I know it’s mean to say it, but it’s important to acknowledge.
Jill Filipovic writes about “that which cannot be mentioned” in her great newsletter today. It has to be said:
One basic rule of being a person who opines on politics is that you are not allowed to disrespect voters. Voters, you are supposed to say, are very smart and thoughtful people; it is the politicians who are bad, who do not deliver, who do not give them what they want or need. If politicians behaved differently, then voters — good people, rational people — would respond accordingly….
But also, a lot of people are stupid, paranoid, incompetent and irrational.
I know, this is a very disrespectful thing to say (“deplorable” would have been more polite). And there are of course some Trump voters who are perfectly kind of their neighbors and I am sure are, in many contexts, utterly decent people. There are some Trump voters who aren’t cult loyalist but normie Republicans who want normie Republican things, like tax breaks for the rich, unfettered capitalism, and women forced into submission. But can we just be honest and say that in a nation of hundreds of millions of people, some significant proportion of those who have latched onto an obvious pathological narcissist are not, in fact, smart, competent, rational people? And that assuming they are — assuming that Democrats just need the right policies or at least the right messaging — is a fool’s errand?
Elections are won two ways: Turnout and persuasion. And generally, you need both. Clearly there are a number of voters who can be persuaded, which is why Joe Biden currently sits in the White House. Democrats should try to persuade them by emphasizing issues that are winners — abortion, for one — and tying Trump and the GOP directly to the demise of abortion rights in the US, and the potential for a federal abortion ban.
Democrats should also realize that for a significant number of Trump supporters, Trump’s appeal has virtually nothing to do with policy: He could hand out free abortion pills on Fifth Avenue and while he’d definitely lose the support of some anti-abortion groups, his base would stick with him. He could probably also stand on Fifth Avenue and execute women who had abortions and many members of his base (including many “pro-lifers”) would still vote for him. Point being, the idea that all or even most voters care about policy above all, or even policy at all, is false. A lot of voters care about vibes. They care about their own disregulated emotions, and if they’re mad, then they want someone or something to punch — an immigrant, a woman who does what she wants, a city-dweller who thinks they’re better, a drag queen who doesn’t seem appropriately ashamed, someone who they either blame for their problems or find different and therefore disgusting. Look, these are people who believe Hillary Clinton is smuggling child sex slaves in Wayfair cabinets for imprisonment in the basement of a pizza parlor. Why do we continue with the fiction that there’s intelligent life below the surface?
The beauty of the American system is that every adult citizen, including irrational dummies, gets to vote. The reality of the American system, of course, is that lots of people don’t actually get to vote, mostly because conservative politicians are always trying to shrink the pool of potential Democratic voters. But either way, you don’t actually have to be tethered to reality, or have any tangible goal other than making others suffer, to cast a ballot in the US. That’s an absolutely terrible system, but it sure beats all the other options.
The job of Democrats is to try to persuade swing voters and moderate Republican voters, without falling for the fiction that there’s some critical mass of Trump supporters who will go our way if only we appeal to their better, rational selves. A lot of people don’t have better, rational selves (including, for the record, a number of people on the left). At some point, Donald Trump is going to die, these voters will be scattered and adrift, and the Republican Party will need to reorganize itself, and boy will that be interesting to watch. In the meantime, though, some of them are persuadable, and most of them are sticking with Dear Leader. Democrats should focus on getting their own voters to the ballot box, and convincing the small number of convincables that Trump is exactly who he seems like he is.
Democrats shouldn’t insult Trump voters (please, Democratic politicians, don’t emulate this newsletter). But Democrats can also ignore a lot of them. Instead, speak to the people who have clung to a shred of sanity. Point it out when Trump literally pulls from the Hitler playbook. Point out that he killed Roe v. Wade (“I was able to kill Roe v. Wade” –Donald J. Trump). Point out that he’s a criminal and a con man and he cuts taxes for the wealthiest and, in his personal and political life, leaves everyone else with the bill. When Biden’s age and health inevitably comes up, point out that Trump is also old as hell, and unlike Biden he’s on a diet of Big Macs and demented rage. Hope that sways enough voters to reelect Biden. But don’t waste time worrying about what deep down policy desire makes all of these voters love Trump so much. The answer is right there.
I think I always knew this but the pandemic really brought it home. Still, I’ve been very surprised by the scale of it. I never thought there were so many who were impervious to reality.
