There’s a fundamental question that nags at me. Something has changed: In 2016 Trump won a lot of issues by playing on fear, or twisting an issue to favor him, or playing the hero (“only I can fix it”). He was an evil populist.
But since then, MAGA politicians seem to always pick positions that are increasingly unpopular with the country, be it women’s rights, gun safety, cultural freedom, LGBTQ issues, voting rights, or democracy itself. On some of these issues their positions are wildly unpopular.
It’s as though all of their political advisors decided together to adopt positions defying modernity like some 9th century priest from the Dark Ages.
How do seemingly adept and intelligent politicians—who were sufficiently self aware to order an autopsy after the Romney loss of a decade ago—become zombies spouting issues that seem rooted in an antebellum past? And that, with a sane electorate, would get them a Goldwater-style beatdown.
I personally think a loss like the one LBJ gave Goldwater, or Reagan gave Carter is one of the possible outcomes of this election. Trump is a loudmouth loser with mostly bad instincts. Let’s aim for that kind of a win and put MAGA in the same ash heap where the Klan, George Wallace, David Duke, Joe McCarthy, and Nixon all reside.
The PPP (pro putin party) with its worms for brains coalition may suffer the full impact of the Leopards Eating People's Faces before it is all over. Such will be their reward for worshiping the cowardly lying loser. Maybe Republicans should wonder why all the attractive, likable people hate them?
I have a feeling the focus on Taylor and Travis includes their ties to places like Tennessee and Kansas City - and whiteness. So much of this MAGA mania is about whiteness - even as folks like Tim Scott and Marco Rubio buy in - what they are buying into is that notion that white privilege is transferrable. This was signified early on by Sara Palin and her now ex-husband, who had ties to Christian Identity/White Nationalist groups. It predates them, but that viewpoint really got launched onto the national stage then.
Dan--thank you for getting to the serious side of this thing--even as I pray that MAGA, Trump, Fox News, and the House Nut Jobs of the Anti-democracy Party go full Armageddon on Taylor Swift. This will not go well for them. Like Taylor says: "You need to calm down; You're being too loud...You need to just stop. Like, can you just not step on my gown?" There is nothing funny about what they hate, and how they attack others--especially those who are least able to defend themselves. Punching down is always ugly. All the same, Taylor Swift, I think, can handle this.
This goes along with something I've been thinking for a while. Democrats need something that helps give swing voters in culturally red state permission to swing blue.
The GOP has spent 40 years painting the Democratic Party as weak, elitist, globalist, unpatriotic, etc. I live in Texas and have plenty of friends and neighbors on the other side of the aisle. A decent percentage of them don't like Trump (or Abbot / Patrick / Paxton for that matter) but absolutely cannot bring themselves to check the box if there's a "D" next to the name. As they see it, that would be a bridge too far - cultural treason.
Has the party ever run any kind of advertising campaign that aims to break down stereotypes and make it palatable for reasonable center-right voters to vote Democrat?
This Taylor Swift meltdown has been fun to watch. I think these right wing pundits are so jealous...that they can't attract superstars like her with their policies. I saw Laura Ingraham saying that Taylor should be a conservative....Why? What does the party offer a young woman? Retrograde policies on women's rights, voting rights, LGBTQ rights...climate denial, etc... They are stuck with Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.
As a 49ers fan, I can't help but enjoy these fools structurally placing themselves in support of my beloved Sin City.
But seriously, we should be aware that a belief that Derek Chauvin was innocent of George Floyd's murder is being successfully spread by the same right wing info system entrepreneurs. You can't believe your lying eyes ... See Radley Balko: https://open.substack.com/pub/radleybalko/p/the-retconning-of-george-floyd
Excellent commentary. Click bait does not promote political discussion of what matters. MAGA swift turn to Taylor’s voter registration power is telling - one can smell the fear. Best response is comedic, through the comedic satire of Stephen Colbert. Thanks for sticking to what matters.
Love you Dan. Thanks for the laughs this morning. Shared your paragraph about the Right being weirdos with many of my friends. Posting it on FB as well. Thanks for lifting us out of the basement. 🤪
Isn't it history repeating itself again and again that the majority doesn't get heard - it's the people with the loudest microphones that tie into a system paramount to the Grateful Dead's legendary Wall of Sound: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Sound_(Grateful_Dead)
There’s a fundamental question that nags at me. Something has changed: In 2016 Trump won a lot of issues by playing on fear, or twisting an issue to favor him, or playing the hero (“only I can fix it”). He was an evil populist.
