Tony Patt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., Paul C., and Geoff Carter
….Hail to the Victors…bl, bl, blah…
First off: Apologies in advance for the volume lately.
Below story is the sudden Democratic dominance in Michigan, a state I thought had swung hard right. (The migration of automotive out of the city first to 9 mile road, then 10 mile rd, 11, 12….….(now dunno they may be out of the teens and into the 20s as people flee downtown and scurry further north)… the deflation of the unions….Trumps win in 2016. (Eminem’s cult film 9 mile is from DTW BTW). Yet we look up and led by kidnapping target governor Gretchen Widmer, the Dems swept the November voting and are passing all kinds of left causes. The recent shooting in Lansing helped nudge gun control—we’ll see…
But I’ll turn this over to MM and others for analysis.
Meanwhile Ross D. had another worthless story this am, the headline looked like the ilk of David Brooks—who, now late in his career, seems to dabble in social science topics only, maybe Ross is late in his career too. Not gifting that one—something about the right being happy, but acrimonious and the left being depressed but corporate. Worthless speculation based on questionable survey—Ross even goes into some detail on the survey’s flaws…before the “nonetheless”….
Half full:
NYTimes: “Michigan Democrats Rise, and Try to Turn a Red State Blue” by Ross Douhat, 3/29/23
-D.
Dave,
I’m going to take issue with your dismissal of Ross Douhat’s essay on liberal anomie vs conservative craziness. I think it’s well constructed, and makes a decent stab at explaining the current state of political and cultural affairs.
He starts with the proposition–actually the well confirmed polling result–that conservatives seem to be personally happier with their individual lives, while liberals are less happy. But this finding doesn’t make sense, does it? The conservative movement is engaging in a primal scream of rebellion against “the establishment”, be it Washington, Hollywood, or the media. How can these angry and aggrieved election deniers, book burners and insurrectionists report themselves as “personally happy”? Meanwhile, as I’ve opined before, the Left has essentially won the culture wars. The nation and the culture are far more liberal today than they were even 20 years ago, not to mention 50 years ago. So why are whiny liberals reporting such high levels of discontent?
It’s a fascinating question and worthy of botvestigation!
(Before I go on, my reference to “the establishment” reminds me of one of my favorite commercials of all time. An executive in his 50th floor corner office is exulting over some new product, probably a cell phone. When his assistant asks why he is so happy, the exec replies “Because I’m sticking it to The Man!” In shocked tone, the secretary responds: “But sir… you ARE The Man!”)..
Douhat (or Doufuss, as you may think of him) explains. The Right used to be the Silent Majority and the Moral Majority. They knew they really ran the joint, and the people were in their corner, except for those goddamned ’60s holdovers, bra-burning feminists, and unelected judges. Sweep away that liberal frosting and the cake of America would return to its true, moral, patriotic, conservative roots. This was the politics of the party of Reagan. We grew into adulthood with this.
But, he explains, even the most addled conservative can’t believe this anymore. They’re on the outs, they’re losing, and they can’t deny it any longer. So, politically, they’re throwing a tantrum (“throwing ripe fruit against the wall”, he says). However, they see themselves as personally and individually moral and just — they just think the world is burning down around them. So they report high levels of personal happiness.
Liberals, meanwhile, are no longer against The Man. Liberals believe in the science, so they agree the government should enforce masking and social distancing and school closures. Liberals believe that the government should accept the Dreamers. Liberals want the Establishment to save us from climate change. Liberals have even convinced the business world to accept ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing. And in many cases the so-called “woke” corporations speak out against the most egregious and inane cruelties imposed on gays and minorities in red states. So, as the commercial says: “But Sir… you ARE The Man!”
So, where is the Left’s anti-institutional energy going? Ross says in two places: (1) Into a belief in “the science” — the devotion of liberals to the technocratic establishment; and (2) Into a “push for ideological purification” within institutions. We’ve discussed this before. Goddamned libs and trans activists imposing narrow belief structures upon their peers and in their workplaces.
Douhat goes on to say that libs are further driven to DENY the breakdowns in American life, to pretend that homelessness, despair, drug addiction, and social isolation are even problems, simply because libs don’t want to give the Right any fodder for fuel. (He offers little evidence for this particular assertion, and I don’t buy it. Libs don’t deal well with homelessness NOT because they don’t think it’s a problem, but because they are libs. They can’t bring themselves to be mean to the homeless.)
