I am troubled and irritated by the unending scolding and pontification of pundits against the Democratic Party, and the Harris campaign in particular, for being “elitist” and failing to appeal to the concerns of average working people. I was especially disappointed to see Bernie Sanders, who I generally admire for his honesty and courage, echo these talking points. Democrats did not lose because they are stupidly linked to “elites” — and I can prove this because Sanders’s list of policy positions Harris “should have” championed was more or less exactly the platform she did promote! Housing, cost of living, small business, child care, bodily sovereignty — issues that working people grapple with every day and on which Sanders tells Democrats to focus, while Trump openly pandered to CEOs, corporations and billionaires while insulting and belittling everyone else. No, Bernie (and the rest of the pundit class), Harris lost because of three simple things: #1: a vast, intense disinformation campaign; #2: misogyny; and #3: racism. Let’s just say that out loud because it’s so obviously true.

Tariq Abu-Jaber

Williamsburg