the border and then ignore
migrant crimes.  You can't promote boys in girl's sports and claim it is
fair or democratic.  You can't prevent parents from knowing what's going on
with their kids in school regarding their gender and say you are for
democracy.  None of that makes sense.  It is certainly not common sense.

Fifth, human needs won.  Finally, I think that people voted according to
their human needs rather than ideologies.  They voted in terms of their
needs for safety and security,  financial survival (lower taxes, lower
inflation), and physical survival (wanting lower crime).  They did not vote
for Woke ideology and the Political Correctness.

Sixth, humor won the day.  Having written a book on human (Thinking
Humorously), I looked for and noted the amount, kind, and nature of the
humor used by both Trump and Harris.  In Harris' campaign speeches, there
was almost no humor.  By contrast, Trump uses a lot of humor.  Most often is
his exaggerations, his play on words, and some of it is his storytelling.
He told about wearing the garbage man's vest and how someone said "it makes
you look thinner."  So he wore it on stage!  He often used self-depreciation
humor which was aimed at himself.

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, ISNS

738 Beaver Lodge

Grand Jct., CO. 81505 USA

meta at acsol.net

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