He wraps it up pretty well.
“Thus our peculiar situation: a once-radical left presiding somewhat miserably over the new order that it long desired to usher in, while a once-conservative right, convinced that it still has the secret of happiness, looks to disruption and chaos as its only ladder back from exile.”
OK, OK, who can split hairs about this nonsense when Trump is going to be wearing stripes for doinking Stormy Daniels? This was probably a waste of ink — an exercise in rephrasing Ross in MamerBotSpeak. But maybe he sounds better that way?
–Mark M.
Whatever…I tossed in Ross as an afterthought, was really counting on you to explain Michigan.
–Dave S.
No worries here about the volume — it’s good for my brain; otherwise I’m just pondering things like the best way to transport a 7-foot-long surfboard over miles of gravel roads on a 125 cc motorcycle.
Ross Douthat again, huh? Okay, when I disregarded some of his more insipid bloviations, I found Ross D.’s article about liberal malaise kind of interesting. He talks a lot about the happy certainty and fulfillment that conservatives find in their cultural beliefs. In a way it reinforced my theory about belief systems. I admit I’ve always kind of envied those who possess blind faith in the righteousness of their beliefs. It gives them a sense of purpose and direction that must feel really good, a sense of something bigger than themselves, a sense that there is a Truth. And they hold that Truth in their hearts and revel in dreams that they and their compatriots will bond together to fight for that Truth.
My cynical brain sometimes yearns for the joie-de vivre of those who believe. Back in the day liberal Civil Rights activists marching in the streets felt the warm glow of their beliefs, of their bright burning truth. But the Jan 6 insurrectionists probably felt a similar glow.
These days, caring, rational humans (you can call them “liberals” if you want) are trying to navigate the realities of an increasingly complex world. They try their best to be good, kind, open-minded people. They try to elect good leaders that can reason, hammer out compromises, make budgets, maneuver through so many gray areas, sweat over procedures, etc.
It ain’t that much fun to have to be the adults in the room, especially when the room is so full of people who seem to have deliberately shut down their thought processes. Too much cognitive overload is causing too many grown-up people to double-down on a simplistic, generally fictional, often dangerous, black-and-white, good vs.evil world view. .
But, hey, if it makes them happy, it must be ok.
DC
Fine, fine, fine…
Both Dennis and Mark make some good points—(better than Ross). I’ll add: being the adult in the room one sees the complexity of issues and yes you are susceptible to depression. Jaded is a common affliction…frowny face—(tho, not ‘bots.) As opposed to the blithe happiness of Christians, Born agains…athletes who invoke the “blessed” word during interviews. But still, is this insightful, a revelation? Meh…I’ve got box scores to scour.
And for criminy sakes. I’m looking for an explanation of MI.
-D.
MI, a name I call myself; FA, a long long way to run; SO, a needle…..
Best explanation I know for MI.
MO
Ok, as requested, I will provide a hot take on the Dems’ success in Michigan. I read the entire article, but it boils down to this nugget:
“The state Republican Party is not reflective of the average Republican in Michigan,” Ms. Whitmer said, nodding to the hard-right turn of the Michigan G.O.P.“I don’t think that everyone’s all of a sudden become Democrats.”
–Douhat, The New York Times
Politics is often a pendulum, and the Republicans are still stuck on the far right swing of that metronome. Agitated by MAGA, the Republican waters have all sloshed over to anti establishment, rebellious, angry, grievance politics. Elections are held only every couple of years, so it takes a while for sanity to be restored.
And I will quibble with Whitmer. I do very well believe that the “average Republican” actually IS out on that far right limb, furiously sawing away. Bear in mind that districts everywhere, including Michigan, have been radically gerrymandered. So, the average Republican politician is not threatened by a Dem opponent– but still has to watch his or her RIGHT flank. They are forced, by the homogeneity of their safe red districts, to be MORE conservative, not less. It does no good to have a message and record that will win in your district against Democrats, if you can’t win the primary.
The gerrymandering issue doesn’t really apply to statewide races, however. So in those races,I would look to the unreformed nuttiness of Michigan candidates overall. Tudor Dixon is a whack job!
I don’t see any signs of a return from the brink for these Michigan jokers. Looks to be 40 years wandering in the desert eating locusts and wild honey. Now….if only one of my predictions would come true!!!
–Mark M.
