Bert Bennett of Winston-Salem, the legendary political godfather to Terry Sanford and Jim Hunt, had a terse dismissal of election post-mortems: “When you win, everything you did was right. When you lose, everything you did was wrong.”
Democrats can select from a lengthy list of excuses and explanations for Kamala Harris’ loss.
Like, “It was the economy, stupid” – or, voters’ perception of the economy.
Or, President Biden did a good job, but didn’t tell the story well.
Or, Biden stayed in too long.
Or, Harris suffered from not going through a battle for the nomination and sharpening her skills and message.
Or, Harris should have separated herself from Biden by saying, “I’m proud of what we’ve done, but we haven’t done enough to help people with the high cost of living. I’ll make that Job One.”
Or, it was an anti-incumbent, vote-for-change, throw-the-bums-out year.
Or, Democrats are too woke.
Or, they aren’t woke enough.
Or, they fumbled the crime and border issues.
Or, it was about biological men competing in women’s sports.
Or, it was toxic masculinity.
Or, it was hatred, misogyny and racism.
Or, there’s too much misinformation and disinformation.
Or, it was the Russians.
Or maybe it was what Governor Jim Hunt decided after he lost the 1984 Senate race to Jesse Helms.
For months afterward, he was “a little numb,” the usually-buoyant Hunt told me when I interviewed him for Jim Hunt: A Biography, published in 2010. (Note: copies are still available online and in boxes here at our house.)
But, he said, “Sometime after probably about nine months or so, I was shaving one day at home on the farm. And the thought occurred to me, ‘Well, you know, sometimes the people just make a mistake.’ And I figured they’d made a mistake in that vote, and it just happened. You’ve got to move on. And so then I began to deal with it.”
Eight years later, Hunt won election to a third term as governor, then a fourth term in 1996.
So, Democrats should be like Jim Hunt. Move on. Deal with it.
And win next time.
Photo: Bert Bennett with President Kennedy
