Is the identity politics issue really something Democrats do? Or is it something Republicans, pundits and supposed centrists who claims they’re “classical liberals” need to believe Dems do because it grants them some power over the party’s online brand? I often feel like it’s the latter.
Yeah, Republicans and their publicity team (Fox, OAN, NewsMax, etc) do a ton of nut-picking to promote the idea that Dems are captive to weird identity politics stuff.
But the unwillingness of elite Dems to tick off "the Groups" is real, whether it's because of belief that the Groups legitimately represent large chunks of voters* who might not turn out; or belief that the Groups might themselves not turn out their more-engaged members for stuff like door-knocking; or concern that the big funders behind the groups might decline to make hard-money donations to candidates and soft-money donations to PACs, if the leaders of the Groups go tell them that the Dems aren't delivering on their pet issues.
* I'm skeptical anyone above the level of random 22 year old staffers, fresh out of college, really believes this anymore. Claiming you believe that some group that identifies itself as speaking for "the Latinx community" seriously speaks on behalf of any large percentage of the population of Hispanic / Latin American citizens just makes you sound dumb. (Some huge percentage of the people the term is supposed to refer to say in polls that they would never identify with it and find it offensive.) And once you realize that any one of these self-appointed "community groups" actually speaks for the community it says it does, you start questioning whether _any_ of them speak for a real voting bloc.
Is not something the party does, but I am a progressive and the identity stuff on the left drives me nuts. I can't defend it intellectually in good faith, and being able to do that is something I value highly for the things I believe in. I'm a Gen-X-er from rural Wisconsin living in the thick of things in Seattle where I'm an engineer and that is important context.
Ok but again, the party doesn’t do it. So if people are mad at random internet groups with no connection to Dems yet repeatedly insist the party represents them, what does it say a lot the people making those projections?
Is anyone looking at epidemiology and the effects of a Trump administration on health? Ever since the election by blood pressure is trending higher, and I’m guessing it’s a stress reaction. Major changes are coming to programs that affect healthcare. We are already seeing rising maternal and infant mortality in states with extreme anti-abortion laws. Is anyone preparing to document this, and will they be allowed to report what they find?
What the hell are we voting from if not our identities? I'm formed by the facts of my life like everyone else. Our identities are subtle, fluid and do evolve. I was a progressive when I was 12. I 'm very much a progressive liberal democrat at 82. Why? Everything I've learned since I was a little kid...reinforces my commitment.
Just remember if your platform is appealing to people of color, women, and non-Christians, it’s “identity politics”. If it pertains to white people, men, and Christians, it’s just “politics.”
In your last post - which I thought was one of your best - you argued that Democratic candidates need to take stands on issues and push back against advocacy groups rather than just complaining about the advocacy groups.
I mostly think that is right, but I want to consider the other side. Maybe Elissa Slotkin (the example you used) does not want to make a bold statements against various advocacy groups because she klnows they have power and she thinks every vote matters and she cannot afford to antagonize the groups or the people who disagree with the groups. And she thinks even the groups would generally be better served by electing her than by seeing her GOP opponent get elected. What is so wrong aboutt hat view? (Again, I mostly think you are right but I do wonder...)
You’ve long chided congressional Democrats for not using enough of their enumerated powers to go after Trump/bring attention to his misdeeds and possible foreign corruption. Why do you think they’ve been so gun shy on this and do you think that attitude will shift as we enter a Republican trifecta era starting in January?
1) Since Trump has chosen a good number of House reps for his cabinet, and Dems have overperformed in special elections for a while now, is there a path to taking the House in 2025?
2) What is the most good-faith way centrist pundits want Dems to scale back the cultural stuff that doesn’t actively involve throwing vulnerable people under the bus?
I was reading Matt’s column this morning where he offers the suggestion that liberals should join police departments to help reform them. But isn’t that much easier said than done? It seems more likely that they would either end up forced out, or end up like Schoolcraft. How viable do you see the strategy of left-leaning folks entering right-wing professions/institutions to bring about reform?
