Nate Silver has been banging this "popular positions" drum again recently. I think your point about the popularity of gun control and Republican priorities is a great counter-example of this (see also abortion bans). It strikes me that any conversation of US political strategy that focuses solely on polls and doesn't directly address mass communication dynamics (e.g. media ownership, Overton window forcing, and foreign influence operations) is willfully blind to history.
I had this discussion with my otherwise-very-much-on-the-side-of-the-angels brother; he had been listening to some podcast bros that were postulating that maybe the Dems needed to be "more accepting" of other positions. AKA, just a little bit racist/misogynistic/homo- and transphobic. I think he came around, by the end, to recognizing that this isn't an issue of politics; it's an issue of human rights and there is no room for negotiation on human rights, but man, they really present it as so incredibly reasonable that even smart guys like my brother get taken in about the need to win elections, no matter the cost. My brother is also quite religious (in the good way), and while I am not, it did bring to mind Matthew 16:26- "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
(And, of course, all that sacrificing of one's moral character won't even win elections. Bigots aren't looking to vote "bigot-lite," they want the full Monty.)
I'm assuming Yglesias is trying to manufacture consent for Gavin Newsom's lane.
I don't think these folks understand that Democrats can't harness sadopopulism, because that's not for Democrats to do. People vote for monsters because they want to HURT other people that they've been propagandized against. It takes more than mealymouthed Dems doing a "nudge nudge wink wink" on one or two issues. And I think I like to use Ohio for an example of this.
It's not enough to be anti-trans; that's just an accessory bigotry under the Rowling Principle. You need to be Anti-Black and that's tough to do openly as a Democrat. Not even likely racist Joe Manchin could pull that off openly.
Nevertheless people need to show Yglesias that he's wrong by their actions and head off people like Newsom at the pass.
Thank you! It was the economy, and people stupid enough to believe trump's lies about how he would fix it. All voters in 2024 lived through his first term, and his horrendous response to Covid, yet enough of them voted for him to fix the economy. I read somewhere (wish that I could remember where, so to give them credit), that too many people believe trump's lies and don't believe his truths.
They lose elections due to lack of Dem leadership, GOP corruption of the electoral process, decades of GOP voter suppression and gerrymandering, the GOP ownership of America's "public" media, and failure to nominate candidates that represent the voter's interests.
And the cherry on top is that 28 Democratic Senators voted to advance the gop's anti-trans bill last week, including Schumer, Klobachar, Blumenthal and Baldwin. With friends like these....
Nate Silver has been banging this "popular positions" drum again recently. I think your point about the popularity of gun control and Republican priorities is a great counter-example of this (see also abortion bans). It strikes me that any conversation of US political strategy that focuses solely on polls and doesn't directly address mass communication dynamics (e.g. media ownership, Overton window forcing, and foreign influence operations) is willfully blind to history.
I had this discussion with my otherwise-very-much-on-the-side-of-the-angels brother; he had been listening to some podcast bros that were postulating that maybe the Dems needed to be "more accepting" of other positions. AKA, just a little bit racist/misogynistic/homo- and transphobic. I think he came around, by the end, to recognizing that this isn't an issue of politics; it's an issue of human rights and there is no room for negotiation on human rights, but man, they really present it as so incredibly reasonable that even smart guys like my brother get taken in about the need to win elections, no matter the cost. My brother is also quite religious (in the good way), and while I am not, it did bring to mind Matthew 16:26- "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
(And, of course, all that sacrificing of one's moral character won't even win elections. Bigots aren't looking to vote "bigot-lite," they want the full Monty.)
I'm assuming Yglesias is trying to manufacture consent for Gavin Newsom's lane.
I don't think these folks understand that Democrats can't harness sadopopulism, because that's not for Democrats to do. People vote for monsters because they want to HURT other people that they've been propagandized against. It takes more than mealymouthed Dems doing a "nudge nudge wink wink" on one or two issues. And I think I like to use Ohio for an example of this.
It's not enough to be anti-trans; that's just an accessory bigotry under the Rowling Principle. You need to be Anti-Black and that's tough to do openly as a Democrat. Not even likely racist Joe Manchin could pull that off openly.
Nevertheless people need to show Yglesias that he's wrong by their actions and head off people like Newsom at the pass.
Thank you! It was the economy, and people stupid enough to believe trump's lies about how he would fix it. All voters in 2024 lived through his first term, and his horrendous response to Covid, yet enough of them voted for him to fix the economy. I read somewhere (wish that I could remember where, so to give them credit), that too many people believe trump's lies and don't believe his truths.
They lose elections due to lack of Dem leadership, GOP corruption of the electoral process, decades of GOP voter suppression and gerrymandering, the GOP ownership of America's "public" media, and failure to nominate candidates that represent the voter's interests.
And the cherry on top is that 28 Democratic Senators voted to advance the gop's anti-trans bill last week, including Schumer, Klobachar, Blumenthal and Baldwin. With friends like these....
"Every time someone writes about transwomen in women's sports a fairy dies"-Tinkerbell