Lawn Sign Liberalism

This post intends to explain the existence of the New(ton) critique. I began thinking about the issues of Liberalism when Trump won his second election. The Democrats were and are in disarray. Two of them raised me. Both supported every single Democratic presidential candidate in my lifetime. They always asked the question “who could win” and never “who should win”. My family is, admittedly, not very fond of critiques of the Democratic Party. In my house, infighting is seen as immature and counterproductive. However, the Democrats sent out their most likely candidate in 2024. A previously popular presidential candidate, who had White House experience and what seemed to many as a great deal of momentum. Kamala Harris was not the most interesting candidate, but at the time, she seemed to be the safest. But she lost. An overwhelming percentage of the population voted for Trump, maybe out of misogyny or racism, but maybe out of something more tangible. Many people who switched from blue to red did so because they felt their quality of life was better under Trump. Most people do not read political blogs, most people do not read the news, most people do not watch the debates. Harris inherited Joe Biden’s baggage. Biden was, if anything, a productive president. But, policy successes like the Chips and Science Act started slowly, burdened by government regulations, and were far from noticeable to the politically unengaged. People want to feel the government’s presence. They want to see the fruits of the government’s labor when they walk outside and commute to work. Trump, and even more so , Elon Musk, promised a future of dynamism. Regardless of whether Americans believed it would come to fruition, they knew an extension of a Biden administration would not cause the change they were looking for. And so they voted. And Trump won. And I am here. Living in Newton, Massachusetts: a town in which 80% of people voted for Biden and 80% of adults have a BA. This city is educated, affluent, and overwhelmingly liberal. Yet, in my zip code, there are a mere two affordable housing units available to rent. Both of them are available only to those 62 or older. There is an affordable housing problem in this city, not incited by our elected officials, but by community activism that looks to block development. You would think a city where every street is lined with yard signs that read “no human is illegal, love is love, science is real” would be more welcoming to their lower-income neighbors. Instead, NIMBYism (which stands for Not In My Backyard — a popular slogan used to criticize affluent liberal homeowners who advocate for affordable housing as long as it does not decrease the value of their own property) runs throughout Newton. Many Newton residents subscribe to a fake liberalism, one that supports New Deal Liberalism not for climate reasons and not for ideological reasons, but to protect their own wallets. But this is no crisis. By in large, the greater Boston area is making an increasing effort to support affordable housing. Newton interests me not because of some hidden crisis but because the political sentiments echoed here have proven to be a microcosm for the problems in the Democratic party. The same way liberals were afraid to primary Harris, my mom is still afraid of criticizing Biden. Just as the DNC thought it would be wise not to have any Palestinian speak during the convention, my school cancelled our commencement speaker due to a pro-Palestinian social media message. The mistakes and hypocrisy that plagued the Democrats in November are the same ones that the average Newton resident supported. The New(ton) critique intends to investigate this thesis. Are Newton residents selfish? Can Newton tell us anything about where Democrats should go from here? And is Newton really as Liberal as those yard signs claim?