It's not that difficult. They're belligerent, xenophobic reactionaries who sole pursuit is political power & imposing suffering on outsiders & Others. But the whole US center-left/VSP apparatus has ruled that explanation out, so what's left is a mystery. washingtonpost.com/politics/biden…
It goes like this: if you say Republicans are in fact the terrible people they appear to be, you're "partisan." And it is deep, deep in the DNA of VSPs that they are not on any team -- they are above that, with refined sensibilities that appreciate both sides' perspectives. So...
... they can't say that. But then they're left with this endless puzzle, which is explaining endless ugly, ignorant, cruel behavior ... without attributing it to ugliness, ignorance, or cruelty. This is like the main intellectual job of VSPs: laundering that behavior.
That's what "economic anxiety" was all about -- and all its many forebears, all the elaborate thought castles VSPs have constructed to indirectly explain behavior that they can't, because of their identity imperatives, explain directly.
This is, of course, a familiar story in democracies on their way to collapsing into authoritarianism. The centrist establishment simply cannot bring itself to see a reactionary insurgency for what it is, until it's too late. They'd rather lose the country than their self-image...
... as judicious, above-the-fray wise men.
Perhaps if I spend 20 years complaining about exactly this dynamic, I can get people to see ... [dies waiting]
A great example: the *top priority* of GOP leadership is to prevent reforms that would make it easier for people to vote. I have no trouble explaining that. How can a VSP? What sort of intellectual bankshot is required to retrofit a benign explanation?mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-…
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The skills necessary to be a good press secretary are so utterly, diametrically opposed to mine that I view it as a kind of dark magic. I just love watching Psaki work.
Be polite and indulgent when you're disgusted.
Say a thing without actually saying it.
Answer a question without actually answering it.
Burn someone to the ground while smiling & saying nice words.
Refuse distractions and repeat a small set of core messages.
On the remote-work controversy, I can't help but think that people who do actual work are more likely to enjoy remote work, where it's easier to concentrate, & managers, whose work is meetings, want to return to physical offices, where meetings aren't so obviously useless/dreary.
Still useless, just not as dreary!
One thing discussions around this topic always reveal is that I'm an extreme outlier. My appetite for solitude, and solitary work, is basically bottomless. This need or appetite people have for workaday interactions with co-workers ... I just don't have it. At all.
Oil & gas will try to draw a false equivalence between the need for minerals & the need for fossil fuels, but there's a key difference. If you want more oil & gas, your only choice is to explore further, dig deeper, do more violence to 🌎. The minerals challenge is different ...
... in that minerals are not the ends, just the means. We can innovate around them. We can reduce the need, find benign substitutions, improve mining standards, figure out recycling at scale, etc. Oil & gas is a 20thC resource problem; minerals is more a 21stC innovation problem.
I had a thought I wanted to add to this piece, but it was a bit of a wonky diversion, so I left it out. I will instead tackle it here on Twitter, the ideal venue for complicated wonky diversions. 🤪 volts.wtf/p/america-is-m…
There's a concept in economics (from recently deceased Canadian economist Robert Mundell) of an "optimum currency area" (OCA). His idea was that common currencies should go beyond national borders to regions that share certain features. investopedia.com/terms/o/optimu…
The euro is the baby of this idea, though later some people (I think Krugman among them?) criticized it by saying that, in fact, countries like Germany & Greece are not similar enough, & do not share strong enough central gov't, for the euro to work well.
Like all the right's demonstrable lies, this will lead to ... nothing. None of the people who told it will apologize or feel any regret. None of the people who believed it will feel like suckers. No reporter will apply additional skepticism the next time. washingtonpost.com/politics/biden…
The only thing you need to know about the future course of the GOP is that it is operating in a context in which lying is all upside, no downside. It's like playing the lottery, but the tickets are free -- possible jackpot, zero cost. Why wouldn't they keep doing it?
Here's a challenge. Of all the lies the right has told in the 21st C -- about Iraq, terrorism, climate change, the economy, Obama, Hillary, voting, etc. etc. -- name one that has harmed them in any way. Legally, electorally, financially, reputationally, anything. Name one.
My new post: to get back in the Paris climate agreement, Biden pledged to reduce US national emissions 50% by 2030.
That’s ... fine. It’s a nice bit of symbolism. Enjoy the warm feeling. But remember: it’s policy that matters. Policy, policy, policy. vox.com/22401917/biden…