Harris Hot Mic: "So my thing is we need to move ground among men"

You don't say!! Hint: Support, Don't Shame

You can imagine my surprise when VP Harris was caught on a hot mic saying, “So my thing is we need to move ground among men.” If you’re a regular reader of this Substack or have read my book, you know that I have been working hard to get my ideas on how to do just that out there. For those who haven’t read it, my book is called How Democrats Can Win Back Men: Why Understanding Male Voters and Their Issues is Vital to Democratic Victory. I have tried my best to get this information into the hands of decision-makers, but I know it’s a big world with a lot of ideas out there. («Pulls hair out.») It’s hard to cut through the noise. At least it’s now risen to public awareness in a way that it wasn’t before this election season.

The subtitle of the book is just as important as the title: the Democratic Party needs to do a much better job of understanding men and their issues instead of simply shaming them into voting Democrat.

For non-controversial starters, support them on the issues of men’s health (men die 5.9 years earlier on average), mental health and suicide prevention (men are over 3/4’s of suicides), and education (men are only 40% of college students). The Democratic Party Platform has no supportive issues for men; the word “men” only appears 4 times in the document, whereas “women” appears a total of 82 times. This is one reason why you “need to move ground among men.”

The race appears to be extremely close, and the Democrats may pull out a victory despite not properly addressing men’s social issues. But this isn’t the last election - Democrats need to learn how to better appeal to men in 2026, 2028, and beyond. Therefore, I want to share some thoughts on a better method of communication among male voters.

General Advice: Support, Don’t Shame

I don’t believe the numerous examples of Democrats attempting to shame men into voting blue are effective. Instead, the Democrats should be focusing on why the future under a Harris-Walz White House will be better for men. Make the pitch, and close the deal. Don’t guilt trip.

I’ve seen numerous examples of finger-wagging and calling men who don’t vote for Harris “misogynists.” These types of statements only further alienate men. And I can already see the headlines if Democrats lose — “it was all men’s fault.”

Regardless of the outcome, Democrats first need to look inward. The emergence of Harris as the Democratic nominee could have been an opportunity to support male well-being. Even just the acknowledgment, the mention of legitimate issues that ALL men and boys are facing, not just Black or Latino men, or just young men, could have helped Democrats increase support among male voters. Jack Kammer of Men’s Turn put it well in his recent post titled “No Difference for Men and Boys?”; he suggested candidate VP Harris share some remarks, such as the following, as a way to show the OPPORTUNITY to advocate for male well-being if elected:

“You know the saying that only Nixon could have gone to China as he did in 1972 — when it was still called Red China? Why could only he do that? Because he was well-known to be a staunch anti-communist.

“In the same way, there is no doubt that I understand and care about women’s issues. So I can and I will add new personnel, including men, to my White House Gender Policy Council to help me understand the complexities and nuances of how gender issues are impacting men and boys today.

As we approach Nov. 5, with tens of millions of votes already cast, we are past the time for new initiatives. Harris threw a Hail Mary with her Opportunity Agenda for Black Men, but I don’t believe the timing or the limited scope are consistent with a strong surge. Last-second messaging attempts like Walz’s Twitch stream with AOC are part of campaigning today, but they again can’t replace proper messaging built on a foundation of a Democratic Party Platform that supports the social issues of boys and men.

Missed Opportunities

Multiple opportunities—The State of Union Address, The 2025 Proposed Budget, the 2024 Democratic Party Platform, The DNC, the White House Gender Policy Council, the Democratic Party website, and the debates—all easy chances to at least acknowledge that men and boys have legitimate social needs, and offer a few noncontroversial solutions, were missed. The ball was dropped. And now, at the last second, they are asking, “where are the male votes?”

Threats or Free Speech?

This professor from the University of Kansas took it to another level by suggesting men to don’t vote for Harris should be lined up and shot:

While I advocate for free speech, this is an exception. You cannot advocate for violence against anyone or any group of people, including men. Fortunately, according to a report from Inside High Ed, this professor is no longer employed by the University. The University did not indicate the exact circumstances of the professor’s departure, so we don’t know if he was fired or left voluntarily. Some support the departed professor as a matter of free speech, such as the organization FIRE.

The Many Shades of Green - Election Special

I am grateful to have appeared once again on “The Many Shades of Green,” hosted by Max Margo Rubin, in an election special roundtable. You can listen to the full episode here.

Books Available

To learn more about my ideas for the Democrats to “move ground among men,” order my book How Democrats Can Win Back Men from Amazon, available in either Kindle E-book or paperback format. Get yours today!

“How Democrats Can Win Back Men could be the most important book ever written toward both the Democrats winning in 2024 and reversing the loss of men to the Democratic party in the next decades if campaign leaders implement its advice…”
– Dr. Warren Farrell, author of The Boy Crisis