Speaking of "sexy and relevant," growing up, I took it for granted that Democrats were the party of people who wanted to fuck (whether straight or gay) and I couldn't imagine it ever changing. The GOP was the party of abstinence, Veggie Tales, frumpy men and women who always looked like they were headed to church...
Now, both parties are simultaneously prudish and oversexed depending on which sexual orientation and for which demographic you're talking about. Conservatives now valourize 2000s era Maxim-style culture while liberals celebrate everything outside of that. And for everything sex-related outside of their comfort zones, both sides can act about as mature as 2nd graders.
Maybe Republicans have something going for them in not having to curtail to young voters? 18-24 years olds have consistently turned out well below the national average, including the Clinton and Obama years.
I don't really get why the "party of the youth" mythology is important to hang on to... it's not like those Kennedy or even Clinton voters are still aligned Democrat. Everyone's worried about alienating young white guys... shouldn't alienating the older union white guys who used to automatically vote Dem be the bigger concern?
This is more about "the optics" though! It's always The Optics. Trying to cleverly discover who the special market is that's going to take you over the finish line, if only, if only we focused more on that demographic, improved our messaging to the segment, we'd have done it....
As you have regularly been criticizing.
I think in the era of total media distrust, word of mouth has become / is becoming king, right? Direct person to person relationships and communication. Even this, as mediated as it is, in this substack conversation the people involved can at least believe both parties are real humans trying to grapple with reality. I think people everywhere are desperate for a sense of concrete truth, and youths are just always going to be the ones most equipped to dive into the deep end of the cultural cesspool to strive to find things out. It just happens to be mostly filled with pepes these days.
I don't think the needles are going to move away from the right until some group of politically interested people also discover how to simultaneously appear human. You might know that Trump is a political weathervane but at least on some kind of visceral level every person who's been in front of a camera can (if they choose to) feel a little identification with him, like "ah, he's just saying a bunch of shit and having a good time and doesn't really know what he's doing, I kind of understand that..." What mirror neurons activate when you see Nancy Pelosi in a video? Or the meandering nonsense that comes out of the people in the white house right now?
If I thought the Democratic brass could feel bad about themselves, I would be sad for them that they're somehow less real than Donald Trump, but I don't think they'll ever notice.
Trump brings a new political aesthetic I'm not even sure the Republicans can replicate. Clinton Obama and Harris were like disco remixes of Kennedy (read my previous piece, Last Days of Disco Liberalism, if this confuses you). Harris scanned as a really shitty remix. The only way they can change the aesthetic is with an outsider. Maybe Jon Stewart?
But back to Trump. If you remember what I said about LBJ not matching JFK or Biden not matching Obama, even if Vance wins in '28, it will just underscore how no Republican will ever match Trump's charisma.
Young people are primarily mad about the economy and the Covid lockdown ordeal. Not sure why this is being looked over by so many political commentators, maybe there’s just not enough interaction or polling. Just like boomers, the Democratic Party is seen by many as the authoritarian party- at least trump is an outsider. Moving further to the left economically won’t win people over
Speaking of "sexy and relevant," growing up, I took it for granted that Democrats were the party of people who wanted to fuck (whether straight or gay) and I couldn't imagine it ever changing. The GOP was the party of abstinence, Veggie Tales, frumpy men and women who always looked like they were headed to church...
Now, both parties are simultaneously prudish and oversexed depending on which sexual orientation and for which demographic you're talking about. Conservatives now valourize 2000s era Maxim-style culture while liberals celebrate everything outside of that. And for everything sex-related outside of their comfort zones, both sides can act about as mature as 2nd graders.
Yes. RE: Maxim, Greg Gutfeld was an editor I believe
Maybe Republicans have something going for them in not having to curtail to young voters? 18-24 years olds have consistently turned out well below the national average, including the Clinton and Obama years.
I don't really get why the "party of the youth" mythology is important to hang on to... it's not like those Kennedy or even Clinton voters are still aligned Democrat. Everyone's worried about alienating young white guys... shouldn't alienating the older union white guys who used to automatically vote Dem be the bigger concern?
Good point. Could mean the end of the party if either they don't let go of the obsession or if they don't find a way to get them back
This is more about "the optics" though! It's always The Optics. Trying to cleverly discover who the special market is that's going to take you over the finish line, if only, if only we focused more on that demographic, improved our messaging to the segment, we'd have done it....
As you have regularly been criticizing.
I think in the era of total media distrust, word of mouth has become / is becoming king, right? Direct person to person relationships and communication. Even this, as mediated as it is, in this substack conversation the people involved can at least believe both parties are real humans trying to grapple with reality. I think people everywhere are desperate for a sense of concrete truth, and youths are just always going to be the ones most equipped to dive into the deep end of the cultural cesspool to strive to find things out. It just happens to be mostly filled with pepes these days.
I don't think the needles are going to move away from the right until some group of politically interested people also discover how to simultaneously appear human. You might know that Trump is a political weathervane but at least on some kind of visceral level every person who's been in front of a camera can (if they choose to) feel a little identification with him, like "ah, he's just saying a bunch of shit and having a good time and doesn't really know what he's doing, I kind of understand that..." What mirror neurons activate when you see Nancy Pelosi in a video? Or the meandering nonsense that comes out of the people in the white house right now?
If I thought the Democratic brass could feel bad about themselves, I would be sad for them that they're somehow less real than Donald Trump, but I don't think they'll ever notice.
Trump brings a new political aesthetic I'm not even sure the Republicans can replicate. Clinton Obama and Harris were like disco remixes of Kennedy (read my previous piece, Last Days of Disco Liberalism, if this confuses you). Harris scanned as a really shitty remix. The only way they can change the aesthetic is with an outsider. Maybe Jon Stewart?
But back to Trump. If you remember what I said about LBJ not matching JFK or Biden not matching Obama, even if Vance wins in '28, it will just underscore how no Republican will ever match Trump's charisma.
Young people are primarily mad about the economy and the Covid lockdown ordeal. Not sure why this is being looked over by so many political commentators, maybe there’s just not enough interaction or polling. Just like boomers, the Democratic Party is seen by many as the authoritarian party- at least trump is an outsider. Moving further to the left economically won’t win people over