But since then, MAGA politicians seem to always pick positions that are increasingly unpopular with the country, be it women’s rights, gun safety, cultural freedom, LGBTQ issues, voting rights, or democracy itself. On some of these issues their positions are wildly unpopular.
It’s as though all of their political advisors decided together to adopt positions defying modernity like some 9th century priest from the Dark Ages.
How do seemingly adept and intelligent politicians—who were sufficiently self aware to order an autopsy after the Romney loss of a decade ago—become zombies spouting issues that seem rooted in an antebellum past? And that, with a sane electorate, would get them a Goldwater-style beatdown.
I personally think a loss like the one LBJ gave Goldwater, or Reagan gave Carter is one of the possible outcomes of this election. Trump is a loudmouth loser with mostly bad instincts. Let’s aim for that kind of a win and put MAGA in the same ash heap where the Klan, George Wallace, David Duke, Joe McCarthy, and Nixon all reside.
The PPP (pro putin party) with its worms for brains coalition may suffer the full impact of the Leopards Eating People's Faces before it is all over. Such will be their reward for worshiping the cowardly lying loser. Maybe Republicans should wonder why all the attractive, likable people hate them?
I have a feeling the focus on Taylor and Travis includes their ties to places like Tennessee and Kansas City - and whiteness. So much of this MAGA mania is about whiteness - even as folks like Tim Scott and Marco Rubio buy in - what they are buying into is that notion that white privilege is transferrable. This was signified early on by Sara Palin and her now ex-husband, who had ties to Christian Identity/White Nationalist groups. It predates them, but that viewpoint really got launched onto the national stage then.
Dan--thank you for getting to the serious side of this thing--even as I pray that MAGA, Trump, Fox News, and the House Nut Jobs of the Anti-democracy Party go full Armageddon on Taylor Swift. This will not go well for them. Like Taylor says: "You need to calm down; You're being too loud...You need to just stop. Like, can you just not step on my gown?" There is nothing funny about what they hate, and how they attack others--especially those who are least able to defend themselves. Punching down is always ugly. All the same, Taylor Swift, I think, can handle this.
This goes along with something I've been thinking for a while. Democrats need something that helps give swing voters in culturally red state permission to swing blue.
The GOP has spent 40 years painting the Democratic Party as weak, elitist, globalist, unpatriotic, etc. I live in Texas and have plenty of friends and neighbors on the other side of the aisle. A decent percentage of them don't like Trump (or Abbot / Patrick / Paxton for that matter) but absolutely cannot bring themselves to check the box if there's a "D" next to the name. As they see it, that would be a bridge too far - cultural treason.
Has the party ever run any kind of advertising campaign that aims to break down stereotypes and make it palatable for reasonable center-right voters to vote Democrat?
This Taylor Swift meltdown has been fun to watch. I think these right wing pundits are so jealous...that they can't attract superstars like her with their policies. I saw Laura Ingraham saying that Taylor should be a conservative....Why? What does the party offer a young woman? Retrograde policies on women's rights, voting rights, LGBTQ rights...climate denial, etc... They are stuck with Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.
The absolute delight that comes from watching a GOP meltdown.
Enjoy the Schadenfreude, people.
As a 49ers fan, I can't help but enjoy these fools structurally placing themselves in support of my beloved Sin City.
But seriously, we should be aware that a belief that Derek Chauvin was innocent of George Floyd's murder is being successfully spread by the same right wing info system entrepreneurs. You can't believe your lying eyes ... See Radley Balko: https://open.substack.com/pub/radleybalko/p/the-retconning-of-george-floyd
Excellent commentary. Click bait does not promote political discussion of what matters. MAGA swift turn to Taylor’s voter registration power is telling - one can smell the fear. Best response is comedic, through the comedic satire of Stephen Colbert. Thanks for sticking to what matters.
Donald the Hater is also pretty darn weird, with his makeup and freaky hair.
Love you Dan. Thanks for the laughs this morning. Shared your paragraph about the Right being weirdos with many of my friends. Posting it on FB as well. Thanks for lifting us out of the basement. 🤪
Isn't it history repeating itself again and again that the majority doesn't get heard - it's the people with the loudest microphones that tie into a system paramount to the Grateful Dead's legendary Wall of Sound: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Sound_(Grateful_Dead)
Why can’t the Democrats communicate this better?
We need examples of responses…
Biden’s old:
“Which has gotten the US stronger allies from his relationships across borders.”
Inflation still high:
“Employment is at the highest since the 40s because Biden’s team coordinated vaccine rollout to help stall the pandemic.”
Border control:
“Our country has jobs and peace, a reason for us to feel proud of the United States.”