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So why did they win?
(lemmy.sdf.org)
The majority of Americans who voted, at least in the swing states, have voted for the republicans. Why? Do the republican policies reflect popular opinion? Or is it that their vibes are more aligned with the public? Or maybe people are worse off now than they were 4 years ago and are hoping to turn back time? As a non-american I don't quite get it. People must think their lives will materially improve under the republicans, but why?
On the other side of that coin is that the voting base literally just collapsed from under the Democrats. They really went full on, "no more half measures" when it came to the left and abandoned any attempt to even lie about progressive leftist political values.
Liberals will blame this loss on the left and they are correct to do so. It is the left's fault because that is how electoral politics work. You didn't court their vote and they didn't vote for you. Cause and effect.
I don't really see this as being the other side of the coin at all. Their voter base collapsed precisely because they failed to articulate any kind of positive vision or embrace any policies that might help the vast majority of Americans. People will not turn out to vote for you when you explicitly tell them you're not going to help them and that they should stop whining.
It is the other side of the coin of Trump winning the popular vote. That is precisely part of that dynamic. He also lost votes overall from last election. The Democrats lost so much more for the reasons you mention which are the reasons I mentioned. We must be clear when mentioning Trump won the popular vote, that Harris LOST so much more than that. She lost votes they would have previously gotten without picking up any from the Republicans (she actually lost about half a percent there as well!).