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The Democrats have someone new to rally around, with President Biden announcing he is ending his presidential campaign and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris would be our first female president as well as the first woman of color to lead the country, making this even more of a glass ceiling to break. But as someone who voted for Barack Obama twice, I hope the Democrats focus their messaging on something else.
I don't think I'll get my wish. Within minutes of Biden's announcement, Twitter (X) filled with pronouncements by progressives that white women "better get on board" and that it would be very telling if the same demographic who voted in high numbers for Hillary Clinton refused to vote for Harris, insinuating that the only possible reason for this would be race.
Posts like this seem to be multiplying in the time since Biden's announcement, imploring white women to "just accept" that we are going to have a woman of color in the White House—as if we are some caricature of an 1800's slave owner's wife.
"White women need to talk to their fellow sparkling whites about Project 2025 and Trump's plan to end IVF and contraception access," read one. "To all my fellow white women: We are not letting a rapist win over the first female president (again)," read another. Or, "I know people might not like reading this, but a majority of white women voters went for Trump in 2016 and in 2020. That was before GOP overturned Roe, but the question is will they now step up for Harris? White women allies, gotta rally your friends and communities," read another. One just said, "White women, you're up." And on and on.
Racism may be alive and well in America, but let's not forget we are also a nation that elected a Black man twice. More and more people of color are being elected to powerful positions, including Congress and state, and city offices. It's honestly great to see. Representation matters. But people connect to candidates for different reasons.
Do these people really want their candidates to win solely on their race and gender?
More than that, this condescending language is very alienating. If Democrats want to win so badly, why not figure out why more white women are trending to the Right and try to speak to those issues?
And while we're at it, are white women the only demographic that is trending Right? Back in March, Axios reported on a national survey that showed the Democrats losing Black and Hispanic voters. Shouldn't we be curious about this? Is condescending online about it really the best approach for people who want the Democrats to win?
Polling shows that the general population is concerned about crime and illegal immigration, as well as inflation, AI, and education. Should we just ignore these concerns and virtue signal instead? Why are families moving out of cities in droves? Has anyone asked? If you dare mention crime online, in parent groups or on social media, you run the risk of being supplied with endless whataboutism about crime in the 1970's and how "actually murders are down." But people know what's up in their neighborhoods. We go to the drug store and see everything locked down because crime is not being addressed. We see unrest on college campuses and protestors taking over highways, bridges, and Grand Central Station in New York with no repercussions. This has a reverberating effect that everyday people want no part of for their families.
It's true that the electorate has a more liberal stance on abortion and gay marriage than the Republican Party. It's true that many want more of a social safety net than Republicans believe is wise. And Trump is a very divisive character. But Democrats won't have him to use as a bogey man after this election. Do they plan to address these issues?
I would encourage them to do so sooner rather than later, and to stop the tired shaming and blaming of "white women" for the potential loss at the ballot box that couldn't been avoided if you simply listened to the electorate.
We don't work for the politicians. They work for us.
A lot of people would do well to remember that!
Ilana Horowitz is a social worker in New York City.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
