Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Friday, November 22, 2024

Back The Blue

 Dan Savage and others are making a strong case that the future of Democratic politics rests in building out our cities. There is some handwringing about the exodus from Blue states to Red ones, as the cost of living in the urban centers does not mesh with the level of public services. Both New York and California are almost comically poorly governed in many ways when it comes to housing, for instance. 

Some of this is the old "Back the Blue" sense of public order, but crime is actually low. What it really means is we have demonstrable proof that "deliverism" for rural America does not lead to votes for Democrats. Instead, build the urban and suburban areas that currently constitute the base of the Democratic Party.

We have, depressingly, started the 2028 election! The assumption - and I think it's a good one - is that the road back to the White House will be trod by a governor. There are a few good candidates out there, including Shapiro, Whitmer and Pritzker.  (Frankly, I want no part of Newsome.)  If AOC is serious about higher office, she should take on the shitshow that is the New York governor's office. 

This could take any number of forms, but resisting the coming deportations could help because undocumented immigrants are often concentrated in things like the building trades. Building housing has to be a priority for New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and so on.

Make the Blue areas bluer and better. That's your best argument against Trumpism.

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