Democrats generally presented themselves in 2024 as the party of hope. We saw that nationally with messages about an “opportunity economy” and in Rosemarie Latham’s optimistic tone in her run for Florida House District 29. While Republicans emphasized fear, Democrats emphasized hope. And they have traditionally succeeded with that upbeat message.
Witness Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal plans proposed to the tune of “Happy Days Are Here Again” in Lyndon Johnson’s campaign song. Bill Clinton played on his birth in a town called Hope, and Barack Obama supporters chanted “yes we can” (and “si se pueda”).
But the party faced a challenge this year. Join in the messaging about fear with their own warnings about Donald Trump? Or emphasize hope and risk conceding voters to the Republican messages as full of fear as a night of Halloween scares?
It’s tough to campaign with a mixed message. And this election was a testing ground for whether our politics will continue to merge with entertainment. Republicans delivered their serious messages in the spirit of Halloween fears.
Every year, I am on the most popular street in DeLand for trick-or-treating, and I report on the costumes.
I wonder … did the guy on a bike dressed as the Christian Messiah “pedaling Jesus” lean toward the Religious Right or toward the liberal Social Gospel? We only know that he came and went “like a thief in the night” (Revelation 16:15).
With Republicans soon in control of much of the federal government, will they deport immigrant aliens, or will there be abductions of the kids who showed up “Threatened by Aliens”?
The long, expensive and fear-filled campaign is over. Now on to governing. Republicans diagnosed public dissatisfaction effectively. What will their prescriptions be like?
Will the action steps of Republicans in office be based on the literal statements of the campaign, so bold and aggressive, about “enemies of the people” and “mass deportation”? Or were those comments ways to gain attention during a chaotic campaign previewing still bold but less aggressive steps?
A big part of Trump’s appeal is that he speaks in general terms, the opposite of elites and professionals. He scorns those “liberals” with all their nuances and reform ideas. If the political contenders were paintings, the Republicans would be in black and white, in contrast with liberals in shades of gray. But now those general comments during the campaign leave a lot of uncertainty about how Trump and Republicans will implement his sweeping and dramatic statements.
The only thing not imitating Halloween in this campaign was that it ended without a recount. Good job, supervisors of elections, right here and across the land! After all, the only thing scarier than politics imitating Halloween is an election leading to neighbors fighting each other.
Stay tuned, my fellow Americans! And take a bow, DeLand, for another night of stylized spooks. Let’s keep those scares to Halloween. And for the scary parts of life, let’s take those on one neighbor and one community at a time.
— Paul Croce taught history at Stetson University since 1988 and directed the American Studies Program. Can you guess his outfit for Halloween 2024? Here’s a clue…. With retirement, he is applying his teaching and research to The Public Classroom, https://publicclassroom.substack.com/about, for bridging the academic world and public life and for listening across differences.
