We have one disagreement with Simon (and really agree with him on all other statements he made.....and love his data that he bases his conclusions on).
This disagreement is on the psychology of progressives.
Simon stated strongly that Democrats want to win. Strongly want to win.
We don't see this. What we see is that the main motivator for Progressives is that they want to be morally right. Winning is secondary to that warm inner glow they get from their "rightness" and moral superiority.
Progressives refuse to associate with people on the right because they dehumanize them. They strongly need the approval of their progressive buddies, their progressive tribe. That's what drives them.
They HAVE to be getting something out of their all or nothing views. Those views result in losing.
So, they feel good because they are the moral ones in our country. Winning is nice, but it isn't really what turns progressives on. Being right and feeling morally superior is what floats their boats.
"Winning is secondary to that warm inner glow they get from their "rightness" and moral superiority."
I agree, but they are like the Marxists who had a prophecy of the inevitability of communism. From 2008 until 2024 they'd been riding the wave of inevitability of their victory and the utopian world they would create. It causes massive cognitive dissonance to see people reject their values. Hence the hatred and dehumanization they have for even minor acts of heresy like JK Rowling's belief that women have a right to single-sex spaces.
One thing we wish to add: We are not totally convinced that it is "kitchen table" issues or the "economy" that really is the core issue for many if not most people.
We believe that indicating the importance of these issues on surveys hides an important truth.
Here is that truth: Most people in this country are parents. And for most parents, their daily lives are consumed by what is best for their children.
They want hope for them.
They don't want craziness for them, and many progressive policies seem crazy (books on gender identity for kindergartners?). They just don't want a good income for themselves, but they worry daily about whether their children will be able to make it in the world.
When you are a parent, nothing matters as much as your children (and grandchildren, which we have 14 and 1/2 of).
We, as parents? That's the main focus of our political votes.
Voting and a lot of the deep messages of surveys show this.
Neither Party has reworked their failing policies. They both depend on the perpetual haplessness of the other side. Trump claimed he would slay inflation immediately. The hyperbole has hurt. Only Bessent has explained lower energy costs will lower inflation, but it will take time. Trump keeps insisting things are economically better than they are, just like Joe.
Ditto for the optics of deportations. No Rep ever hits the Immigration fastball, perpetually hanging over the center of the plate. What is the Dem proposal for the roughly 9 million Biden new arrivals who lack valid asylum claims? Including the roughly 4 million, who already qualify for expedited removal?
Dems appear not to have altered a single policy that cost them the 2024 election. Not a single Dem has even questioned trillions in Green spending. Nor has any proposed banning transition surgery for children, or forming 3rd categories for trans athletes. No Dem will touch the fate of Biden's 10 million migrants with a 10 foot pole, except to say they cannot be deported, unless violently criminal.
What Dems have accomplished is selling candidates as moderate that are 100% Progressive. There is no difference whatsoever between Spanberger's and AOC's voting record. The former is simply smart enough to hide her intentions, as Biden did. Also, although Obamacare and subsidies with an end date are 100% Dem created, Dems have successfully morphed their failure, into a Rep problem.
Smart Reps would propose healthcare subsidies only for those with incomes below US median family income. Pointing out, a healthcare system that is too expensive even for families in the top 1/2 of all US earners, cannot possibly be sustained.
Why are you not talking about economic policy issues that are popular? The oligarchs want us to be divided over issues that are no threat to their wealth and power. To win, the Dems need to advocate for single-payer healthcare, industrialization, and raising taxes on the rich. But they do not because they are slaves to billionaire donors. The reason the Dems want to be the party of immigrants and gays is that they have no other way to differentiate themselves from the Republicans.
I'm pretty sure those three items were on the minds of voters last Nov and they were rejected. But I encourage the left to keep using them. Strategy that was a loser is rarely a winner in the next election.
If you can though, define rich? And how a single payer health care works and doesn't grow to be another uncontrollable entitlement bankrupting the country. There is a good answer, I doubt you known what it is.
The WSJ just did a front page story on Medicaid, whose enrollee numbers exploded under Biden. Basically it's great , until you actually need healthcare. Appointments are nearly impossible to find. Mainly because MDs are reimbursed so little, few will take the Medicaid patients and the no show rate, with no notice, runs 50%, because there is no penalty for no shows. That means the appointment can't be utilized by someone else, and the practice doesn't even get the pennies on the dollar they would have received, had the patient actually showed up.
