I want to share just a few reflections on the topics raised in my recent posts on (1) James Carville’s explanation for what he got wrong about the 2024 election and (2) recent debates among the pundits about whether the democratic accountability feedback loop has or has not broken down.
Carville reaches the conclusion that so many others have reached, namely, that Democrats utterly failed to understand the level of economic anguish—and economic resentment—among the working class; that Democrats need a new program, a new message, and a new messenger; and that said new messenger had bloody well be someone who is comfortable speaking to podcasters.
All true. But Carville omits one key point. (I suspect the omission is conscious and deliberate, because of the delicacy of the subject. But no matter. For whatever reason, he left it out.)
What Carville leaves out if that, if a majority of us are now living in a siloed, curated reality based on selected YouTube videos and TikTok messages served by algorithms, then the good guys have got to find a way to burrow into those information silos and get the attention of the inattentive and the careless thinkers.
In other words, if the democratic accountability feedback loop is in trouble, as is surely the case, then the good guys need to restore it to a healthy state.
I am an old man, and I don’t personally know how to do TikTok and Instagram, but it surely can’t be all that hard for skilled, dedicated people to invade those information silos and begin to spread the message.
Instagram I don’t know, but here are a couple of things I do know. One is that when you put on your advocate’s hat—when your aim is to lead your audience in to see reality in a particular way—it is one hell of a lot easier to accomplish your goal if the picture you’re trying to paint is essentially an accurate view of that reality, as distinguished from a fairy tale and a tissue of lies.
I also know, to a high degree of confidence, that Trump will act in such a way as to immiserate his working class supporters.
Frank Bruni thinks that said working class supporters can be served a diet of shit sandwiches and be made to think they are eating filet mignon.
Maybe that will turn out to be the case. We’ll just have to see.
But if I were Mr. Bruni, I would not bet the ranch on it.
Facing MAGA 