One of the key ideas in Beutler Thought is that research can give you a snapshot of public opinion, but that effective messaging and earned media can *move* public opinion, and Democratic politicians greatly under-rate their ability to do so.
At the same time, the dread Groups and an unwillingness to pick fights inside the coalition lead them to adopt issue positions way outside of what the public would support.
How should they (we?) think about what kinds of beliefs or values should be taken as given, and which ones to push on? How are the considerations different for elected politicians vs issue activists, and what’s a good generic script for the pols when they don’t want to endorse an activist position they believe in but don’t think swing voters are ready for?
I want to believe that Sarah Kendzior is a crackpot because she says uncomfortable things about America traveling down the path of autocracy, but she keeps being right about things. I don’t see her quoted or talked about by you or other mainstream left publications. It feels like she has committed the dual sins of being right too soon and being a woman who isn’t deferential (the few times she has been on national media she has been blunt in her assessments). Is this perception accurate? Is she not well known? Is she not credible? Or is she just not comfortable?
I'm curious about an issue closer to home, and have the newsletter engage in some self-reflection...isn't "B'kawk!" an onomatopoeia more indicative of a chicken's call, then the traditional Turkey noise of "Gobble Gobble"? Or is this revealing that Brian is having Chicken for the Thanksgiving meal?
Can anything be done about the "the right-wing news ecosystem spends all its time slamming Democrats, while the left-wing news ecosystem spends all its time slamming Democrats" phenomena? I still get frustrated by this.
Do you mean liberal media or left media? Because the criticism of the Dems from the Times or Post is VERY different than criticism of the Dems from places like Majority Report.
Is the identity politics issue really something Democrats do? Or is it something Republicans, pundits and supposed centrists who claims they’re “classical liberals” need to believe Dems do because it grants them some power over the party’s online brand? I often feel like it’s the latter.
Yeah, Republicans and their publicity team (Fox, OAN, NewsMax, etc) do a ton of nut-picking to promote the idea that Dems are captive to weird identity politics stuff.
But the unwillingness of elite Dems to tick off "the Groups" is real, whether it's because of belief that the Groups legitimately represent large chunks of voters* who might not turn out; or belief that the Groups might themselves not turn out their more-engaged members for stuff like door-knocking; or concern that the big funders behind the groups might decline to make hard-money donations to candidates and soft-money donations to PACs, if the leaders of the Groups go tell them that the Dems aren't delivering on their pet issues.
* I'm skeptical anyone above the level of random 22 year old staffers, fresh out of college, really believes this anymore. Claiming you believe that some group that identifies itself as speaking for "the Latinx community" seriously speaks on behalf of any large percentage of the population of Hispanic / Latin American citizens just makes you sound dumb. (Some huge percentage of the people the term is supposed to refer to say in polls that they would never identify with it and find it offensive.) And once you realize that any one of these self-appointed "community groups" actually speaks for the community it says it does, you start questioning whether _any_ of them speak for a real voting bloc.
Is not something the party does, but I am a progressive and the identity stuff on the left drives me nuts. I can't defend it intellectually in good faith, and being able to do that is something I value highly for the things I believe in. I'm a Gen-X-er from rural Wisconsin living in the thick of things in Seattle where I'm an engineer and that is important context.
Ok but again, the party doesn’t do it. So if people are mad at random internet groups with no connection to Dems yet repeatedly insist the party represents them, what does it say a lot the people making those projections?
I'm curious what you make of the Romania election, where an unknown far-right candidate got most votes by only campaigning though TikTok?
Context: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/25/calin-georgescu-romania-election-hard-right-candidate
Did the results of the election change your mind about anything in a significant way?
Discuss the impact DOGE is likely to have (short/long term).
