I see why Yglesias is confused as he is one of those people paid $$$ to be professionally credulous...and get lots of clicks doing the same. I'm honestly not sure how many of the people out there he has the ear of. I'm not online enough I suppose and I've really just been burned out on social media. Does he actually have influence? Do Democratic politicians (well not all, obviously) follow him?
"Center-left journalist Matt Yglesias has relentlessly pushed the Democratic Party to embrace socially conservative positions (specifically on trans rights, immigration, and even abortion) as the best way for the party to perform well in “red” states"
Which only works if you assume that blue people in red states are LESS blue than they are in blue states...As someone who lived most of his life in a red state (that has been turning blue over the past 20 years YAY Virginia!) that is utter crap
When you back away from standard democratic positions like gender equality, abortion rights, immigrant rights, you send a CLEAR 'fuck you' to blue dots in red states...you know, the dem voters who are quite 'literally' on the front lines...The democratic voters who are holding the fort while the centrists pontificate on what will or wont work in elections in red states.
So to the centrists...You NEED these democratic voters MUCH MORE than you need some theoretical never Trumper that may or may not actually exist, one that probably wouldn't vote for ANY dem in any case...
Wonderfully insightful, and bluntly explains why pundits like Yglesias continue to tout "moving to the right on some issues" as a vote-getter. It's not that it is; it's that he, and others like them, actually support these bigoted positions (notably, all the names I can think of off the top of my head who have made a career pushing this are white men, which may be more due to them overwhelmingly dominating op-ed sections, but, well, how better to ensure they continue to do so than to write pieces earnestly explaining that Democrats just need to put a leetle pressure on the necks of those not white and male?).
And thanks for the deep dive into Clinton and the push for gay equality in the 1990s. In 2016, there was a lot of vitriol thrown online at Hillary Clinton over Don't Ask Don't Tell (which, as First Lady, she didn't even get a vote on), and I really felt the weight of my Gen-X years (1992 was the election I voted in, too). I remember the absolute uproar over Bill's push to allow gay people to serve in the military. Don't Ask Don't Tell wasn't great, for sure, but it really was the best he could do at that time, and compared to what was before? Good grief, kids. They have no idea. I disagree with a lot of Clinton's policies, especially in the 2nd term, but he was swimming hard upstream against a lot of entrenched prejudice when it came to queer Americans, and his Administration really did make some progress.
Why is anybody still listening to any of those clowns? Yglesias, Klein and the Pod Save bros should all tuck their tails between their legs and slink away after the mess they made of 2024. They have been nothing but wrong.
Most, if not all, Democratic positions, are popular with most Americans. That includes positions taken by the DSA. However, too many Dems, especially establishment Dems, accept right wing framing on issues, especially cultural issues, so either defend their positions poorly, or whine about whatever marginalized group that the cons are whining about. Is it a messaging problem, a cowardice problem, or an honesty problem? The answer is "yes," to all three, for some establishment Dems - they suck at messaging, they lack a spine to stand up for what they really believe in, and they can't be honest about what they really believe.
For some Dems, it's a messaging problem. I'm not an expert on messaging, but step one would be to NOT accept right wing framing on anything, and to call both them out and the media, which accepts right framing as the norm. If those Dems could do that, if they have a spine and are honest about wanting healthcare for all, affordable housing, human rights for all - including the marginalized, and holding lawbreakers (especially those at the highest levels) accountable for their actions, they would do well in elections.
Those hacks you wrote about aren't leftists at all, they are right wingers, giving Dems bad advice.
I see why Yglesias is confused as he is one of those people paid $$$ to be professionally credulous...and get lots of clicks doing the same. I'm honestly not sure how many of the people out there he has the ear of. I'm not online enough I suppose and I've really just been burned out on social media. Does he actually have influence? Do Democratic politicians (well not all, obviously) follow him?
"If you read enough of Yglesias’s newsletter and social media posts"
I don't, and I'm better off for it!
(:
"Center-left journalist Matt Yglesias has relentlessly pushed the Democratic Party to embrace socially conservative positions (specifically on trans rights, immigration, and even abortion) as the best way for the party to perform well in “red” states"
Which only works if you assume that blue people in red states are LESS blue than they are in blue states...As someone who lived most of his life in a red state (that has been turning blue over the past 20 years YAY Virginia!) that is utter crap
When you back away from standard democratic positions like gender equality, abortion rights, immigrant rights, you send a CLEAR 'fuck you' to blue dots in red states...you know, the dem voters who are quite 'literally' on the front lines...The democratic voters who are holding the fort while the centrists pontificate on what will or wont work in elections in red states.
So to the centrists...You NEED these democratic voters MUCH MORE than you need some theoretical never Trumper that may or may not actually exist, one that probably wouldn't vote for ANY dem in any case...
Wonderfully insightful, and bluntly explains why pundits like Yglesias continue to tout "moving to the right on some issues" as a vote-getter. It's not that it is; it's that he, and others like them, actually support these bigoted positions (notably, all the names I can think of off the top of my head who have made a career pushing this are white men, which may be more due to them overwhelmingly dominating op-ed sections, but, well, how better to ensure they continue to do so than to write pieces earnestly explaining that Democrats just need to put a leetle pressure on the necks of those not white and male?).
And thanks for the deep dive into Clinton and the push for gay equality in the 1990s. In 2016, there was a lot of vitriol thrown online at Hillary Clinton over Don't Ask Don't Tell (which, as First Lady, she didn't even get a vote on), and I really felt the weight of my Gen-X years (1992 was the election I voted in, too). I remember the absolute uproar over Bill's push to allow gay people to serve in the military. Don't Ask Don't Tell wasn't great, for sure, but it really was the best he could do at that time, and compared to what was before? Good grief, kids. They have no idea. I disagree with a lot of Clinton's policies, especially in the 2nd term, but he was swimming hard upstream against a lot of entrenched prejudice when it came to queer Americans, and his Administration really did make some progress.
Why is anybody still listening to any of those clowns? Yglesias, Klein and the Pod Save bros should all tuck their tails between their legs and slink away after the mess they made of 2024. They have been nothing but wrong.
Its just a very small echo chamber swimming in cope
Most, if not all, Democratic positions, are popular with most Americans. That includes positions taken by the DSA. However, too many Dems, especially establishment Dems, accept right wing framing on issues, especially cultural issues, so either defend their positions poorly, or whine about whatever marginalized group that the cons are whining about. Is it a messaging problem, a cowardice problem, or an honesty problem? The answer is "yes," to all three, for some establishment Dems - they suck at messaging, they lack a spine to stand up for what they really believe in, and they can't be honest about what they really believe.
For some Dems, it's a messaging problem. I'm not an expert on messaging, but step one would be to NOT accept right wing framing on anything, and to call both them out and the media, which accepts right framing as the norm. If those Dems could do that, if they have a spine and are honest about wanting healthcare for all, affordable housing, human rights for all - including the marginalized, and holding lawbreakers (especially those at the highest levels) accountable for their actions, they would do well in elections.
Those hacks you wrote about aren't leftists at all, they are right wingers, giving Dems bad advice.
IOW, WWMD?
What would Mamdani do?
1. learn what that is
2. fucking DO IT