Thread by @Yascha_Mounk

There’s been a lot of talk about the “civil war” between the moderate and far left within the Democratic Party.

The wonderful conversation I just had with Jake Sullivan on The Good Fight is one many reasons I don’t quite buy this.

Let me explain.

1/n slate.com/articles/podca…

Sullivan was an advisor to @JoeBiden, ran the Department of Policy Planning under @HillaryClinton, and then designed her campaign's domestic policy. On paper, he’s about as establishment Dem as they come.

And yet, he’s in favor of a very robust economic policy program.

2/n

The ideas Sullivan advocates include:

* A (kind of) jobs guarantee

* Much higher taxes on concentrated wealth

* Universal Medicare

* Dept-free lifelong learning

* Tough measures against monopolists

* and much, much more.

3/n

Anybody who thinks that Sullivan is just a centrist shill—someone who is unwilling to take inequality or wage stagnation seriously—is spewing words rather than engaging a thoughtful, intelligent human being.

Seriously, listen to our conversation.

4/n
slate.com/articles/podca…

The same is true of some of the progressives who are running for Congress. I’ve met a few of the people mentioned in this article, for example, and they are not quite the fire-breathing revolutionaries as which they are sometimes portrayed.

5/n

nytimes.com/2018/07/21/us/…

In the end, the difference between moderates like Sullivan and leftists like @ZephyrTeachout often comes down to style as much as substance. They disagree about questions like:

* The utility of angry language

* Whether ot use radical language in more moderate districts

6/n

Now, the good thing about the midterms is that they will give us some data points on these questions. My sense is that:

* Candidate quality matters more than candidate rhetoric; and

* Candidate rhetoric matters more than candidate ideology

7/n

So it’s possible for charismatic candidates to push ambitious policy. But in swing districts, they need to do so by appealing to voters who don’t and very likely won't think of themselves as leftists.

If you're not in the persuasion game, you won't move the needle.

8/n

But, hey, I might be wrong about that! As I said, the midterms will give us a lot more data.

And the thing we should particularly watch is the relative performance of candidates employing different rhetorical strategies in swing states and districts.

9/n

Until then, let’s try to keep gleeful talk of a Dem civil war to a minimum, please?

Because political scientists have seen, again and again, that the opposition only beats authoritarian populists when it is able to hold together an ideologically diverse coalition.

10/n

And have I told you to listen to my debate with Jake Sullivan yet?

Please do! He's thoughtful and far-ranging and even, yes, inspirational. In short, this is exactly the kind of conversation I was hoping to have when I got into podcasting.

11/11

megaphone.link/SLT7487183982