“The political class, Washington, DC, people inside the Beltway – they've grown more and more estranged from everyday people like you and me,” claimed journalist Jon Jeter on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Friday.
The author joined hosts Garland Nixon and Wilmer Leon to break down Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, during which she advocated a hawkish foreign policy to the exclusion of focus on the material needs of working-class Americans.
“I thought that speech was ridiculous and if I were a betting man I would say that it lost the election for the Democrats in November,” said Jeter. “I don't know who she thinks her audience was when she attacks Vladimir Putin. If I may paraphrase Muhammad Ali, Vladimir Putin ain’t never called me the N-word.”
“Most people, particularly in the states and particularly the people who she's depending on to win this election, Blacks and particularly Black men, particularly in Philadelphia and Detroit and Milwaukee – I don't think they care so much about Kim Jong Un, about Vladimir Putin, about the threat from China,” he continued. “I think they care a lot about jobs, wages, debt reduction, things like that. So I thought that speech was almost odd and that it seemed to lack self-awareness about exactly who the Democrats are and who they need.”
The analyst claimed the Democratic party is in the habit of abusing its voters, constantly attacking its activist base.
“I think people are ultimately going to feel like they're being gaslit,” said Nixon, claiming voters are more likely to be concerned with inflation and the cost of living. The media outlet Bloomberg calculated the rise in the cost of basic goods and services in 2023, finding that the cost of natural gas has risen by 29% while the costs of groceries and electricity have risen by 25%.
“I have to admit, I have very, very low expectations of our political class,” said Jeter. “This was a stunning speech for its lack of self-awareness. The Democrats' problem is that they are unresponsive, wholly unresponsive to their base, to labor unions.”
“It's almost like we've wandered into a Tower of Babble and come out on the other side babbling. We don't even speak the same language anymore. This is just a bewildering turn of affairs which I can only attribute to the end of empire.”