General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Biting political analysis of the McCain funeral from Jeet Heer: [View all]JHan
(10,173 posts)Human needs are central to anything, so food, housing, shelter, education are bound to be popular with most people.
The amazing thing is that Republicans have managed to retain power while being on the wrong side of issues.
Tax cuts for the rich? Not popular.
Outright ban on abortion? -Not popular.
Zero Gun Control Laws or tepid Gun control legislation ? Also not popular.
etc etc.
Yet they get victories because they double down on resentment and creating enemies. Cultural resentment is their selling point because if you look at polling where questions are asked about America's "decline" and traditionalist values, you see the fear. Trump went full demagogue and it worked.
The framing of Trump's victory as a populist uprising is also problematic. It wasn't. Similar to Brexit, it was a mixed bag (The vote split in Brexit was 52/48 I believe). He only won because of the electoral college. He lost the popular vote.
His election happened at a time when voters were subjected to a sophisticated information war designed to confuse, distract and divide.
And Trump's numbers were just slightly better than Romney's. Republicans fell in line and the cyber warfare campaign waged in swing states had an effect by the smallest margin of votes.
In the midst of this, we saw the effects of a gutted voting rights act and gerrymandering which continues to help republicans in congress.
Rather than a populist uprising, I'd say the election proved the banality of evil.
We've had populists before, they frighten me ( and my mind goes back to the likes of Savonarola). Populism doesn't need to exist within an economic framework because its selling point is grievance and the results are often a horror show. This is why I mentioned the Scandinavian countries: They're admired and we wish to ape them, yet neofascism is on the rise in countries with universal healthcare and low-income inequality. So what gives?
I want reformers, who understand the drudge of reform and how to bring about lasting change and improved outcomes for people. I more admire workhorses who get things done. We'll probably never agree on this, but we both want the same thing: More democrats in power.