Ben Wikler is a national hero whose work demands much more attention. Thanks for giving him some of what he deserves.
Another group that has been very important in reversing the slide of many states into MAGA hell is the States Project (and the groups working closely with it) who have concentrated on winning back state houses for the Democrats and winning crucial state Supreme Court races. They deserve much credit for the kinds of results we saw last Tuesday as well as last year.
Huge fan of Ben's. I knew him a bit socially when we were both whippersnappers in the mid-aughts, and then one day he was like "off to Wisconsin to try to run the broken Dem party there" and I thought "well, that sounds a bit presumptuous!" As I told him when we recorded that episode of Positively Dreadful, I'm sorry for ever doubting!
Not able to watch the video just yet, but I definitely agree with the top line. It's easy to wind ourselves up in ever-increasingly-complex dialectical knots on the subject, but the top line is effective in its succinctness: It conveys a CRITICAL warning against a certain kind of natural human tendency towards laziness in our politics. A laziness that impels us to avoid questioning our assumptions, that compels us to take comfort in our favorite oversimplified white-and-black, good-vs-evil narratives -- because it's less work to just assume that we, as the plucky Rebels, will ALWAYS bring down the Evil Empire.
Anyone who truly wants to see their deepest, sincerest-held beliefs upheld in our politics, needs to recognize the real work it will take to get us there. If this truly is an authoritarian challenge, the Most Important Election In Our Lifetimes, then it's _just_not_the_time_to_indulge_in_fantasies_.
An excellent, crucial interview. If the Democratic party had a Ben Winkler in each state, we could all take a collective breath...but we're miles from that utopia.
A year is not much time for Democrats to unite behind a clear, consistent, powerful message of freedom on one side and extremists gunning for your liberties on the other side. It may be enough time, but the messaging better start soon.
The comment about people not reacting until after Republicans pass some awful policy reminds me of what G.K. Chesterton once said:
It is often essential to resist a tyranny before it exists. It is no answer to say, with a distant optimism, that the scheme is only in the air. A blow from a hatchet can only be parried while it is in the air.
Ben Wikler really has done well with these Wisconsin elections, buuuut failing to unseat Ron Johnson is really going to have an impact, particularly now that Manchin is retiring.
I don’t know what exactly happened with that race, but it seems the GOP scared the piss out of the Dem money people so they left Mandela Barnes high and dry and went all-in on Fetterman’s seat.
Hi! Would you ever consider releasing the video content as a podcast? I don’t usually have time to sit and watch a video, but I was a huge fan of positively dreadful, and I’d love to listen to these conversations in my podcast feed.
Edited to add: I obviously can just listen to the video, but it’s not as easy to start and stop, put in a queue for driving, etc! Anyway, something to consider. Thanks for all your work; I’m enjoying your content!
Ben Wikler is a national hero whose work demands much more attention. Thanks for giving him some of what he deserves.
Another group that has been very important in reversing the slide of many states into MAGA hell is the States Project (and the groups working closely with it) who have concentrated on winning back state houses for the Democrats and winning crucial state Supreme Court races. They deserve much credit for the kinds of results we saw last Tuesday as well as last year.
Huge fan of Ben's. I knew him a bit socially when we were both whippersnappers in the mid-aughts, and then one day he was like "off to Wisconsin to try to run the broken Dem party there" and I thought "well, that sounds a bit presumptuous!" As I told him when we recorded that episode of Positively Dreadful, I'm sorry for ever doubting!
Not able to watch the video just yet, but I definitely agree with the top line. It's easy to wind ourselves up in ever-increasingly-complex dialectical knots on the subject, but the top line is effective in its succinctness: It conveys a CRITICAL warning against a certain kind of natural human tendency towards laziness in our politics. A laziness that impels us to avoid questioning our assumptions, that compels us to take comfort in our favorite oversimplified white-and-black, good-vs-evil narratives -- because it's less work to just assume that we, as the plucky Rebels, will ALWAYS bring down the Evil Empire.
Anyone who truly wants to see their deepest, sincerest-held beliefs upheld in our politics, needs to recognize the real work it will take to get us there. If this truly is an authoritarian challenge, the Most Important Election In Our Lifetimes, then it's _just_not_the_time_to_indulge_in_fantasies_.
An excellent, crucial interview. If the Democratic party had a Ben Winkler in each state, we could all take a collective breath...but we're miles from that utopia.
A year is not much time for Democrats to unite behind a clear, consistent, powerful message of freedom on one side and extremists gunning for your liberties on the other side. It may be enough time, but the messaging better start soon.
Ben Winkler? Would that be Henry’s son - the Fonz Junior?
The comment about people not reacting until after Republicans pass some awful policy reminds me of what G.K. Chesterton once said:
It is often essential to resist a tyranny before it exists. It is no answer to say, with a distant optimism, that the scheme is only in the air. A blow from a hatchet can only be parried while it is in the air.
— G.K. Chesterton, in _Eugenics and other evils_
Ben Wikler really has done well with these Wisconsin elections, buuuut failing to unseat Ron Johnson is really going to have an impact, particularly now that Manchin is retiring.
I don’t know what exactly happened with that race, but it seems the GOP scared the piss out of the Dem money people so they left Mandela Barnes high and dry and went all-in on Fetterman’s seat.
Hi! Would you ever consider releasing the video content as a podcast? I don’t usually have time to sit and watch a video, but I was a huge fan of positively dreadful, and I’d love to listen to these conversations in my podcast feed.
Edited to add: I obviously can just listen to the video, but it’s not as easy to start and stop, put in a queue for driving, etc! Anyway, something to consider. Thanks for all your work; I’m enjoying your content!
Hi Lisa, you’re in luck, this actually technically is a podcast. The feed is here, and available in general by clicking “open in player.”
https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1172514/private/289faa42-b19b-46ac-8494-a44c3604288a.rss