Thread by @drvolts

Democrats gave the US its best economy in decades, yet they are currently locked in a 50/50 race against deranged fascists.

So, we can say with confidence that "deliverism" didn't work, right? The theory has been decisively refuted. Can we agree on that?
noahpinion.blog/p/let-us-pause…

"Deliverism," for those unfamiliar, was the idea, popular at the outset of Biden's 2020 term, that improving the material circumstances of voters would cut through -- outweigh, matter more than -- the fog of negative media. I was fond of the idea myself! But ... it didn't.

I just wish we could all agree on this, for the record, because it leads inevitably to the conclusion that *Dems must directly address the fog of negative media*. They can't get around it. They can't succeed in the face of it, even if they pull off economic miracles.

Establishment Dems, the pols & pundits & consultants, really really really don't want to have this discussion, for reasons I still don't fully understand. I mean I understand somewhat: it's frustrating! It's not at all clear what, if anything, can be done!

But the only way out is through, and as long a Dems skirt this issue, public life will get more & more like this hurricane response: reality (gov't acting quickly & competently) utterly divorced from public sentiment, because the info environment is choked with bullshit.

So far, Dems have tried approximately fuck-all. (Hey, we did Air America, it didn't work, oh well!) I feel confident that simply *trying things* will work out better than fuck-all, even if there's no obvious silver bullet.

A final note on this: everyone, please please please listen to this season of Slate's Slow Burn podcast, hosted by @josh_levin, about the birth & rise of Fox News. It's a stomach-churning step-by-step guide to how we got here -- a Rosetta stone.

slate.com/podcasts/slow-…