Thread by @janecoaston

A thing @mattyglesias has smartly raised (and we’ll be discussing on The Weeds next week) is that our perception of politics is largely based on the media interpretation of politics rather than what actually happens in politics. And I think its an area where I’ve screwed up.

@mattyglesias For example, there’s been a ton of conservative discussion of economics that appears heterodox on its face (here’s where I’ve written about that discussion: vox.com/2019/1/10/1817…)

@mattyglesias But there is zero reflection of that conversation — which is real — happening in actual Congress with actual members of Congress doing actual political things.

@mattyglesias I’ve written about this w/r/t Trump here: vox.com/2020/8/27/2137…

But if there’s anything I think I’ve gotten wrong about conservatism, such as it exists as an entity, it is that the interpretation of conservatism that exists in media is not altogether, well, real.

@mattyglesias Sure, Tucker Carlson will talk about “normal people” and economic populism and there will be a lot of top-level efforts to discuss conservative cases for unions — but in brass tacks political terms, that has not and does not translate to Congress, the place where stuff happens.

@mattyglesias This is not to say that these conversations don’t matter, or aren’t reflective of what GOP voters have been actually saying or actually want— which is my argument in a lot of respects.

@mattyglesias We’ll talk about this more next week, because @mattyglesias has some smart thoughts on this — essentially how our current practice of politics ignores where politics is supposed to be practiced — but this is something I’m thinking a lot about.