If Dems want to propose single payer, they should start with Medicaid. Offer to kill a large portion of student loan debt of new MDs, along with below market pay, for those who spend 3-5 years working in walk in clinics for Medicaid patients. Employ retired MDs a day or two a week to supervise them, and pay everyone's malpractice insurance. Walk in clinics would kill the no show problem and give Americans a real life taste of single payer.
Just enroll the uninsured in the Federal Employee Health Benefit plans. Up to 220 choices based on how many family members, what you need or don’t need and the infra structure is already in place. Simple easy most cost effective.
How exactly does one get to the transcript? If I click on the transcript link, I just keep getting routed to the episode page with no actual transcript link. Endless loop.
Edited to add - it looks like Spotify has an independent transcript link for previous episodes, but this episode is not yet up on Spotify. I will check back later. I really would like to read this episode. Thanks!
The link takes you to the website page where the transcript link lives. Substack won't allow us to embed the transcript in the email and I don't think it's on the app either. Just a system quirk, sorry.
For what it’s worth the Transcript button shows up and works just fine for me using Safari on an iPhone. It functions like a JavaScript pop up not a true link to a new page so the issue could be due to individual users’ security settings. E.g. in the example above that’s the behavior I’d expect is JavaScript was turned off for the page.
FYI, the transcript link does not show up on an iPad anywhere that I can find, either on the web browser or in the app. I will wait for the episode to drop on Spotify, that has a separate link.
Sometimes when I use an iPad it won't actually go to the website but stays on the app version for some reason which doesn't have the transcript. www.liberalpatriot.com is where the post has the link in the toolbar right below the title. Anyway, thanks for listening (and trying to read!)
We have one disagreement with Simon (and really agree with him on all other statements he made.....and love his data that he bases his conclusions on).
This disagreement is on the psychology of progressives.
Simon stated strongly that Democrats want to win. Strongly want to win.
We don't see this. What we see is that the main motivator for Progressives is that they want to be morally right. Winning is secondary to that warm inner glow they get from their "rightness" and moral superiority.
This explains the data showing that four times as many leftists than righties believe that it is fine to be estranged from their families if they hold different views from them. Four times. Almost unbelievable. This article supports that finding: https://labs.psych.ucsb.edu/schooler/jonathan/sites/labs.psych.ucsb.edu.schooler.jonathan/files/pubs/landry_et_al._2021.pdf
Progressives refuse to associate with people on the right because they dehumanize them. They strongly need the approval of their progressive buddies, their progressive tribe. That's what drives them.
They HAVE to be getting something out of their all or nothing views. Those views result in losing.
So, they feel good because they are the moral ones in our country. Winning is nice, but it isn't really what turns progressives on. Being right and feeling morally superior is what floats their boats.
"Winning is secondary to that warm inner glow they get from their "rightness" and moral superiority."
I agree, but they are like the Marxists who had a prophecy of the inevitability of communism. From 2008 until 2024 they'd been riding the wave of inevitability of their victory and the utopian world they would create. It causes massive cognitive dissonance to see people reject their values. Hence the hatred and dehumanization they have for even minor acts of heresy like JK Rowling's belief that women have a right to single-sex spaces.
Well stated. We agree. Thanks.
Awesome.
One thing we wish to add: We are not totally convinced that it is "kitchen table" issues or the "economy" that really is the core issue for many if not most people.
We believe that indicating the importance of these issues on surveys hides an important truth.
Here is that truth: Most people in this country are parents. And for most parents, their daily lives are consumed by what is best for their children.
They want hope for them.
They don't want craziness for them, and many progressive policies seem crazy (books on gender identity for kindergartners?). They just don't want a good income for themselves, but they worry daily about whether their children will be able to make it in the world.
When you are a parent, nothing matters as much as your children (and grandchildren, which we have 14 and 1/2 of).
We, as parents? That's the main focus of our political votes.
Voting and a lot of the deep messages of surveys show this.
Neither Party has reworked their failing policies. They both depend on the perpetual haplessness of the other side. Trump claimed he would slay inflation immediately. The hyperbole has hurt. Only Bessent has explained lower energy costs will lower inflation, but it will take time. Trump keeps insisting things are economically better than they are, just like Joe.
