Colorado Progressive

The BBC put up an interesting article the other day trying to understand the politics of the American electorate: “Why do people vote against their own interests?” To answer the question, political scientist and author David Runciman cites political scientist and author Thomas Frank (What’s the Matter with Kansas?).

[Frank] believes that the voters’ preference for emotional engagement over reasonable argument has allowed the Republican Party to blind them to their own real interests.

The Republicans have learnt how to stoke up resentment against the patronising liberal elite, all those do-gooders who assume they know what poor people ought to be thinking.

Right-wing politics has become a vehicle for channelling this popular anger against intellectual snobs. The result is that many of America’s poorest citizens have a deep emotional attachment to a party that serves the interests of its richest.

Runciman goes on to hit the nail on the head.

As Mr Frank sees it, authenticity has replaced economics as the driving force of modern politics. The authentic politicians are the ones who sound like they are speaking from the gut, not the cerebral cortex. Of course, they might be faking it, but it is no joke to say that in contemporary politics, if you can fake sincerity, you have got it made.

Aargghhh. Emphasis mine. OF COURSE THEY’RE FAKING IT! Does anyone really think that John Boehner cares about health care reform or that Mitch McConnell cares about the deficit? Or that John McCain, facing a tough reelection bid from the right, is sincere about don’t ask, don’t tell?

So what’s the solution, Democrats? Quit thinking? Appeal to the gut, y’know, like Sarah Palin? Quit spouting numbers and evidence and, like, substantive policy stuff, and instead call it like you feel it (or want the voters to think you feel it)?

Democrats playing possum in the wake of the Scott Brown smackdown need to stand up and fight for things that matter to Americans’ lives. It’s true that most Americans don’t give a rip for policy details–but we become very tough about protecting what works. So the Democratic party, now more than ever, has got to come up with something good.