Both HW and Obama left office with decent (and by recent standards quite good) approval ratings and Clinton's were stellar. Different situations call for different approaches.
I think multiple things can be true at once. I thought Harris would eke it out but I also think it's worth noting that every time I said anything about inflation on OT I was greeted with snark about how odd it was that the impact was so much heavier on white men than anyone else.
Anyway it's entirely possible that the fundamentals made this unwinnable. I also think you're probably right that Trump had no coattails, and his candidacy is an unforced error by the GOP, that despite everything else, kept Harris more in it than she would have been against multiple other plausible GOP candidates.
All of these things can be true, and it can still also be true that there have been a lot of unforced culture war errors since the end of Obama's last term, and it would be a good idea to try to stop making them, so maybe next time we can not just win but also have some coat tails too. But you know, ymmv I guess.
I don't listen to any podcasts but I do listen to a good bit of sports radio. They have politicians on periodically for discussion of non-partisan issues (stadium stuff for example, maybe some light commentary on whatever situation at the officials alma mater). Usually it is no longer than 10-15 minutes and is pretty superficial.
Living where I do most of the politicians who do this are Democrats, so I know the suggestion that Democrats are incapable of some non expressly partisan outreach isn't true. But if it's becoming true then man do we have issues.
I think that's backwards. If we're going to concede sports and sports media as the cultural territory of the right then the Democratic party should simply disband. It will never win a national election again. We need a party up to the challenge of talking to regular people including *gasp* men.
I think that's right. On the one hand the big blue metros have a real cost of living problem they need to deal with. It's driving people away and I think it does damage to the brand.
On the other I'm not sure a worker in Boston's biotechnology industry does a total 180 on political views and values by virtue of moving to Raleigh or Atlanta. And it isn't like the cities in red states aren't also blue, many of them are just dwarved (for now) by the larger red rural and exurban areas that surround them.
The reason it matters is because it raises questions about principles, and what side a leader is likely to take on issues that may well be closer to home.
I will say I think it's kind of rich to criticize the piece from that perspective. As if 4 years ago we didn't have a massive amount of erm..... discord and debate over the police killing ~25-30 unarmed black men a year, a statistic that barely registers or impacts the lives of all that many people in a cointry of 330 million.*
*I'm not even saying it was wrong to raise the issue! Quite the opposite in facy. More that it's amazing how the perspectives evolve in such convenient ways.
It does make me happy to see that there is still a constituency for what I think of as 'good government liberalism.' Despite the detractors we are still in the fight.
The challenge I see is that there's a kind of pincer movement against it. To take the school example, at a certain point it doesn't matter much if the public school system crumbles because of some grift-y conservative driven 'school choice' movement, or due to a left, "social justice' driven assault on quality and standards. The end result will still be a poorer society.
The mistake (among many) is the unfounded belief that people legally in the country give two sh*ts about people that aren't. They don't, not in the aggregate anyway. They're normal Americans who get frustrated by normal things, like inflation and education, and don't appreciate being treated like pawns of made up pan ethnic groups few outside of a handful of activists identify with. This isn't that hard.
Do you think Asian Americans should be discriminated against in the college application process? Or that we should get rid of advanced math if the class has too many of them?
What about if there are too many Jews?
Or any other group we decide isn't marginalized enough?
We had a weekend planned. Whole thing just got blown up by flu (the traditional kind not the stomach kind) hitting the older son. He is bummed about a slew of stuff not happening but adapted well enough to a day of sleep and unrestricted tablet time.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't hit me, but the Sudafed is ready in case I need it to fight through the shopping home stretch.
Yes everyone got a flu shot, no, it doesn't matter.
My wife suggested we stay up and watch Krampus tonight in case we're dropping early the next few days. So a silver lining.
I think they're US systems. Dover air force base is in an area that seems like it could be the source. The former governor is about a 20 minute drive from Andrew's air force base.
Why this is being done in full sight of huge numbers of people is anyone's guess. Maybe they want to see how the public reacts to whatever it is they are.
It's not going to be great for the us generally, given the benefits of other countries sending their best and brightest to America, but why would Asian-Americans (and I emphasize Americans) prioritize the plight of foreigners in the country on visas?
And do you think the bordering on pathological desire progressives have to discriminate against Asian Americans in higher education may in fact present a problem, at least in terms of getting them to vote in a way you (and I for that matter!) are more likely to agree with?
The whole thing starts with a loud renunciation and express denunciation of race based affirmative action and DEI as the racist and anti American garbage it self evidently is.
