She deserved better.

Kamala Harris lost by such a wide margin that it doesn’t make sense to me, at this point, to look for reasons. Certainly not for the one obvious mistake made during his campaign that would have been a silver bullet in the race. We will find explanations over time. But those probably won’t be the reasons that are our priorities. Except for my background. She’s a black woman — and no, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both of Trump’s victories were against female candidates.

Yes, there are other reasons, and we will find them. But watching Harris concede on Wednesday at his alma mater Howard University, where his victory party was held last night, I just couldn’t fault him. Last night on social media I called her perfect, but that’s stupid; no one is perfect. Yet consider how resoundingly successful she was during her 106-day campaign: eroding the polling gap between her and Trump once she became the candidate; by wiping the floor with Trump in his only debate against him; in Congress; by raising more money, much more from small donors, than the Trump campaign did; in his ground game. As Glenn Thrush said it“The Democrats have perfectly mastered/dominated the forms and conventions of great normal American politics… One problem: there is no longer any normal American politics.”

She put forward great arguments about the future of democracy at the same time as invest millions to reach voters with ads on the cost of groceries and prescription drugs, and a truly transformative proposal to expand Medicare to cover home care. Should she have put more distance between herself and Joe Biden? Biden was praised throughout his term as the most pro-worker president since FDR, for appointing agency leaders who aggressively protected workers and consumers, and for passing legislation that would invest billions of dollars in job outsourcing. There are no easy answers here, and I think this week is about grieving, fury, and pulling ourselves together for the long struggle ahead. The people who elected Trump may not consider themselves OK with fascism, but that’s what awaits us if we’re not prepared to fight back.

I had to travel back and forth from Harris’ victory party Tuesday night to her concession speech Wednesday afternoon. It was quite devastating. There were a lot of people crying. I could have been among them. There was a big enough crowd that I couldn’t find my daughter and her friend. Still, there was a large empty space in the center of the yard that seemed to symbolize all the people who were telling pollsters they would vote for Harris, but in the end didn’t.

But Harris raised his head high, so we must too.

She obviously made no threat of insurrection:

“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” she said. “This principle, like any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny. And anyone who seeks to gain the public’s trust must honor it.

But she continued: “At the same time, in our nation we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I’m here to say that while I acknowledge this election, I do not acknowledge the fight that fueled this campaign – the fight: the fight for freedom, for the opportunities, for equity and dignity for all. . A fight for the ideals that are at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect the best of America. It’s a fight I will never give up.

I found this next rumination moving and yet a little sad too.

“The saying goes that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for all of our sakes, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing: America, if so, let’s fill the sky with the light of a billion bright stars. »

I don’t really know how we do this. There is no way to sugarcoat these results; It is not possible to find positives in an environment in which the work to be done against fascism and for the rights, equality and dignity of all is so monumental. I could only find solace in a small moment of human connection in Howard, a moment that made me glad I made the return trip. An adorable black toddler ran up and threw herself into my arms. Her mother said her name was Joan (without knowing my name). As I stood there with this bundle of joy, her mother told me that her Joan is very shy and never does anything like that. Maybe this Joan will make the world a better place. We didn’t do it for her in this election, but we can’t stop trying.

We can’t go back

We now face a second Trump presidency.

There is not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and, yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies that Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also arm ourselves for the fight to come. It will require a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis and human resilience. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right Supreme Court, political authoritarianism, growing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflict. stranger. The Nation will expose and propose, fuel investigative reporting, and come together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The NationThe work of will continue – as it has in good times and bad – to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth and in-depth reporting, and to strengthen solidarity in a divided nation .

Building on 160 remarkable years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate remains the same today as when abolitionists founded The Nation– to defend the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon during the darkest days of resistance, and imagine and fight for a better future.

The day is dark, the forces deployed are tenacious, but like the deceased Nation Editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote: “No! This is precisely the moment when artists get to work. There is no time for despair, no room for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we make language. This is how civilizations heal.

I urge you to stay with The Nation and make a donation today.

Ahead,

Katrina Vanden Heuvel
Editorial director and publisher, The Nation

Jeanne Walsh

Joan Walsh, national affairs correspondent for The Nationis co-producer of The sit-in: Harry Belafonte hosts the Tonight Show and the author of What’s wrong with white people? Finding our way in the next America. His new book (with Nick Hanauer and Donald Cohen) is Corporate Bullsh*t: Exposing the lies and half-truths that protect profit, power and wealth in America.

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