I think it's natural, given the national political whiplash of the last few days and the last eight years, and the roiling local issues we've been experiencing, to look for patterns on the local, state, and national level. Some conclusions might be overly simplistic or even demonstrably wrong, while others might point to legitimate reaso…
I think it's natural, given the national political whiplash of the last few days and the last eight years, and the roiling local issues we've been experiencing, to look for patterns on the local, state, and national level. Some conclusions might be overly simplistic or even demonstrably wrong, while others might point to legitimate reasons we're seeing more disaffected voters. We're seeing seismic activity on a local level, and on a national level, and a lack of trust. (This will always unfairly benefit Republicans, who throw wrenches into the system only to claim that the system can't work.) While it's unfair to equate the local and national realities, I think it's natural to look for throughlines, especially at a fraught moment like this. And if that searching leads to engagement like we're seeing on this page, messy as it may sometimes be, then it brings me hope for where we go from here.
I don't have experience in politics other than volunteering and some recent efforts trying to advocate for specific local and state reform, but your comment about perception rings very true. And it seems there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that Democrats, locally and beyond, are losing ground on voters' perceptions of their effectiveness. There are many reasons for this, as you've noted; some, like media narratives, probably shouldn't be primarily attributed to the politicians themselves. But I think voters see, in the lurchings of our various levels of government, that there's often a very big gap between voters' sense of urgency about day-to-day issues and the willingness of politicians to spend political capital to address those issues. This doesn't discount things you personally know and experience -- the care and hard work of our reps, that their hearts are in the right place, the fact that many of them are doing good and valuable work every day in an imperfect system. But the perception is there, and it has basis in genuine experience and concern.
There will always be practical limitations, but the more responsiveness we can foster in our government -- local, state, national -- the better able we'll be to channel voter engagement to effect real change. Otherwise, I fear we'll continue to lose ground at every level.
I think it's natural, given the national political whiplash of the last few days and the last eight years, and the roiling local issues we've been experiencing, to look for patterns on the local, state, and national level. Some conclusions might be overly simplistic or even demonstrably wrong, while others might point to legitimate reasons we're seeing more disaffected voters. We're seeing seismic activity on a local level, and on a national level, and a lack of trust. (This will always unfairly benefit Republicans, who throw wrenches into the system only to claim that the system can't work.) While it's unfair to equate the local and national realities, I think it's natural to look for throughlines, especially at a fraught moment like this. And if that searching leads to engagement like we're seeing on this page, messy as it may sometimes be, then it brings me hope for where we go from here.
I don't have experience in politics other than volunteering and some recent efforts trying to advocate for specific local and state reform, but your comment about perception rings very true. And it seems there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that Democrats, locally and beyond, are losing ground on voters' perceptions of their effectiveness. There are many reasons for this, as you've noted; some, like media narratives, probably shouldn't be primarily attributed to the politicians themselves. But I think voters see, in the lurchings of our various levels of government, that there's often a very big gap between voters' sense of urgency about day-to-day issues and the willingness of politicians to spend political capital to address those issues. This doesn't discount things you personally know and experience -- the care and hard work of our reps, that their hearts are in the right place, the fact that many of them are doing good and valuable work every day in an imperfect system. But the perception is there, and it has basis in genuine experience and concern.
There will always be practical limitations, but the more responsiveness we can foster in our government -- local, state, national -- the better able we'll be to channel voter engagement to effect real change. Otherwise, I fear we'll continue to lose ground at every level.
I happily cosign this sentiment.