Sadly he's already succeeded in mainstreaming ideas that were once relegated to a small number of marginal, crunchy weirdos, plus one former playmate of the year. It ain't good.
Yea my above comment notwithstanding you get the sense that a whisper in the ear at the right (or wrong) moment can have him tearing up the previous arrangement or getting fixated on something else crazy. Which is also similar to the worst C suite execs I've interacted with.
I think the most important thing for the average conservative voter is that their leaders are seen as being contemptuous towards the right people. Few of them read the fine print or follow up on actual outcomes. Which to be clear isn't intended to be a charitable reading, but rather a cynical one. At the end of the day most Americans of all stripes DGAF about anything beyond the superficial.
I do think reporting on some of these things would be better if more journalists had time in the private sector, seeing what things are actually like. Not because the private sector is somehow inherently better but because you deal with different kinds of people and personalities than in the upper tiers of government, prestige NGOs, and academic world. It doesn't make people like Trump any less dangerous but it may add some perspective when you see there are jackasses like this all over the place.
Yea I try not to be overly optimistic about this. Some stupid things are going to happen, it's just a question of how stupid and when.
At the same time you get the sense that some deferential ring kissing can defang Trump, at least a little. That was how I interpreted the recent interactions with Macron. While I hesitate to compare personal experience to high stakes international negotiations I have dealt with people like Trump in my 15 odd years of handling commercial contracting. You go into a room or onto a call and some blow hard chews you out for 15 minutes. You make a tactical decision to either respond in kind or to listen patiently. Most of the time the end product is well within routine parameters, in spite of all the theatrics. I have occasionally put on the scary voice and played the role myself.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “From Semafor: Kamala Harris’ digital chief on Democrats ‘losing hold of culture’”
White privilege in pro basketball? Even womens' pro basketball? LMAO.
"
Both HW and Obama left office with decent (and by recent standards quite good) approval ratings and Clinton's were stellar. Different situations call for different approaches.
"
Psst it was intended to be ironic. :)
"
You could lose the election.
"
I think multiple things can be true at once. I thought Harris would eke it out but I also think it's worth noting that every time I said anything about inflation on OT I was greeted with snark about how odd it was that the impact was so much heavier on white men than anyone else.
Anyway it's entirely possible that the fundamentals made this unwinnable. I also think you're probably right that Trump had no coattails, and his candidacy is an unforced error by the GOP, that despite everything else, kept Harris more in it than she would have been against multiple other plausible GOP candidates.
All of these things can be true, and it can still also be true that there have been a lot of unforced culture war errors since the end of Obama's last term, and it would be a good idea to try to stop making them, so maybe next time we can not just win but also have some coat tails too. But you know, ymmv I guess.
On “Panic! The Kind That Came From New Jersey”
I want to but I can't.
On “From Semafor: Kamala Harris’ digital chief on Democrats ‘losing hold of culture’”
Why are you so defensive about all of this?
I don't listen to any podcasts but I do listen to a good bit of sports radio. They have politicians on periodically for discussion of non-partisan issues (stadium stuff for example, maybe some light commentary on whatever situation at the officials alma mater). Usually it is no longer than 10-15 minutes and is pretty superficial.
Living where I do most of the politicians who do this are Democrats, so I know the suggestion that Democrats are incapable of some non expressly partisan outreach isn't true. But if it's becoming true then man do we have issues.
"
They said they didn't want to talk to her about politics. Not that she couldn't come on and talk about the 49ers or the Warriors.
"
What?
"
I think that's backwards. If we're going to concede sports and sports media as the cultural territory of the right then the Democratic party should simply disband. It will never win a national election again. We need a party up to the challenge of talking to regular people including *gasp* men.
On “Panic! The Kind That Came From New Jersey”
The illegal aliens or the ones from space?
On “Asian Voters Abandoned Democrats in Droves and Might Not be Coming Back”
I think that's right. On the one hand the big blue metros have a real cost of living problem they need to deal with. It's driving people away and I think it does damage to the brand.
On the other I'm not sure a worker in Boston's biotechnology industry does a total 180 on political views and values by virtue of moving to Raleigh or Atlanta. And it isn't like the cities in red states aren't also blue, many of them are just dwarved (for now) by the larger red rural and exurban areas that surround them.
"
The reason it matters is because it raises questions about principles, and what side a leader is likely to take on issues that may well be closer to home.
I will say I think it's kind of rich to criticize the piece from that perspective. As if 4 years ago we didn't have a massive amount of erm..... discord and debate over the police killing ~25-30 unarmed black men a year, a statistic that barely registers or impacts the lives of all that many people in a cointry of 330 million.*
*I'm not even saying it was wrong to raise the issue! Quite the opposite in facy. More that it's amazing how the perspectives evolve in such convenient ways.