Ditto for the optics of deportations. No Rep ever hits the Immigration fastball, perpetually hanging over the center of the plate. What is the Dem proposal for the roughly 9 million Biden new arrivals who lack valid asylum claims? Including the roughly 4 million, who already qualify for expedited removal?
Dems appear not to have altered a single policy that cost them the 2024 election. Not a single Dem has even questioned trillions in Green spending. Nor has any proposed banning transition surgery for children, or forming 3rd categories for trans athletes. No Dem will touch the fate of Biden's 10 million migrants with a 10 foot pole, except to say they cannot be deported, unless violently criminal.
What Dems have accomplished is selling candidates as moderate that are 100% Progressive. There is no difference whatsoever between Spanberger's and AOC's voting record. The former is simply smart enough to hide her intentions, as Biden did. Also, although Obamacare and subsidies with an end date are 100% Dem created, Dems have successfully morphed their failure, into a Rep problem.
Smart Reps would propose healthcare subsidies only for those with incomes below US median family income. Pointing out, a healthcare system that is too expensive even for families in the top 1/2 of all US earners, cannot possibly be sustained.
Why are you not talking about economic policy issues that are popular? The oligarchs want us to be divided over issues that are no threat to their wealth and power. To win, the Dems need to advocate for single-payer healthcare, industrialization, and raising taxes on the rich. But they do not because they are slaves to billionaire donors. The reason the Dems want to be the party of immigrants and gays is that they have no other way to differentiate themselves from the Republicans.
I'm pretty sure those three items were on the minds of voters last Nov and they were rejected. But I encourage the left to keep using them. Strategy that was a loser is rarely a winner in the next election.
If you can though, define rich? And how a single payer health care works and doesn't grow to be another uncontrollable entitlement bankrupting the country. There is a good answer, I doubt you known what it is.
The WSJ just did a front page story on Medicaid, whose enrollee numbers exploded under Biden. Basically it's great , until you actually need healthcare. Appointments are nearly impossible to find. Mainly because MDs are reimbursed so little, few will take the Medicaid patients and the no show rate, with no notice, runs 50%, because there is no penalty for no shows. That means the appointment can't be utilized by someone else, and the practice doesn't even get the pennies on the dollar they would have received, had the patient actually showed up.
If Dems want to propose single payer, they should start with Medicaid. Offer to kill a large portion of student loan debt of new MDs, along with below market pay, for those who spend 3-5 years working in walk in clinics for Medicaid patients. Employ retired MDs a day or two a week to supervise them, and pay everyone's malpractice insurance. Walk in clinics would kill the no show problem and give Americans a real life taste of single payer.
Just enroll the uninsured in the Federal Employee Health Benefit plans. Up to 220 choices based on how many family members, what you need or don’t need and the infra structure is already in place. Simple easy most cost effective.
I can't see it happening as long as the woke leadership and woke membership could care less about the economically stressed.
How exactly does one get to the transcript? If I click on the transcript link, I just keep getting routed to the episode page with no actual transcript link. Endless loop.
Edited to add - it looks like Spotify has an independent transcript link for previous episodes, but this episode is not yet up on Spotify. I will check back later. I really would like to read this episode. Thanks!
The link takes you to the website page where the transcript link lives. Substack won't allow us to embed the transcript in the email and I don't think it's on the app either. Just a system quirk, sorry.
For what it’s worth the Transcript button shows up and works just fine for me using Safari on an iPhone. It functions like a JavaScript pop up not a true link to a new page so the issue could be due to individual users’ security settings. E.g. in the example above that’s the behavior I’d expect is JavaScript was turned off for the page.
FYI, the transcript link does not show up on an iPad anywhere that I can find, either on the web browser or in the app. I will wait for the episode to drop on Spotify, that has a separate link.
Hmm. Not sure what to say. I'll look into some more. Shows up fine here for me. Could be Apple settings as well. Sorry!
Thank you. Please don’t go to a lot of trouble, I am ok with using Spotify.
Sometimes when I use an iPad it won't actually go to the website but stays on the app version for some reason which doesn't have the transcript. www.liberalpatriot.com is where the post has the link in the toolbar right below the title. Anyway, thanks for listening (and trying to read!)
Ditto here
Mel
The transcript is on the website post page. It’s tied to the audio itself. The
way Substack works, sorry.
The link to the transcript of this podcast just circles back to this page.
The transcript is on the website post page. It’s tied to the audio itself. The
way Substack works, sorry.