Great piece! My only slight disagreement is that Biden being Biden may not be enough - he may need to go further and be more like Jared Golden. Despite Biden's objectively moderate and bipartisan record, too many voters still see him as too far left, and I think that has a lot to do with vibes. Possibly the only way to counter that is to really aggressively posture against the hated college-educated elite.
Golden's statement against student debt forgiveness is one of the best things I've seen from a Dem House member in a long time. You could feel his visceral anger at the privileged elites who were having a great time at school while he was risking his life in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know that's an anger shared by many Veterans and blue-collar folks in general. Capturing some of that vibe is likely Dems' only hope, as the country is getting ready to elect massive GOP majorities largely as a middle finger to these hated college-educated elites.
Too few people have actually gone back and re-acquainted themselves with the rhetoric of successful Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Their rhetoric would not be welcome in the Democratic Party today, but it's what wins elections.
Great piece! My only slight disagreement is that Biden being Biden may not be enough - he may need to go further and be more like Jared Golden. Despite Biden's objectively moderate and bipartisan record, too many voters still see him as too far left, and I think that has a lot to do with vibes. Possibly the only way to counter that is to really aggressively posture against the hated college-educated elite.
Golden's statement against student debt forgiveness is one of the best things I've seen from a Dem House member in a long time. You could feel his visceral anger at the privileged elites who were having a great time at school while he was risking his life in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know that's an anger shared by many Veterans and blue-collar folks in general. Capturing some of that vibe is likely Dems' only hope, as the country is getting ready to elect massive GOP majorities largely as a middle finger to these hated college-educated elites.
Couldn't agree more and was glad to see Liam highlight Golden in his piece about why Democrats should try harder to win tough races: https://www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-should-try-harder-to-win
Too few people have actually gone back and re-acquainted themselves with the rhetoric of successful Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Their rhetoric would not be welcome in the Democratic Party today, but it's what wins elections.