LaVar Hosting Jeopardy July 26-30 Stan Account 👁

I dunno about all that. In current elections basically every Dem is doing well, from socialists to centrists. It’s not like the Presidential election is the only one where people vote. And even then, what about McGovern? Mondale? Dukakis? They were all considered pretty liberal.

And we ALSO don’t have data for how many voters an actual progressive agenda turns away. Certainly it’s hard to blame Democrats for losing with McGovern et al and only getting two terms with arch neoliberal Clinton, and then thinking American voters want centrists.

All that said, I think now is the perfect time to push for more progressive economic policy, bc the most economically squeamish part of our coalition in the burbs doesn’t like Trump very much, and are likely to turn out for any Dem, even one farther left than they’d prefer.

I think the argument boils down to this: we don’t know how much a populist argument fuels turnout. The populist economic policy planks are now (thanks in part to Obama btw) not so far apart from the nominally centrist ones.

So what it boils down to is trust more than policy, I think. And I happen to think what politician you trust has more to do with the dreaded identity politics (and who speaks to your identity/culture) than with class because *waves hand at US history*.

I’m not saying more progressive economics couldn’t help Dems pick up various seats in various places. But I really believe the best that’s going to get you is a 2008 scenario where Dems have a LOT of political power for 2 years and then a big backlash.

I mean, actually yes, it was. Obamacare was too much of a government intrusion, and the deficit spending was bankrupting America. That’s what the Tea Party et al ran on. What they MEANT was “I hate that black guy” but what they ran on was anti-economic populism.