Have liberals moved too far to the left culturally? Is that why we lost in 2024?
This is hardly a new dispute. Thomas Frank wrote his seminal exploration of the question, What's the Matter With Kansas? in 2004, back when Democrats were considerably more moderate than they are now. But it seems newly relevant in the wake of an election where the American public seemingly decided that even a lunatic right was better than leaving liberals in power.
These things tend to be thermostatic. After a few years people get tired of whichever ideology is ascendant and switch to the other one for a while. Still, why switch to Trumpism, which most liberals view as wildly beyond the pale?
A lot of it has to do with the nature of extremism. Which extreme are you more afraid of? As an example, consider the question of puberty blockers in trans children. A moderate view might be something like Sometimes they make sense, but the evidence suggests we should be a lot more careful about prescribing them. What are the two extreme views on either side of this?
- Conservatives: Ban hormonal treatments for minors.
- Liberals: Twelve-year-olds know what they're doing. Transition away.
Which is scarier? As in many things, the conservative view is essentially Stop. Let's go back to the way things were a few years ago. And this is not very scary. The liberal view, conversely, is inherently a little disturbing if you're not already a confirmed lefty.
This isn't always the case. The moderate view on abortion, for example, would be I support Roe v. Wade. The two extremes are:
- Conservatives: Ban abortion completely.
- Liberals: Just let women and their doctors decide.
In this case, partly because abortion is a well-worn issue, it's the conservative position that seems scarier to most people. Republicans have discovered this to their dismay ever since Dobbs forced them to put their money where their mouths are.
But for most cultural hot buttons, especially fairly new ones, the conservative extreme is the less scary. After all, Stop doing it has a natural limit of zero. And since zero was often the normal position only a few years in the past, how scary can it be? By contrast, the sky's the limit for lefties. We can compete for ever more extreme positions almost without limit.
This is meant as an explanation, not an endorsement. I have my own views, of course, but they don't matter. I'm nowhere near the median voter, and the question is how they feel. The answer, I believe, is that they often find liberal extremes scarier than conservative extremes, so when the extreme left gains influence they'll gravitate naturally toward conservatism even if it's also (or more) extreme.
Not always, but often. And it's mostly related to the mere existence of influential liberal extremes, not whether Democratic politicians actively endorse them. If they don't actively condemn them—yes, the dreaded Sister Souljah moment—then they're implicated and conservatives win. This is what happened in 2024.
Being left wing myself I find it astonishing that Americans would find concentration camps, mass deportation, economic collapse, military being used on citizens, etc. all less scary than equal rights for all, medicare for all, and dignity for all. However, trans women being able to participate in women's sports is a losing position for the Democrats, and it was used to great effect this election cycle. There are many on the left that don't even support it either. It's also astonishing that a large amount of people who wouldn't vote for fundamental rights for women are so concerned about being fair in women's sports.
But, let's be truthful here. The fascists who are to take over next year won't stop here. If they start attempting to deport people they'll find it's logistically a nightmare to do so. They'll fall back to housing them in concentration camps. If allowed to continue like last time, they won't stop with Latinos. Trans people will be on that list eventually as will all of us.
They're following the Nazi playbook, and all the Democrats seem to be interested in doing is pointing the finger at each other in an attempt to figure out what singular issue was the reason why they lost this year. Kamala Harris was held to an impossible standard while her opponent was held to no standard at all. Despite what Donald Trump has done or said all of these years the American public still elected him to office. There was always an excuse to not vote for her, and there always will be. Down ballot the Democrats performed better this cycle than expected and better than she did in almost every single state battleground or no battleground. The party is going to consume itself while the Nazis parade in Washington, D.C. Pathetic, and you should be ashamed of yourself for entertaining these unproductive talks.
Kevin -- What do you make of the fact that almost all incumbents world wide lost after Covid? Isn't that a simpler explanation than ideology? Maybe it really was just "prices are too damn high!"