Jerry Shenk: Election 2024: Schadenfreude

Please pardon the following self-indulgence …

Admittedly, it was implied, but I published several columns about the aftermath of Election 2024 without once mentioning “schadenfreude.”

Schadenfreude is a German word that, in English, means “Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.”

Magnanimous winners may be willing to express a modicum of sympathy for the November 5 voters whose candidates lost.

But not me. I’m enjoying schadenfreude.

In an August column that recapped the Democratic National Convention (DNC), I wrote:

“Cumulatively, the four-night ‘Trump’s awful, but Kamala’s joyful!’ affair was a dystopian mélange of platitudes, clichés, denial, psychological projection, negativity, misrepresentations, outright prevarications, hypocrisy, harsh, sometimes psychotic allegations, empty promises, and vague, substance-free declarations of ‘stuff we’re for.’

“There are limits to Americans’ patience and tolerance. A mutually-respectful majority of Americans share cultural, social, political and practical values that offset the malignancies with which Democrats/their militant wings seek to divide them.

“Democrats now face the unenviable task of convincing those people to buy the snake oil they peddled in Chicago.”

Democrats tried, and legacy media tried harder, but nobody could peddle Kamala Harris as credible, capable, authentic, or even likeable.

One pre-election column concluded, “Kamala Harris has no accomplishments, no primary votes, no plan – and no idea what she’s talking about.”

Another observed:

“Deep down, Kamala knows she’s not very bright, that she’s been promoted far above her modest level of competence.

“But Kamala is ambitious, so she overcompensates. She tries to impress audiences by condescendingly “explaining” things about which she knows little or nothing, hoping her blather sounds ‘smart.’

“When her mental thread runs out, Kamala cackles. It’s a tell there’s nothing going on upstairs – a crutch designed to extricate herself from (usually self-inflicted) no-easy-exit situations.”

Concerning her lone debate with former (and future) President Donald Trump, I wrote:

“Kamala’s handlers know she lost. Even though Harris originally refused all but one debate, her campaign immediately asked for another.

“Only losers demand rematches.”

And this appeared in another piece:

“Harris cannot avoid electoral fallout from the administration’s myriad policy blunders when, according to Joe Biden and the White House press office, Harris is at least equally responsible for Bidenomics’ brutal inflation and exorbitant interest rates, and for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. And, as border czar, Kamala bears even greater responsibility for the invasion of illegal aliens across America’s open borders, along with the resulting humanitarian, public health and housing crises, criminal activity, and drug and human trafficking.”

In 2020, nominee Joe Biden picked Harris as his running mate based on her gender and skin color. When it became obvious that Biden was politically, physically and mentally spent, party elders conducted an undemocratic coup to remove him and elevated Harris, who, in turn, made an equally lousy selection, allegedly because he could attract the “bro” vote.

I mentioned Harris’ VP selection, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, only once in publication, and ignored him down the stretch. In the same post-DNC column, I asked and commented:

“Was Tim Walz vetted?

“He’s lied about his DUI, his military rank, serving in a war zone (unless Chicago and Minneapolis count), and he bugged out on his troops pre-deployment. Watch Tim’s eyes, his body language, listen carefully…there’s something really off about the guy.”

Walz spent the abbreviated campaign showing the nation just how much about him is “off,” that he has no idea how to be a regular guy, a “bro.”

Kamala Harris conducted arguably the worst campaign in…perhaps ever. The first “female person of color” to run for the presidency managed to alienate her party’s historical base and allow her opponent to create a multiracial, working-class movement that could very well hamstring future ambitious Democrats.

Tyler Durden at the ZeroHedge website accessed FEC filings and revealed: “Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign … spent a billion dollars centered around labeling former President Trump and a majority of Americans ‘Hitler’ and ‘Nazis.’ They poured millions into far-left Hollywood stars, elaborate concerts, and private jet travel, yet still ended up $20 million in debt – and got defeated in one of the most historic general election wins in a generation.”

There was so much that was dreadfully wrong about candidate Kamala Harris, her VP selection, and her campaign.

Yet, some of you voted for her anyway.

But, you can’t say you weren’t warned, because I told you so …

Contact columnist Jerry Shenk at jshenk2010@gmail.com