"
It does make me happy to see that there is still a constituency for what I think of as 'good government liberalism.' Despite the detractors we are still in the fight.
The challenge I see is that there's a kind of pincer movement against it. To take the school example, at a certain point it doesn't matter much if the public school system crumbles because of some grift-y conservative driven 'school choice' movement, or due to a left, "social justice' driven assault on quality and standards. The end result will still be a poorer society.
"
The mistake (among many) is the unfounded belief that people legally in the country give two sh*ts about people that aren't. They don't, not in the aggregate anyway. They're normal Americans who get frustrated by normal things, like inflation and education, and don't appreciate being treated like pawns of made up pan ethnic groups few outside of a handful of activists identify with. This isn't that hard.
"
Do you think Asian Americans should be discriminated against in the college application process? Or that we should get rid of advanced math if the class has too many of them?
What about if there are too many Jews?
Or any other group we decide isn't marginalized enough?
On “Weekend Plans Post: Back Into the Swing of Things”
We had a weekend planned. Whole thing just got blown up by flu (the traditional kind not the stomach kind) hitting the older son. He is bummed about a slew of stuff not happening but adapted well enough to a day of sleep and unrestricted tablet time.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't hit me, but the Sudafed is ready in case I need it to fight through the shopping home stretch.
Yes everyone got a flu shot, no, it doesn't matter.
My wife suggested we stay up and watch Krampus tonight in case we're dropping early the next few days. So a silver lining.
On “Droning On In New Jersey”
I think they're US systems. Dover air force base is in an area that seems like it could be the source. The former governor is about a 20 minute drive from Andrew's air force base.
Why this is being done in full sight of huge numbers of people is anyone's guess. Maybe they want to see how the public reacts to whatever it is they are.
On “Asian Voters Abandoned Democrats in Droves and Might Not be Coming Back”
AKA something that does not now, has not ever, and despite the best efforts of a certain type of activist, will never exist.
On “Open Mic for the week of 12/9/2024”
Please don't tell me you still believe she was raped.
On “Asian Voters Abandoned Democrats in Droves and Might Not be Coming Back”
It's not going to be great for the us generally, given the benefits of other countries sending their best and brightest to America, but why would Asian-Americans (and I emphasize Americans) prioritize the plight of foreigners in the country on visas?
And do you think the bordering on pathological desire progressives have to discriminate against Asian Americans in higher education may in fact present a problem, at least in terms of getting them to vote in a way you (and I for that matter!) are more likely to agree with?
The whole thing starts with a loud renunciation and express denunciation of race based affirmative action and DEI as the racist and anti American garbage it self evidently is.
On “Thursday Throughput: RFK Jr Edition”
Sadly he's already succeeded in mainstreaming ideas that were once relegated to a small number of marginal, crunchy weirdos, plus one former playmate of the year. It ain't good.
On “Has Trump Already Lost the Trade War?”
Yea my above comment notwithstanding you get the sense that a whisper in the ear at the right (or wrong) moment can have him tearing up the previous arrangement or getting fixated on something else crazy. Which is also similar to the worst C suite execs I've interacted with.
"
I think the most important thing for the average conservative voter is that their leaders are seen as being contemptuous towards the right people. Few of them read the fine print or follow up on actual outcomes. Which to be clear isn't intended to be a charitable reading, but rather a cynical one. At the end of the day most Americans of all stripes DGAF about anything beyond the superficial.
I do think reporting on some of these things would be better if more journalists had time in the private sector, seeing what things are actually like. Not because the private sector is somehow inherently better but because you deal with different kinds of people and personalities than in the upper tiers of government, prestige NGOs, and academic world. It doesn't make people like Trump any less dangerous but it may add some perspective when you see there are jackasses like this all over the place.
"
Yea I try not to be overly optimistic about this. Some stupid things are going to happen, it's just a question of how stupid and when.
At the same time you get the sense that some deferential ring kissing can defang Trump, at least a little. That was how I interpreted the recent interactions with Macron. While I hesitate to compare personal experience to high stakes international negotiations I have dealt with people like Trump in my 15 odd years of handling commercial contracting. You go into a room or onto a call and some blow hard chews you out for 15 minutes. You make a tactical decision to either respond in kind or to listen patiently. Most of the time the end product is well within routine parameters, in spite of all the theatrics. I have occasionally put on the scary voice and played the role myself.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.