Liberals Have Much to Learn From MAGA

But the unwinding has to start somewhere; perhaps it should begin here: Let’s stop pretending that the polite norms that appeal to the permanent residents of cable news greenrooms but don’t lead toward a sustainable politics are important. Let’s not fret about changing positions if doing so has broader appeal: The public is not going to punish you for changing directions in their direction—look at the right’s flip-flop on foreign wars. Admittedly, these doves of the right might morph again; all the more reason to be less concerned with consistency on the left!

To begin with, let’s reappropriate some of MAGA Nation’s popular aesthetics: not their words and ideas themselves, but specifically their tone of outrage. These guys are so angry about what they see in the world, and they’re not only not afraid to say so, they present righting these fancied wrongs as justice! In a world where the status quo seems to be rigged against ordinary people, voters seem drawn to those willing to spar and shake things up—they may not always literally agree with what’s being said, but they admire what looks to them like the courage necessary to smash a rigged system. 

Democrats should ape this fighting spirit, and flip the script on the reactionaries. What do you mean I can’t say “BIPOC” anymore, bro? Are you policing my language? Hey, pal, you’re coming after MY RIGHT to take care of my children as I see best? What’s next? You gonna try to stop me from sending my kids to the same public schools my parents sent me to? WTF, my dude, ARE YOU SAYING YOU WANT MY CHILDREN TO DROWN IN A RISING OCEAN? As you might surmise, I think emphasizing the tried and true “What about the children?” really helps. But I’d also emphasize the need to attack the GOP at the precise points they present as their strongest.