Marks: thanks for taking the time. MO’s response was honest, deep and just a tad ahead of mine…(I always forget ‘so’ )
MM’s response was great, those colorful metaphors….”sloshed over…” are somehow really useful in these social science topics (not being sarcastic). And the gerrymandering coming back to bite them was fresh…probably accurate. I still reserve the right to remain surprised (and hopeful for other area codes) as I’ve seen first hand the shrinkage of auto and unions in DTW and thought the state was listing the other way and fast. And thanks for bringing up Tudor—googled her, did she really say the Floyd thing was a grand Dem plot to return the US to slavery? (…perhaps a good history lesson in that many assume Lincoln was a Dem—he was a ‘pub), but OMgoodness, the crap that comes out of mouths….there should be a law! She was a candidate, not an Alex Jones fringe figure.
I’ll add that Gretchen deserves credit. Politics is showmanship (RR, Arnold, Weird Al, Jesse Ventura). I’ve not seen much of her, but it is possible for one person to enchant masses (sorry, I know you, like, know that). ‘Tis why there are so many assassinations—“cut off the head and you kill the whole movement”. One of the reasons why I’ve never run for office. J.
Last: How ‘bout Caitlyn Clark last night? Love my Lady Hawkeyes.
-D.
And upon further consideration:
Dobbs (overturning of Roe) was a huge issue in MI.There was a binding referendum on the ballot — activists got many times the signatures they needed. “The amendment, which passed, codified reproductive rights, including access to abortion, in the Constitution of Michigan.”
There probably was also a backlash against the general level of right wing craziness, which included the kidnapping plot, the assault weapons at the state Capitol, and the attempt to steal the Presidential election in 2020. And you have to figure that the Flint water crisis, caused by the Republican governor, still has legs.
I agree that the Dems there are right to presume that their wins are fragile. Memories fade. But, I would guess that a Trump candidacy in ‘24 would remind the swing voters how much they hate his chaos. And would motivate Dems. And I think this is true in a lot of states.
So, it may be risky. But Trump is Biden’s desired opponent in 2024, as the ascendance of Trump in the GOP primaries would solidify Biden’s grip on the Dem nomination, motivate Dem voters, and retain the suburban vote for the donkeys.
–Mark M.
Hmm. I dare say that there is a large part of the electorate, and not just MAGA people, who aren’t thrilled with Joe’s handling of the COVID pandemic, inflation, Afghanistan, Ukraine, or the SVB bailout. I would even say that except for the most diehard Democrats, most folks would take issue with at least two or three of those issues. I agree with MM’s assessment that the abortion issue was crucial to the Dems success in the midterms, especially in Michigan. I’m not sure that issue will have legs reaching to November 2024. Even if it remains a front of mind issue, Trump isn’t the face of the anti-choice movement, that would be Mitch McConnell. Trump could easily eliminate that liability by staking out a middle-of-the-road policy on abortion which would only help his chances with many segments of society.
As for the “swing voter” distaste for Trump’s chaos, the 2020 results suggest to me that about half of those swing voters actually prefer his brand of chaos. The Trump chaos is really just his rhetorical flourishes, in administration he didn’t really generate much chaos at all. IMO, the “chaos” was mostly a media creation, focusing on Trump’s most radical rhetoric. But we’ll see.
BTW, the criminal prosecution of Trump could make all our speculations moot. It could destroy him as a candidate or it could be the best thing that could possibly happen for his candidacy.
MarkO
Knee jerk response to MO’s last trump speculation below. Caught myself freaking out as the BBC took the time to report–on their slim 60 minute news hour today–that the martyr’s private jet had just landed in NYC. K….who the f cares?….why the f are you elevating this?…
..wait, then Mary Louis Kelly interviewed a head honcho at NPR—after disclosing her bias…in that sort of woke snicker only awokians can snicker—and the exec mansplained why NPR will be covering the event live but won’t broadcast anything the little orange guy says…. Huh? Yeesh, the media is Trump’s biggest asset. The pc, (aka wokeness), paranoia is deafening. Not to mention amplifying. At least for 72 hours, I bet he is dancing inside….”mooooahhh….they’re playing right into my hands”.