Is anyone looking at epidemiology and the effects of a Trump administration on health? Ever since the election by blood pressure is trending higher, and I’m guessing it’s a stress reaction. Major changes are coming to programs that affect healthcare. We are already seeing rising maternal and infant mortality in states with extreme anti-abortion laws. Is anyone preparing to document this, and will they be allowed to report what they find?
What the hell are we voting from if not our identities? I'm formed by the facts of my life like everyone else. Our identities are subtle, fluid and do evolve. I was a progressive when I was 12. I 'm very much a progressive liberal democrat at 82. Why? Everything I've learned since I was a little kid...reinforces my commitment.
Just remember if your platform is appealing to people of color, women, and non-Christians, it’s “identity politics”. If it pertains to white people, men, and Christians, it’s just “politics.”
We're voting for our interests.
In your last post - which I thought was one of your best - you argued that Democratic candidates need to take stands on issues and push back against advocacy groups rather than just complaining about the advocacy groups.
I mostly think that is right, but I want to consider the other side. Maybe Elissa Slotkin (the example you used) does not want to make a bold statements against various advocacy groups because she klnows they have power and she thinks every vote matters and she cannot afford to antagonize the groups or the people who disagree with the groups. And she thinks even the groups would generally be better served by electing her than by seeing her GOP opponent get elected. What is so wrong aboutt hat view? (Again, I mostly think you are right but I do wonder...)
You’ve long chided congressional Democrats for not using enough of their enumerated powers to go after Trump/bring attention to his misdeeds and possible foreign corruption. Why do you think they’ve been so gun shy on this and do you think that attitude will shift as we enter a Republican trifecta era starting in January?
1) Since Trump has chosen a good number of House reps for his cabinet, and Dems have overperformed in special elections for a while now, is there a path to taking the House in 2025?
2) What is the most good-faith way centrist pundits want Dems to scale back the cultural stuff that doesn’t actively involve throwing vulnerable people under the bus?
I was reading Matt’s column this morning where he offers the suggestion that liberals should join police departments to help reform them. But isn’t that much easier said than done? It seems more likely that they would either end up forced out, or end up like Schoolcraft. How viable do you see the strategy of left-leaning folks entering right-wing professions/institutions to bring about reform?
One of the key ideas in Beutler Thought is that research can give you a snapshot of public opinion, but that effective messaging and earned media can *move* public opinion, and Democratic politicians greatly under-rate their ability to do so.
At the same time, the dread Groups and an unwillingness to pick fights inside the coalition lead them to adopt issue positions way outside of what the public would support.
How should they (we?) think about what kinds of beliefs or values should be taken as given, and which ones to push on? How are the considerations different for elected politicians vs issue activists, and what’s a good generic script for the pols when they don’t want to endorse an activist position they believe in but don’t think swing voters are ready for?
Dems have given up on 4 appellate judges. Who is to blame here?
How’s Joe Biden’s legacy looking now? How could that evolve in say, 25 years?
I want to believe that Sarah Kendzior is a crackpot because she says uncomfortable things about America traveling down the path of autocracy, but she keeps being right about things. I don’t see her quoted or talked about by you or other mainstream left publications. It feels like she has committed the dual sins of being right too soon and being a woman who isn’t deferential (the few times she has been on national media she has been blunt in her assessments). Is this perception accurate? Is she not well known? Is she not credible? Or is she just not comfortable?
I'm curious about an issue closer to home, and have the newsletter engage in some self-reflection...isn't "B'kawk!" an onomatopoeia more indicative of a chicken's call, then the traditional Turkey noise of "Gobble Gobble"? Or is this revealing that Brian is having Chicken for the Thanksgiving meal?
Can anything be done about the "the right-wing news ecosystem spends all its time slamming Democrats, while the left-wing news ecosystem spends all its time slamming Democrats" phenomena? I still get frustrated by this.
Do you mean liberal media or left media? Because the criticism of the Dems from the Times or Post is VERY different than criticism of the Dems from places like Majority Report.