MSNBC - 2/6/2025 - @blakezeff talks about Democrats reluctant to use power while Republican bull doze when they have it "One of the biggest issues...was healthcare (during #2020 primary)...once the Democrats won the House, Senate, and the White House, they never talked about it

Blake Zeff joins The Beat tonight to discuss.

Being the Down candidate will not necessarily be the winning formula for elections set in a different time or context. But one thing is clear: When talking about politics today, the Left vs. Right view of the world does not tell the full story. We need to expand our lens. (END)

Many Dems this cycle found themselves defending an establishment that their voters wanted up-ended, because it’s done little to preserve an American Dream that feels more & more like fiction. That's not only about left or right. A lot of voters were clearly looking for Down, too.

We still haven't reckoned with the political ramifications of COVID. When millions of family & friends die suddenly of a new virus, people can’t leave home, their businesses get shut down & kids stop going to school for 2 yrs, that's a mass trauma & will make people less trusting

Americans are spending thousands a month on housing costs, soaring prices on car payments & gas, a mint in childcare costs while they work full time (since school gets out hours before many people’s work ends), & vacations can be out of reach thanks to prices on flights & hotels.

Health care continues to bankrupt Americans, many of whom must beg their neighbors for help on GoFundMe when disaster strikes – even if they have insurance. Add to all this a housing market that won’t budge due to sky-high interest rates and inadequate supply.

For many, it comes down to this: Why care about protecting a system that has not noticeably improved your life? The 3 richest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 50%. Real wages are up just $3/hr since the 1970s. And we all know the effect inflation has had on Americans.

The biggest overachievers running against Republicans federally in 2024 were Dan Osborn an independent Nebraska vet who used power tools in an ad to show how he feels about the system. And Gallego in Arizona who emphasized his outsider status & dissatisfaction with the status quo

Many voters in the 2024 federal cycle wanted Down-leaning candidates – maybe as much as they cared about issues. Trump & Repubs in Congress won despite a lot of the electorate preferring Dem issues on the LVR scale. But it wasn’t just Republicans who won using “down” approaches.

Up vs Down (UVD) doesn’t *replace* Left vs Right (LVR), it works alongside it. A candidate or cause can lean Up-Left (Pelosi), or Down-Left (Bernie). They can be Up-Right (McConnell) or Down-Right (Trump). (And there are, of course, gradations on both the UVD & LVR scales.)

All of this means we need a new paradigm beyond left vs right to describe politics today. Call it “up vs down.” "Up" refers to a protector of the system, who believes in working within it & upholding norms & manners. “Down” is the opposite, about shattering the established order.

We're in an age of anger. If Trump's win were not enough of a wakeup call, the murder of the United Healthcare CEO (& subsequent reaction to it) make that clear. Yes, Americans have policy preferences, but they also had *attitude/approach* preferences this November.

Look at Trump, too. Some call him “far right,” but on issues like deficits & foreign policy he’s actually moved his party away from traditional conservative positions. It's his *attitude/approach* that is more distinctive than any left vs right ideology. https://t.co/z5GBPqYpYl

Consider the blame game happening among Dems to explain why Harris lost. Some accuse the “far left” - but what does that even mean? Bernie Sanders & Medicare for All? Culture wars about pronouns? These are not the same thing (or people). The term “far left” has lost the plot.

Many have asked why voters this cycle backed “left-wing” policies like abortion, but “right-wing” candidates like Trump. One answer is that the use of “left” vs “right” to describe every person & thing in today's politics is increasingly becoming limited & obsolete. THREAD:

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Loan Wolves is airing again on MSNBC in just over an hour (midnight on the east coast). It is, unfortunately, as relevant as ever, as America’s student debt problem has only gotten worse.

I’ve spent the last year working on a new podcast for @ringer about Hollywood and Vietnam, one that looks at how the films about the war were made—and how they impacted moviegoers. The first two episodes drop today on @TheBigPic, including the prologue:

Seeing a friend/relative today who doesn’t get the student debt issue? Great timing: LOAN WOLVES airs again on @msnbc TODAY at 4pm ET 🎉 For anyone with an open mind it‘ll change how they see the issue & make ‘em laugh. Plus there’s a Whodunnit, for all you “true crime” freaks!