–Enuf on that. Apparently NY’s finest have lower Manhattan boxed out—so I doubt we’ll see any mass protests, no Canadian-esque truckers storming the Parliament. Blockades are triggered by the adolescent’s pre-indictment warning/threats of violence. If the crowds are small, like the inauguration, he’ll blame it on the blockade. He flies out tomorrow so hopefully this fades quickly from public eye. But I’m told, that is naïve—and to MO’s best thing for his candidacy theory—his counter motions will allow this to live (thrive?) well into 2024. He’s golden, all set, Biden is done, all is lost. (knee jerk)
Seriously, like MO said one of 2 things will happen. Either Joe middle class voter will tire of this refrain, or they will get re-energized. We’ll see if middle class voters want to watch this crap or our 3-1 Brewers!
Another big event occurs tomorrow, here in Wisco:
Janet Pro-stay-so-witch…”say her name!” is our hopeful to continue to right our Badger ship. Wisco Supreme Court. I’m not the poli sci junkie MM is, but this little election—with women’s reproductive rights and fair maps (no Gerrymandering, gull-dangit!) front and center, might be a key cog. It’s result may be a telltale harbinger, “last straw on the camels back” that reinforces indifference to the orange mans whining. Fingers/toes crossed. We vote manana at the library.
Geoff: word patent: “Awokians” is mine/ours.
-Dave.
Yours.
–G
Addendum—to the Janet “Pro” note. Wow! Just turned on the UConn vs. SDSU national championship game and the ads are intense. Here’s what you need to know:
Janet lets criminals off easy and kills babies. Satan reincarnate.
The other guy hates women, basically wants them eradicated—unless they want to change sex and become a bad-ass male cop.
But twixt that, it sure seems like what MM, MO and even donald said—the Dobbs decision was a poor one for the ‘pubs…and how ironic, we owe it all the don, the Mitch and Ruth the bitc…Ginsburg….whoa…got carried away with rhymes there for a second. There must be some solid analytics on this. Women vote, men drink beer, watch sports?/bowl?….dunno.
As far as tonight’s game: UConn. The Huskies will treat the Aztecs the way Cortez did in 1519….and Neil Young informed so many of us about 400 years later.
-D.
You know, I think it all comes down to Republican policy (an oxymoron, I know), personal issues–specifically reproductive rights and gun safety. People are short-sighted and self-centered, and–for the most part–don’t really give a shit about issues that don’t affect them (other than the paranoia stoked up by the far-right culture warriors).
The Republicans overstepped themselves and badly misread the desires and needs of the American public when they finally overturned Roe. Nobody wanted that except themselves. Their zealous self-righteousness, carefully cultivated and implemented for decades, finally succeeded with Dobbs. Unfortunately, most Americans don’t want it and are–finally–doing something about the far-right powers that be.
We’re seeing the same thing in Tennessee with the gun rights protest. Most Americans want simple safeguards like background checks and red-flag laws but the Tennessee right doesn’t give a shit what the people want, and–in a moronic muscle-flexing exercise–expelled two young African-American representatives, but not their white female cohort. This is a demonstration of cluelessness at its most thick headed and arrogant. And this is why purple states are turning blue and red states will be turning purple.
People want their rights. The right, like the 18th century French aristocracy or the 16th century Spanish conquistadors, have become so arrogant and cruel that they have ensured their own downfall.
Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but a boy can dream.
–G
Couple responses here.
No “administrative chaos” in the Trump administration? I seem to recall a hasty Muslim ban. Family separation at the southern border. Firing of the National Security Advisor and FBI chief. Two impeachments. Bungling of COVID response. A trade war with China. Longest government shutdown in history. Sudden banning of transgender troops. Abrupt withdrawal of troops from Syria, triggering Secretary of Defense resignation. And, to put the icing on the cake, a violent insurrectionist riot at the US Capitol.
The list above doesn’t mention the rhetorical flourishes — constant lying, name-calling, and picking fights, domestically and internationally. So, I do think that there’s plenty for voters who are paying attention to be tired of. The question is: are they paying attention?
Dave, I’m with you on the media response. We saw breathlessly narrated visuals of Trump’s jet taking off from Miami. Really? Is that necessary?
Dennis might recall, back in 1980, just after the hostages were released by the Iranians, asking a fellow student: Where are the hostages now? The blistering reply came back: “On TV, where they’re going to be for the next six months!”
Marjorie Taylor Green is another pimple on the nation’s backside that should be ignored. The problem is, it’s the liberals who want to elevate her nonsense!
-Mark M