Looking to run for governor?
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I imagine these posts are going to trigger the usual Reply Chorus of
“ugh, those Democrats, they’re the worst”
“they [Democrats] are all the same”
“they [politicians] are all the same”…and, like, yes, I get it, and yes, all politicians are products of the electoral system that drives their behavior…
…and also “Democrats” includes Ilhan Omar getting ready to punch some fashy scrub in the face and Senators actually to kneecap DHS funding, and that is behavior I want to reward.
People are •way• too focused on the personalities and inner thoughts of politicians, like politics is basically People magazine except with votes — and not nearly focused enough on when and where and how politicians are points of leverage, and tools we use for exercising our power.
My spicy take is that while many politicians are hideous people, in the median they’re actually much better humans beings than we tend to imagine — and that doesn’t matter, because they are leverage points in a system and not protagonists in a novel.
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I imagine these posts are going to trigger the usual Reply Chorus of
“ugh, those Democrats, they’re the worst”
“they [Democrats] are all the same”
“they [politicians] are all the same”…and, like, yes, I get it, and yes, all politicians are products of the electoral system that drives their behavior…
…and also “Democrats” includes Ilhan Omar getting ready to punch some fashy scrub in the face and Senators actually to kneecap DHS funding, and that is behavior I want to reward.
@inthehands THIS. These fuckers who won't vote for anyone even if they move their position left are definitely part of the problem.
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People are •way• too focused on the personalities and inner thoughts of politicians, like politics is basically People magazine except with votes — and not nearly focused enough on when and where and how politicians are points of leverage, and tools we use for exercising our power.
My spicy take is that while many politicians are hideous people, in the median they’re actually much better humans beings than we tend to imagine — and that doesn’t matter, because they are leverage points in a system and not protagonists in a novel.
“They’re all the same” is a form of negotiating against yourself in politics.
“Good, bad, or completely ugly, they’ll all part of a system we can use to amplify our own power” is my attitude. Politicians don’t lead. •We• lead, and we fight to make politicians follow.
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Looking to run for governor? Call me back when you’ve kicked ICE out.
@inthehands I used to just block and report. Now I tell them they're traitors and that Trump is a pedophile, THEN I block and report.
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People are •way• too focused on the personalities and inner thoughts of politicians, like politics is basically People magazine except with votes — and not nearly focused enough on when and where and how politicians are points of leverage, and tools we use for exercising our power.
My spicy take is that while many politicians are hideous people, in the median they’re actually much better humans beings than we tend to imagine — and that doesn’t matter, because they are leverage points in a system and not protagonists in a novel.
@inthehands this really oughtn't be seen as such a spicy take, but the temptation to treat politics like sports matches and political figures as role models and protagonists is very strong and particularly so in USA. I guess this is one of many reasons I moved away from local political work: yes I'm a good campaign manager, but I don't give a damn about the personalities. And people who do so often can't seem to pull their heads out of that space, even with repeated requests to reframe.
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People are •way• too focused on the personalities and inner thoughts of politicians, like politics is basically People magazine except with votes — and not nearly focused enough on when and where and how politicians are points of leverage, and tools we use for exercising our power.
My spicy take is that while many politicians are hideous people, in the median they’re actually much better humans beings than we tend to imagine — and that doesn’t matter, because they are leverage points in a system and not protagonists in a novel.
@inthehands As someone said, "politicians are like a city bus." You take the one that takes you closest to where you want to go. It's not a beauty contest.
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“They’re all the same” is a form of negotiating against yourself in politics.
“Good, bad, or completely ugly, they’ll all part of a system we can use to amplify our own power” is my attitude. Politicians don’t lead. •We• lead, and we fight to make politicians follow.
@inthehands The “all the same” story is basically Margaret Thatcher’s “there is no alternative” repackaged for the downmarket audience. It’s “stop trying to think of an alternative” for the rest of us.
The response to it that we always need to have ready is this: there are two kinds of politicians, and it’s crucial to keep the distinction in mind at all times. There are opponents we must defeat, and there are cowards we must inspire to find bravery, and to reward when they do and to shame when they don’t.
It’s that simple. Never let the opposition get away with convincing anyone that the cowards are their allies. The opposition doesn’t believe that and neither should anyone else.
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People are •way• too focused on the personalities and inner thoughts of politicians, like politics is basically People magazine except with votes — and not nearly focused enough on when and where and how politicians are points of leverage, and tools we use for exercising our power.
My spicy take is that while many politicians are hideous people, in the median they’re actually much better humans beings than we tend to imagine — and that doesn’t matter, because they are leverage points in a system and not protagonists in a novel.
Yes. And political journalism is far too often conducted through the methods/lens of sports journalism - focused on strategies, points, wins, losses, and opponents. Political journalism's primary role, in my view, should be on governance: actions taken, policies proposed and their implications for future actions, costs of proposals or actions, etc. Who fucking cares why they do what they do...it is what they do that matters.
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“They’re all the same” is a form of negotiating against yourself in politics.
“Good, bad, or completely ugly, they’ll all part of a system we can use to amplify our own power” is my attitude. Politicians don’t lead. •We• lead, and we fight to make politicians follow.
Well said
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People are •way• too focused on the personalities and inner thoughts of politicians, like politics is basically People magazine except with votes — and not nearly focused enough on when and where and how politicians are points of leverage, and tools we use for exercising our power.
My spicy take is that while many politicians are hideous people, in the median they’re actually much better humans beings than we tend to imagine — and that doesn’t matter, because they are leverage points in a system and not protagonists in a novel.
@inthehands The fundamental role of a politician is to find themselves a niche in the Overton Window. Maybe it's towards an edge and they work to push it in a direction, but ultimately, politicians are gas, and seek an equilibrium.
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Looking to run for governor? Call me back when you’ve kicked ICE out.
@inthehands
Personally, I block and spam-report EVERY political text I receive, no matter who the sender claims to be.
1. I've never given any political organization permission to text my number (which I've never given out in the first place, so they're database-scraping to get it), and
2. It's trivially easy to spoof the origin of text messages, so I have zero confidence these folks are who they claim to be.I directly support people and organizations *I choose* (and heaven knows they needn't be perfect) and not whomever sends me the most, or the most appealing, text messages.
And I always pitch those "petitions" that come with the fundraising mailers. If they really care about my opinion, they won't couple it with a gimme letter.
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Yes. And political journalism is far too often conducted through the methods/lens of sports journalism - focused on strategies, points, wins, losses, and opponents. Political journalism's primary role, in my view, should be on governance: actions taken, policies proposed and their implications for future actions, costs of proposals or actions, etc. Who fucking cares why they do what they do...it is what they do that matters.
@icastico @inthehands There’s an old quote that captures that well, something like “don’t report on the odds, report on the stakes”
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“They’re all the same” is a form of negotiating against yourself in politics.
“Good, bad, or completely ugly, they’ll all part of a system we can use to amplify our own power” is my attitude. Politicians don’t lead. •We• lead, and we fight to make politicians follow.
Just to emphasize this - the vast bulk of process improvement results from small iterative marginal gains.
Everyone has images of breakthrough discoveries or paradigmatic changes, but that isn't how the universe actually works. It usually works by incrementally picking the least bad of available and possible options, and political change works the same way
Stay in the game, always vote, always pick the best of a bad crop, and eventually you will be picking from good options
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I med-mastodon.com shared this topic
