1. I love your analogy of the GOP adopting a coping strategy similar to family members of an alcoholic. They have to compartmentalize, rationalize, and deny the full reality they are witnessing—partially for practical reasons, but also because to admit the truth of the situation would be tantamount to accepting a status quo that is horrifying and traumatic. I'd love for you to extrapolate into the future what this dynamic may mean for American politics.
2. It struck me when reading your article that the Democrats have truly moved on from the personality-dominated, unwieldy coalition of factions that characterized the pre-2016 version of the party, and into a powerful force for moral clarity in an unstable world. It reminds me of the history lesson I learned about America post-Pearl Harbor: a sleeping giant awakened by an external threat that coalesced around a virtuous cause and pushed the world forward. Maybe you've got thoughts on this angle as well?
Thanks for the feedback David. Let me give this some thought. I’m not sure an attack from a foreign power translates the same way the current internal threat is affecting us…let me do a little research. Feel free to keep fleshing this idea out.
Mike you should see the videos being made from this debate. One of my favorite tiktoker had me rolling with a picture of the chupacabra and trump saying they are coming after your dogs and cats
Move the needle or not (hope the former), this debate was a 90-minutes of "comfort food" for the soul.
Interesting anecdote ... I was messaging another Great Transformation follower after the debate and she told me about her daughter (who was at soccer practice and hadn't watched the debate) calling and asking if Trump really said what he did about Hatian immigrants eating dogs and cats... said Instagram was lighting up about it. Perhaps some of this is reaching beyond old-people and high-information-voter media channels. Taylor Swift has certainly raised some awareness by challenged her followers to "...do their own research..."
This is what I was waiting to read - your point by point view on how you thought the debate went. Harris did incredibly well and yet, I'm curious to know your POV on two issues from the debate stage: How do you think Harris did on the border issue by bringing up the fact that Trump called "his friends in Congress and told them to kill the bill?" Did that play well with the 17% of Independents? And what about the Undecideds? Regarding the gun issue, when Harris stated that both she and Tim Walz are gun owners & that Trump needs to stop "lying" about this issue? How well do you think that played with voters across the board?
I was watching again with my mom in the nursing home last night. At one point, Trump was rambling and he said something that I didn't catch the night before about Harris. What he said was, "she puts out." What? I actually pulled the video back a few minutes so I could listen again and there it was. He did say it. My 95 year old moms response, "that's pretty rich coming from him!" We well know how indeed, Trump is the one who "puts out."
Do you think Harris should do another debate? I think since this one went so well, why not leave it alone? VP Harris should keep campaigning full speed ahead, all gas with no brakes. The campaign should continue to make ads using debate clips to further to humiliate, embarrass & emasculate Trump, to expose him for who he is: a feckless traitor, racist, misogynist, rapist, con man grifter from Queens.
The biggest contrast I saw was one candidate telling us to be afraid of the future vs another saying there’s reason to be excited and hopeful. I want to think my future is full of opportunity and happy things I can look forward to, not be sitting in a dark room wishing to return to a past version of my life when things were better. What does a 50K tax credit to start a new business do—tell people to get out there and try to make a dream happen, your community will support you for it!
This was profoundly insightful for me. In a really good way. I appreciate your analysis.
Thank you 🙏🏼
Great article, Mike. I have two strong reactions:
1. I love your analogy of the GOP adopting a coping strategy similar to family members of an alcoholic. They have to compartmentalize, rationalize, and deny the full reality they are witnessing—partially for practical reasons, but also because to admit the truth of the situation would be tantamount to accepting a status quo that is horrifying and traumatic. I'd love for you to extrapolate into the future what this dynamic may mean for American politics.
2. It struck me when reading your article that the Democrats have truly moved on from the personality-dominated, unwieldy coalition of factions that characterized the pre-2016 version of the party, and into a powerful force for moral clarity in an unstable world. It reminds me of the history lesson I learned about America post-Pearl Harbor: a sleeping giant awakened by an external threat that coalesced around a virtuous cause and pushed the world forward. Maybe you've got thoughts on this angle as well?
Thanks for the feedback David. Let me give this some thought. I’m not sure an attack from a foreign power translates the same way the current internal threat is affecting us…let me do a little research. Feel free to keep fleshing this idea out.
Mike you should see the videos being made from this debate. One of my favorite tiktoker had me rolling with a picture of the chupacabra and trump saying they are coming after your dogs and cats
Send me links to those videos!!
I just saw this sorry day job
Remix version https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTF8fd8hR/
Puerto Rican https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTF8yvuBc/
Skit https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTF8ysQRN/
Haitian comic https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTF8ytxLK/
Move the needle or not (hope the former), this debate was a 90-minutes of "comfort food" for the soul.
Interesting anecdote ... I was messaging another Great Transformation follower after the debate and she told me about her daughter (who was at soccer practice and hadn't watched the debate) calling and asking if Trump really said what he did about Hatian immigrants eating dogs and cats... said Instagram was lighting up about it. Perhaps some of this is reaching beyond old-people and high-information-voter media channels. Taylor Swift has certainly raised some awareness by challenged her followers to "...do their own research..."
This is what I was waiting to read - your point by point view on how you thought the debate went. Harris did incredibly well and yet, I'm curious to know your POV on two issues from the debate stage: How do you think Harris did on the border issue by bringing up the fact that Trump called "his friends in Congress and told them to kill the bill?" Did that play well with the 17% of Independents? And what about the Undecideds? Regarding the gun issue, when Harris stated that both she and Tim Walz are gun owners & that Trump needs to stop "lying" about this issue? How well do you think that played with voters across the board?
I was watching again with my mom in the nursing home last night. At one point, Trump was rambling and he said something that I didn't catch the night before about Harris. What he said was, "she puts out." What? I actually pulled the video back a few minutes so I could listen again and there it was. He did say it. My 95 year old moms response, "that's pretty rich coming from him!" We well know how indeed, Trump is the one who "puts out."
Do you think Harris should do another debate? I think since this one went so well, why not leave it alone? VP Harris should keep campaigning full speed ahead, all gas with no brakes. The campaign should continue to make ads using debate clips to further to humiliate, embarrass & emasculate Trump, to expose him for who he is: a feckless traitor, racist, misogynist, rapist, con man grifter from Queens.
The biggest contrast I saw was one candidate telling us to be afraid of the future vs another saying there’s reason to be excited and hopeful. I want to think my future is full of opportunity and happy things I can look forward to, not be sitting in a dark room wishing to return to a past version of my life when things were better. What does a 50K tax credit to start a new business do—tell people to get out there and try to make a dream happen, your community will support you for it!