Again an excellent tough-love column for the Democrats. Authenticity is vital -- even though I did point out that for all his authentic appearance, Trump is a pretend-fascist: https://mradkai.substack.com/p/the-pretend-fascist?utm_source=activity_item but it's more of an academic discussion. The problem is what Julie already addressed: The taxonomy of the party is complex and each segment, in particular the noisier ones that threaten to hold their breath until mama does what they want, are making it really difficult for any candidate to be authentic, unles he or she is a kind of mental squid with ten arms.
And yes! Democrats have to go right into the right-wing bubble and lock horns with the spreaders of bullshit (cf. Harry Frankfurt's definition). How else will American Fox viewers ever get the real story?
As for corporate media, even I as a minor journo watching my native land from afar as an expat, am amazed at their inability to deal with the Trump phenomenon even after 9 years of training. Ce n'est pas sorcier, they say in French... If every time he talks about a golfer's penis, or wanders off into some syntactical maze, hypnotizing his audience, they all jump up and start yelling about it.... the people who are sick and tired of same-ole-same-ole biz in Washington yell Hallelujah. They know he's lying, they know he's a scammer.... but they believe he is their scammer.
And by the way: You can never attract people by humiliating them. I taught kids in public school for 9 years, teens. And even though they could be annoying as hell sometimes, as teenagers are wont to be, I promised myself a few things: Never humiliate them when scolding was necessary, never cast a "moral gaze," always encourage them to speak freely, and don't pretend to understand them until you really do. This is human.
Oh... don't forget humor, especially towards your own foibles.
It's hard for Democrats but the obvious answer is to now "play against DC" they have no obligation to "Washington" and the government is about to do some things that are going to, as the young people say "give" centralization and federalism.
Again an excellent tough-love column for the Democrats. Authenticity is vital -- even though I did point out that for all his authentic appearance, Trump is a pretend-fascist: https://mradkai.substack.com/p/the-pretend-fascist?utm_source=activity_item but it's more of an academic discussion. The problem is what Julie already addressed: The taxonomy of the party is complex and each segment, in particular the noisier ones that threaten to hold their breath until mama does what they want, are making it really difficult for any candidate to be authentic, unles he or she is a kind of mental squid with ten arms.
And yes! Democrats have to go right into the right-wing bubble and lock horns with the spreaders of bullshit (cf. Harry Frankfurt's definition). How else will American Fox viewers ever get the real story?
As for corporate media, even I as a minor journo watching my native land from afar as an expat, am amazed at their inability to deal with the Trump phenomenon even after 9 years of training. Ce n'est pas sorcier, they say in French... If every time he talks about a golfer's penis, or wanders off into some syntactical maze, hypnotizing his audience, they all jump up and start yelling about it.... the people who are sick and tired of same-ole-same-ole biz in Washington yell Hallelujah. They know he's lying, they know he's a scammer.... but they believe he is their scammer.
And by the way: You can never attract people by humiliating them. I taught kids in public school for 9 years, teens. And even though they could be annoying as hell sometimes, as teenagers are wont to be, I promised myself a few things: Never humiliate them when scolding was necessary, never cast a "moral gaze," always encourage them to speak freely, and don't pretend to understand them until you really do. This is human.
Oh... don't forget humor, especially towards your own foibles.
It's hard for Democrats but the obvious answer is to now "play against DC" they have no obligation to "Washington" and the government is about to do some things that are going to, as the young people say "give" centralization and federalism.