Boy oh boy, is the joy completely gone, or what? Seriously, it’s hard to recall a time when the mainstream media’s narrative shifted so quickly. After months of glowing coverage and unbridled enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz campaign, the media’s tone has noticeably soured as polls show momentum swinging back toward Trump in the final stretch. And the media, bracing for a Kamala Harris defeat, are already telling us who to blame for it.
For sure, regardless of the results, there will be a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking about what either candidate did wrong to ultimately lose. I suspect, should Kamala Harris lose, there will be a lot of talk about how she should have picked Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) as her running mate—especially if she loses Pennsylvania. That will certainly be a legitimate point to make, but it won't be the prevailing narrative from the mainstream media. You can already tell this, because with the political winds shifting for Trump, there's one card being played more frequently now than ever before in this campaign: the sexism card.
Last month, the Lincoln Project put out an ad featuring the voice of actor Sam Elliott trying to appeal to male voters. “What the hell are you waiting for? Because if it’s the woman thing, it’s time to get over that,” he says. “It’s time to be a man and vote for a woman.”
Barack Obama played this card hard when the Harris-Walz campaign sent him to Pittsburgh last week to help close the sale with black male voters.
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"That seems to be more pronounced with the brothers," he said. "Part of it makes me think – and I’m speaking to men directly – part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you ́re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
The Associated Press wrote an article about the reluctance of males to support Kamala Harris last week as well.
"The concern has been there all along, but now it’s being talked about openly: Are some men reluctant to vote for Democrat Kamala Harris because she’s a woman?" the article asks in the first line. "The vice president rarely references her gender on the campaign trail, but her key supporters are starting to make more direct appeals to male voters, hoping to overcome ingrained sexism — or just plain apathy — as Election Day looms."
Former President Barack Obama said he was speaking to Black men in particular when he suggested some “aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president.” Actor Ed O’Neill implores in a new ad, “Be a man: Vote for a woman.” And Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is helping lead “ Hombres con Harris ” — “Men with Harris” — to help energize Hispanic male voters.
“I think, in many ways, it’s other people who need to be the messenger,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University. She added of appeals to men by the vice president, “I don’t think she can get up and say, ”Shame on you.”’
“It’s sad, but I think she needs these outside validators,” Walsh said.
The alleged problem of sexism being the problem keeping Kamala Harris from sealing the deal is just as ridiculous as allegations of sexism in 2016 being a problem for Hillary Clinton. Sometimes, the candidate is just that bad. Remember, Kamala Harris was the most unpopular vice president in the history of polling before she became the presumptive nominee. Key Democrat leaders like Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi didn't immediately endorse her because, according to reports, they didn't think she could win—not because of her race or gender, but because she's a terrible candidate. We know she's a terrible candidate because she failed so horribly in the 2020 Democratic primaries.
And furthermore, Trump had larger leads against Joe Biden than he does against Kamala Harris. How does the sexism card work with that in mind? It doesn't. In the end, the sexism card, which will be played endlessly if she loses, is just an excuse for the fact that Democrats cannot accept the fact that voters are merely voting in their best interests. Voters remember the Trump years, and they remember the necessities of life costing less, and having more money in their bank accounts.
It's the economy, stupid. Plain and simple.
