My county, Greenville's neighbor, Spartanburg, narrowly went to Graham, but the 2024 - 2026 swing from red to Blue was the largest in the state. Even in states like Florida, the red to Blue swing was substantial. Disappointing that great Dems like Angie Nixon lost, but Florida, as well as other southern states that didn't win statewide, are moving in the right direction.
I had no idea that Democrats actually flipped the Texas house! I didn't realize that it was close enough to flip. I think I might've been under the impression that Republicans had a super major majority!
What I think Yglesias gets wrong is this idea that you can win over voters based on the stances you take, as though voters check off a list or a pro lifer would ever vote for even a pro life Democrat when a candidate from the prolife party is available. He also argues that candidates should stick to talking about issues that their party is strong on (for Dems, healthcare and education) and avoid topics they’re weak on (for Dems, immigration, crime). I think this misreads how voters actually think, particularly persuadable voters.
First, voters go with image more than substantive policy. No one is reading Jeb Bush or Liz Warren policy papers, they just see both of them as conservative or liberal respectively. Second, voters always want strength over weakness—a candidate who equivocates and seems to agree even a little with the opposition, or makes excuses for why they can’t do something, or talks in lawyerly mush is going to turn them off, compared to one who comes across like a steamroller ready to crush an enemy they despise (think Ossoff in debate with Collins). Third, voters can be moved more by how you argue for your issues than what position you take. Rather than avoid discussing transgender rights (because your party polls poorly on them), you may get more mileage with swing voters by saying “let people live their lives, what kind of freak is obsessed with other people’s genitals? Not the government’s business!” rather than “let me explain the medical science behind the sex you are born with and hey did you just fall asleep?”
Finally I had no idea Dr Andrews had such comedy chops! I hope she keeps this up.
As the Republican party has moved to the (extreme) right in the years since Reagan, Democrats have been moving to the *left* since 2016. The idea of what a "moderate" Democrat is now is essentially a mainstream liberal-Joe Manchin left the party over this, as you may recall. Thus, any Democrat not calling for open borders or defunding the police while staking out other more left wing positions can now credibly call themselves a moderate. This is what guys like Klein and Yglesias (and elected officials like my senator Angus King and embattled leader Schumer) really don't understand. I'm fine with candidates whose qualities reflect their specific electorates-they don't all have to be Bernie bros-which is how Adam Hamilton and James Talarico slayed the dragons in their states, but neither are really moderates in the old fashioned sense of the word. Whether that is good or bad is up for debate, but it's past time our pundits and politicians updated their worldview to fit the new realities.
My county, Greenville's neighbor, Spartanburg, narrowly went to Graham, but the 2024 - 2026 swing from red to Blue was the largest in the state. Even in states like Florida, the red to Blue swing was substantial. Disappointing that great Dems like Angie Nixon lost, but Florida, as well as other southern states that didn't win statewide, are moving in the right direction.
I had no idea that Democrats actually flipped the Texas house! I didn't realize that it was close enough to flip. I think I might've been under the impression that Republicans had a super major majority!
What I think Yglesias gets wrong is this idea that you can win over voters based on the stances you take, as though voters check off a list or a pro lifer would ever vote for even a pro life Democrat when a candidate from the prolife party is available. He also argues that candidates should stick to talking about issues that their party is strong on (for Dems, healthcare and education) and avoid topics they’re weak on (for Dems, immigration, crime). I think this misreads how voters actually think, particularly persuadable voters.
First, voters go with image more than substantive policy. No one is reading Jeb Bush or Liz Warren policy papers, they just see both of them as conservative or liberal respectively. Second, voters always want strength over weakness—a candidate who equivocates and seems to agree even a little with the opposition, or makes excuses for why they can’t do something, or talks in lawyerly mush is going to turn them off, compared to one who comes across like a steamroller ready to crush an enemy they despise (think Ossoff in debate with Collins). Third, voters can be moved more by how you argue for your issues than what position you take. Rather than avoid discussing transgender rights (because your party polls poorly on them), you may get more mileage with swing voters by saying “let people live their lives, what kind of freak is obsessed with other people’s genitals? Not the government’s business!” rather than “let me explain the medical science behind the sex you are born with and hey did you just fall asleep?”
Finally I had no idea Dr Andrews had such comedy chops! I hope she keeps this up.
As the Republican party has moved to the (extreme) right in the years since Reagan, Democrats have been moving to the *left* since 2016. The idea of what a "moderate" Democrat is now is essentially a mainstream liberal-Joe Manchin left the party over this, as you may recall. Thus, any Democrat not calling for open borders or defunding the police while staking out other more left wing positions can now credibly call themselves a moderate. This is what guys like Klein and Yglesias (and elected officials like my senator Angus King and embattled leader Schumer) really don't understand. I'm fine with candidates whose qualities reflect their specific electorates-they don't all have to be Bernie bros-which is how Adam Hamilton and James Talarico slayed the dragons in their states, but neither are really moderates in the old fashioned sense of the word. Whether that is good or bad is up for debate, but it's past time our pundits and politicians updated their worldview to fit the new realities.