Kamala Harris has a Hamptons problem
A few days ago Mic published an article titled “Democratic rising star Kamala Harris has a “Bernieland” problem”. There is another angle: Kamala has a “Hamptons” problem.
To be clear, this article isn’t an indictment of Senator Harris, except maybe for playing along. This is about the Democratic Party and its powerful allies moving bull-headedly in the same direction that made Hillary Clinton so unappealing to voters.
Recently the Democratic Party elite and their donors hosted events for Senator Harris at a certain, well known, region of New York — the Hamptons. And here is where the problem kicks in. The area is known for exclusivity, summer homes for the wealthy, and being a nexus of movers and shakers of industry and politicians of both parties. The average permanent income of the area is well over $100k, this doesn’t include seasonal or second-home owners. This concentration of power crosses party lines, and leads to powerful people such as Democratic Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer mingling with Ivanka Trump and Kellyanne Conway among others.
The Democratic Party has been relying on liberal corporations, super PACs, unions, and very wealthy donors from places like the Hamptons to fund a very expensive, but equally very unsuccessful machine. That is not to say that their choice of funders are unreasonable — though the whole Super PAC thing is incredible immoral — but making them the cornerstones of support for their party is a deeply flawed system that clearly indicates where the DNC and DCCC’s priorities lie. It excludes the poor and working classes that the Democrats proclaim to push as the primary stakeholders and beneficiaries of their efforts.
What is a huge problem for the Democratic Party right now? That it is out of touch. It has been for years and now a majority of the country has caught up to the fact That is only compounded the aftermath of the 2016 primary which brought light to the severe strain among the hardcore partisans, the rank-and-file democratic voters, and allying independents.
In fact this frustration with the Dems has taken a clear path: a severe lack of participation in the political process overall, which disproportionately affects left leaning voters, and massive losses in elected offices held. This is an untenable trend for Team Blue, and considering the policies of the GOP, disastrous for America and the world in general. The campaign season was so divisive and drama filled that it spawned protests at the convention and calls for Bernie to go independent following his loss of the nomination. It even led to the controversial “Draft Bernie” movement. A movement that has remained relatively strong due to email leaks, assorted snubs, rejections of platform elements, lack of support for anyone other than Ossoff, and highly partisan articles targeting Bernie.
So in a period where the Democratic Party is creating new Deputy Chair titles, hosting Unity Events (that are panned by both Sanders supporters and moderate Democrats), and coming up with Papa Johns slogans to describe a proto-progressive policy position, it might be important for them to reconsider debuting, and some would say forcing, new prospects on their party over two years too early. Especially in the halls of power before appealing to the people they claim they need in order to win, the grassroots.
