I think that the Parties need to be reminded that their candidates should be trying to EARN votes instead of rolling along thinking that they're entitled to the just because an "(R)" or "(D)" follows their name.
Unfortunately, until the active members of the respective Parties - the precinct committees, chairmen, etc. - relearn this lesson, they're not going to constrain their respective bases from nominating sub-par candidates in primaries that has everyone rushing to turn out their base instead of nabbing voters from the other side. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem as it's unclear whether pragmatic folks like that can even serve inside the Party machinery given the bases' capture of the lower levels (shout out to the diarists at RedState a decade ago with his enormously influential Precinct Committeeman Project[1]).
Lot of ground covered there, some really good, some arguable. Unfortunately i am short on time and just want to throw out the ultimate litmus test for you Jay and David: Without regard who the 2024 democratic candidate is, could you ever see yourself pulling the lever for trump?
Oct 12, 2022·edited Oct 12, 2022Liked by Chris J. Karr
I think Tulsi was a part of the Democratic Party because that was the only viable party in Hawaii for advancing her political career. Looking at her statements she's obviously on the "give Putin what he wants" side of the Ukraine issue - and is of the opinion that refusing to surrender to terrorists threatening nuclear weapon use is warmongering.
The LA City Council issue is not related to political party, but to bigotry within the Latino community towards Black people (a long running issue dating back to Spanish colonialism). That's evident in the "us vs them" type statements by Ms. Nury, as if Black and Latino concerns can't/don't align.
I for one have no faith in McCarthy doing anything other than try to maintain power: we've seen him go from blaming Trump for Jan 6 to backing Trump's lies, and he has thus far embraced rather than punished MTG.
I think it very important that we recognize that we are no longer in a liberal vs conservative environment, but a liberal vs illiberal one. My vote will go to the liberal candidate no matter which party they come from, rather than an illiberal authoritarian.
I think that the Parties need to be reminded that their candidates should be trying to EARN votes instead of rolling along thinking that they're entitled to the just because an "(R)" or "(D)" follows their name.
Unfortunately, until the active members of the respective Parties - the precinct committees, chairmen, etc. - relearn this lesson, they're not going to constrain their respective bases from nominating sub-par candidates in primaries that has everyone rushing to turn out their base instead of nabbing voters from the other side. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem as it's unclear whether pragmatic folks like that can even serve inside the Party machinery given the bases' capture of the lower levels (shout out to the diarists at RedState a decade ago with his enormously influential Precinct Committeeman Project[1]).
[1] https://redstate.com/diary/martin_a_knight/2009/05/05/the-committeeman-project-n169178
Lot of ground covered there, some really good, some arguable. Unfortunately i am short on time and just want to throw out the ultimate litmus test for you Jay and David: Without regard who the 2024 democratic candidate is, could you ever see yourself pulling the lever for trump?
First I've heard of Hawaii being the least bit "swingy".
I think Tulsi was a part of the Democratic Party because that was the only viable party in Hawaii for advancing her political career. Looking at her statements she's obviously on the "give Putin what he wants" side of the Ukraine issue - and is of the opinion that refusing to surrender to terrorists threatening nuclear weapon use is warmongering.
The LA City Council issue is not related to political party, but to bigotry within the Latino community towards Black people (a long running issue dating back to Spanish colonialism). That's evident in the "us vs them" type statements by Ms. Nury, as if Black and Latino concerns can't/don't align.
I for one have no faith in McCarthy doing anything other than try to maintain power: we've seen him go from blaming Trump for Jan 6 to backing Trump's lies, and he has thus far embraced rather than punished MTG.
I think it very important that we recognize that we are no longer in a liberal vs conservative environment, but a liberal vs illiberal one. My vote will go to the liberal candidate no matter which party they come from, rather than an illiberal authoritarian.