Dr. Amy Young

Scholar, teacher, mother, dancer, wine lover, provocateur. she/her/hers

[Stuart Stevens @stuartpstevens]

I've been involved in winning presidential races and races that lost. One common thread is that everyone seems to have a reason why you won or lost which usually reflects a personal perspective or agenda.

So here's mine: I think VP Harris ran a very good campaign that operated at a high level. She had a great convention, crushed Trump in a debate, and put on a series of big event rallies that were the best I'd ever seen.

As a Republican operative, I spent years pointing out flaws in the Democratic Party and I'm not here to say it doesn't need to go through a period of questioning and self-reflection. Those are much larger questions than one election and one campaign. But the Republican party is an anti-democratic movement, attacking the pillars of American democracy from elections to the judicial system.

I understand those who say that if there had been a "normal" Democratic primary, the results would have been better. Maybe. But think about it. In modern political history, every time a sitting VP has run for the nomination, that VP has won. Perhaps it would have been different this time and the eventual nominee would have emerged stronger for the process. But more likely there would have been a bloody primary fight that left the nominee broke and trying to patch together a fractured party to face a Republican party that has become Donald Trump's party. In all probability, VP Harris would have won that primary and been in a weakened and vulnerable position when it was finally resolved in May or June.

I would say to my Democratic friends to go through this post-election process with open minds and hearts but never doubt that the Democratic party is the only pro-democracy party in America. No one will have a position in Trump's administration who is not an election denier adhering to the Big Lie. That's toxic to a country's sense of self and the damage will take a generation to repair, if it is possible to heal.

Losing an election does not mean that you were wrong and they were right. It means you lost an election. I grew up in Mississippi watching my parents back candidates opposed to segregation. When those candidates lost, and they did for a long time, my parents didn't question if they were on the right side. They didn't ask themselves if the majority who supported segregation had proven the justness of their cause by winning.

The mid-terms start after the Super Bowl. It will likely be a good election for Democrats and then the 2028 presidential race will be upon us. After a loss, the days seem long but the months will pass quickly. Reflect, rest up, but come back prepared to fight. Fight not because victory is assured but fight because not to fight is to give up. And if we do that, we no longer deserve to call ourselves Americans.

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[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@seanrobinson1e4 They have to have something to compare their supposed "heterodoxy" to when really, they just followed the grift.

[Paul Schmitz @PaulSchmitz1]

Saying it again 49.9% with a 1.5% margin is not an overwhelming majority.
Stop feeding the narrative that he won overwhelmingly. The nation is split as it has been and he won on the margin. Half the nation said “no” and let’s not act otherwise

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@ChiCyph80 @blankslate2017 My two cents is that people aren't going to do the huge pushback, huge events, etc. that were common in 2017. Saving energy for a prolonged response. But I don't think that's wrong--I think that preserves energy. And I think people will gear up for 2026.

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@DisrespectedThe I hope every single thing she voted for is what she herself experiences. All of it.

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@Art444Star You have access to education, to training, to jobs, to higher salaries, to therapy, to hobbies, and to community. Women make those choices repeatedly and consistently. Choosing not to tap those resources is a choice and it's not one that is forced on you.

[Miranda Green @mirandacgreen]

Where did Trump voters get their news? 📰

Yes, there's social and partisan sites, but there is another influential strategy that isn't getting enough attention: Manipulated, pay-to-play and all out fake news sites

I've been covering a mix of those for years. Here's a primer

🧵

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@portraitinflesh Perhaps she ought to have considered that before casting her vote for someone who, on his own campaign website, states that he will eliminate Obamacare and offers exactly zero plan for what would come next.

[KerrBear 🪷 @MPLSKerrBear]

People can analyze, hypothesize, blame Dems till they are blue in the face. None of it matters.

This is the game right here.

Misinformation works. Those that believed misinformation voted Trump. Those that believed the truth voted Harris.

There is NO candidate that can change this.

Republicans have a well oiled propaganda machine that spans all media platforms and we do not.

Period.

[Jay Kuo @nycjayjay]

From Ipsos last month. People who answered factual questions about inflation, crime, and immigration incorrectly were "more likely to opt for Trump," while those who answered correctly preferred Harris.
Disinformation and lack of basic education and knowledge are destroying us.

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@davidhogg111 Abundance agenda. And they beat that drum relentlessly. "This is how Democrats are improving your lives."

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

This is absolutely what sort of ish needs to happen. Relentlessly on message.

[Everything Price Sufferer (but especially eggs) @agraybee]

The first step to creating a left-wing media ecosystem once Trump is sworn in is to constantly post photos of a shopping cart with eggs, milk, and a pound of pure saffron and go "this costs $500 in Trump's economy."

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@maxpcohen AOC is willing to go on channels and do outreach that most Dems have never heard of, won't do, etc. We actually need MORE like her, not fewer. Dems are losing the information environment to incel podcast bros and we need to address meeting people where they already are.

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

Important analog.

[Tom Bacon @TomABacon]

As a Brit, I've been watching the American election results with sorrow for my American friends. Some are comparing it to the Brexit vote here, imagining if we'd voted for Brexit twice. But here's the thing... in a sense, we did. And here are some lessons from it. 🧵

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@seenfromafar I'm over there, too. @amyyoung.bsky.social

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

Yes. Do not disengage.

[McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins]

As I wrote last week, now is not the time to be writing eulogies for American democracy. Last night was not the end of a story. The most dangerous thing you can do if you're scared about what comes next is to give up and disengage from civic life.
https://t.co/4Z1FOTjEBV

[. @GregTSargent]

Starting to think that one simple way to understand this is that Trump won the two times he was the challenger to the incumbent party, and in both cases, he was seen as the outsider/disrupter of status quo, including the second time

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@madrid_mike I would say as a white woman that we are very often why America can't have nice things. And this round was no different.

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@speechboy71 @RadioFreeTom It’s a data error. May want to take this down.

[Dr. Amy Young @amy_prof]

@notcapnamerica Someone needs to buy this woman many, many plane tickets.