I linked to this interview back in March, but it’s even more interesting to me now for the way it undercuts some of the conventional wisdom about race, ethnicity and politics. (It’s paywalled so if you pull it up, don’t click out of it until you’re done reading.) It’s a conversation with David Shor, an explicitly progressive pollster who really wants the Democrats to win, but who also seems clear-eyed about what’s going on.
The Democrats are in trouble, he said, because Black people and Latinos are more conservative than typically given credit for, and anti-police rhetoric in the Democratic party turns them off.
It’s striking analysis, and I don’t see it talked about a ton. It’s backed by Trump’s improved support in 2020 from pretty much all non-white portions of the population. Consider this fact: Trump got 38% of Latino votes. Romney got 27% in 2012. That’s an 11% swing in six years! Whether the next candidate the GOP trots out does as well as Trump, who knows, but Republicans are basically assured some kind of mid-term bump even if the demographic analysis of the 2020 election is ignored, so the Dems gotta do something, or at least stop doing something.
Shor’s recommendation is for the Democrats to stop talking about “intellectual theories of racism” (largely the interest of college-educated whites), pray for Biden to stay popular, and, ultimately, to add D.C. and Puerto Rico as states and pass redistricting reform. The interview is interesting throughout.
If you’re a Democrat, read it as a no-nonsense look at your party’s situation. If you’re a Republican, read it as an encouragement that your party has a chance at building a true multi-racial coalition.
If you’re aligned with neither party, read it and enjoy how the complexity of reality stays undefeated.
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13-yr-old reporter covers electric F-150 unveiling — DFP
Goodbye to Hong Kong — Archie Hall
Immigrant detentions have doubled under Biden — AP
Deep dive on the FDA and an Alzheimer's drug — Astral Codex
Mod Dems keep beating their Prog wing — NYT
Quote
“I can't believe the ‘popped a molly I'm sweatin’ generation got so much to say about a vaccine.” — @ineedja_kadeeja
About: I send this email most weekdays in an effort to stay informed and in touch. I was a newspaper reporter for 14 years, most recently at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I explained why my family left Minneapolis here. Now we live just outside Chattanooga and I work on Scuffed News. Please share this newsletter with anyone you think might enjoy it. And please consider supporting this work with your money on Patreon.