dagblog - Comments for "Everything You Thought About Politics Is Wrong"

He has a point - where's the

PeraclesPlease — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 04:18:33 +0000

In reply to Primaries, who needs them?

He has a point - where's the internet brought us? We don't even know who's influencing what on Facebook - most young programmers are progressive, but they're coding for the Dark State, yet there's no visibility - all our data R belong 2 them.

Primaries, who needs them?

artappraiser — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:41:41 +0000

In reply to Seeing this, I am reminded

Primaries, who needs them? Eventually fuggedabout political parties, too, they're just temporary name tag?

Bloomberg is enlisting influencers to make the case for the billionaire's candidacy https://t.co/63BCmSSjyi
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) February 8, 2020

Fun thread about Federalist

PeraclesPlease — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 15:42:09 +0000

In reply to Yes, but...the influencers

Fun thread about Federalist co-founder Sean Davis:

A while back, I happened upon an old Politico article about Trump retweeting a white supremacist. It included an embedded tweet from Davis criticizing Trump. Given that Davis is now one of Trump's fiercest defenders. 1/
— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) February 6, 2020

Yes, but...the influencers

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 14:55:10 +0000

In reply to Seeing this, I am reminded

Yes, but...the influencers aren't some mighty gods on Mount Olympus commanding swarms of disciples. They're part of the swarm. Whatever it is that drives average voters to embrace a candidate also drives influencers to endorse them. In other words, the influencers don't create political trends, they just amplify the effects.

I think you're right about

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 14:46:06 +0000

In reply to Largely agree with her. I'd

I think you're right about Warren. It wasn't that she emulated Bernie. She's genuinely left-wing. But I think it would have been better for her to stake out a distinct space. I suppose that there's still time, but not much.

Largely agree with her. I'd

PeraclesPlease — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 10:22:09 +0000

In reply to Everything You Thought About Politics Is Wrong

Largely agree with her. I'd add that when Bradley launched in 1999, the left largely dropped their agenda on him - it wasn't that he'd persuaded anyone - he was suitable to carry the mantle of their wishes. Bernie's more invested in the actual policies, but I don't think anyone's being persuaded so much by policies - they identify with their clique and the policies obviously were going to sound good or they mildly adapt.

The Republicans have been playing the "just show up" game with abandon - marginalizing the opposition and making their clques the most cultural. But sure, Obama was a cultural phenom, not a policies guy. 3 very different people would interpret his ideas by their own wishes - very much the blind man and the elephant. Look at how easy "conservatives" will plug in a non-conservative policy as justification.

The biggest outcome of the impeachment ordeal would be a set of GOP/Independents reviving their allegiance values - perhaps to stay home, perhaps to revive the moderate wing. But the true believers are voting for smashball, not a specific policy. Some people just want to see the world burn. Similarly, Liz Warren needs to stop trying to out-Bernie Bernie, and instead build her aura - tougher for a woman, but she's much closer than most, and if she gets it right for women especially, they *will* show up.

p.s. Yes, this phenomenon

artappraiser — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 08:08:04 +0000

In reply to Seeing this, I am reminded

p.s. Yes, this phenomenon always been with us in some form, but we never had anything like the *influencer* phenomenon of current times.There's constant formation of new tribes based not on familial ties or ethnicity but on taste and "likes". (And Oprah is an influencer progenitor, people fucking read what Oprah recommends. How Judge Judy decides informs moral lessons that fans effect. And yes, of course, after watching Trump say "you're fired" so many times, fans figure he's the one that finally will be able to rid them of the swamp, and they get off the couch to vote.)

Seeing this, I am reminded

artappraiser — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 07:09:36 +0000

In reply to AA, I agree that her forecast

Seeing this, I am reminded that one thing that can get infrequent voters to turn out is what he's labeling here as the Oprah or Judge Judy factor:

You can send AOC and Cornel West to as many college campuses as you like, but you need endorsers and surrogates to create a climate that is welcoming to people outside of the younger subcultures. People may laugh at Judge Judy endorsing Bloomberg but Oprah did it for Obama.
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) February 7, 2020

Fans of a celeb trust that they know the celeb's heart and that it's simpatico. But they don't know or trust politicians. If the celeb they trust is a passionate endorser, they make it a point to turn out.

AA, I agree that her forecast

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 04:41:03 +0000

In reply to I was hoping to get something

AA, I agree that her forecast record is thin, and I take her 2020 predictions with plenty of salt. But there's something to be said for the argument that most pundits are overly wedded to a 20th century election model that seems increasingly irrelevant in the 21st century. Do swing voters even matter anymore? Is ideology still relevant? Most evocative to me was her explanation that the 2016 electorate was composed of different people from the 2008 electorate. It's not that the same voters switched sides; it's that different voters went to the polls.

I was hoping to get something

artappraiser — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 00:13:32 +0000

In reply to Everything You Thought About Politics Is Wrong

I was hoping to get something out of this but I haven't. I'm not buying at least not until I see more convincing elucidation of what she's saying about alternating turnout in decisive districts. Seems to me she just got lucky on one prediction and that it's all about liking Trump or hating Trump and no other examples. We know Trump has been divisive, DOH. What else is new? At the end of the article there's more of her fails. Just not at all convincing.