I agree with the main sentiment you express here, Rick. The Democratic consulting class needs to be added to the list, for they are utterly feckless. However, I would also like you to do something else.
Explain to us why it is that a majority of the largest voting block in the United States, white women, has for three consecutive presidential elections voted for Trump. For the life of me, I cannot understand that, nor can I conceive of a way to reach them at all.
I’m a new Substack member, and I was a monthly non-trivial contributor to L.P. for a couple years before the 2024 election. I’m not offended by Rick’s posting about Dems, but I find that L.P. needs similar improvement. I hope Rick will see my questions/comments, or someone can feed these to him.
1) Half of the 2024 ads were effective. Others were mostly video clips with silly music, and no announcer to clarify the point for non-committed voters. I kept thinking that those ads probably caused the opposite of the intended effect. If I had not been so desperate to defeat Donald, I would have canceled my L.P. contribution.
2) When L.P. ads are posted, how do we know they are reaching young men? When I see comments in a Youtube video from one of those ads, it seems to be preaching to the choir. I saw Pete Buttigieg being effective with young men on a social media site, and we need more of that. Other than an occasional ad, I’m not aware that L.P. is reaching beyond the bubble of Substack.
3) From L.P., I see relatively long commentary or interviews, plus recommendations for other media, e.g. the sez.us social media site. That potentially translates to hours of daily viewing. I see good content, but professionals should make best use of our time. Rick’s style can be entertaining, but content could often be edited down to half length in making the same point. It feels like plenty of preaching to the choir. I have trouble seeing how that is optimal in peeling away Trump voters in future elections.
4) I see the idea that contributing to the ineffective Democratic Party is a waste, and we should contribute instead to individual campaigns. But that does not seem to address the need for national priorities of protecting democracy, to gain or keep the most seats. I’m aware of two California U.S. House members who do not take any corporate funding, and one of them will be hit with huge Republican campaign spending. L. P. could have a good Substack session on how to be effective in these apparent competing concepts, i.e. withholding support while somehow ensuring overall success.
5) I have a number of ideas that are meant to be strategic in Democratic success. Some are proposals for Congressional bills which would be rejected by Republicans, but would be a basis for ads in 2026/28 elections. Does someone know who would make effective use of ideas like these? I’m guessing that my California U.S. Senators and House member would not actively consider using them. I don’t know if Democratic campaigns would be open to new ideas.
What lost men is the democrats started promoting woman and gays and the men got a f’ing stick up their ass! Oh poor me, they always talk about bla bla bla and my testosterone ego just can’t handle it!
When Shakespeare's wrote in Henry VI, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," he got it wrong. He should have said "The first thing we do, let's kill all the campaign consultants."
These worthless weasels are going to destroy our country. You want to know why in the big campaigns all they do is run TV ads? It's because the consultants get a cut of all of the money spent on those TV ads. It can add up quick and big, like six to seven figures big. And they focus group and message test everything within an inch of its life. No spontaneous normal talking. No acting like a human. They suck the life out of their candidates and turn them into robots. That's why regular folks grow to hate politicians. The Dems better figure this out quick or next stop will be a reimagining of our country to look like Hungary.
In Shakespeare's play "Henry VI", the character ("Dick the Butcher") who says "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" is a "villainous character"; a "large, threatening murderer" who is "aggressively anti-intellectual". With that context in mind, the implication of the quote becomes rather different.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens: "As a careful reading of that text will reveal, Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government."
I think parts of Rick’s take on how democrat leadership might address the grievances of the white male working class is uncharacteristically superficial. And sure, it pisses me off. But I agree on other fronts. The consultant class is for shit and has been through cycles too numerous to count. The Democratic Party is rudderless and needs a robust vision of democratic and economic life that speaks directly to the struggles of Americans and commits to addressing these struggles, with a real, credible plan. Straight talk. Movement across several fronts (at the same time). No more bullshit. No more theater. And, while Rick may disagree, no more facial hair, flannel shirt cosplay, (which is basically how some in leadership are trying to signal bona fides). The senior leadership is clueless, but there are many (younger) members who are not. And they need to be given running room.
Is this cadre of "young males" a bunch of mindless goons who haven't enough brain cells to rub together to generate a calorie of heat? That's what it sounds like. The big "dem" mistake is treating them as caring adults when what they truly are are brainwashed thugs who only want to play "blow up the world" video games? Really? And there are enough of them to scuttle the entire Democratic agenda? It is utterly demoralizing that this is what the 21st century has produced for male children - stunted intellect, shallow thought processes, inability to extrapolate a future that has eliminated school shootings? Darwin has won. PS: I am grateful not to have contributed to this problem. It was a big reason why I opted out.
Jesus! The democrats are weak. That’s why I’ve been an independent since I was able to vote. They want to push and defend things that aren’t popular, but don’t want to actually fight for real things. The old guard needs to move to the side and let the AOCs, Crocketts, Garcia, Frost - lead!. Schumer and Jeffries aren’t good leaders whatsoever! They are weak! Booker and Newsom are not better either. They can’t be the ones leading the charge for the moment we are in.
“…donor-bait cosplay bullshit…” I love your figurative language.
That Ritz Carlton is in Half Moon Bay, just a bit south of San Francisco, not far from where I live. I wish I’d known about this meeting in advance so that I could have hand delivered a message from you to them.
This Enemies’ List was a long-time coming. I just hope that the people who need to hear this are hearing this.
As harsh as Rick Wilson's message may be in this piece, he didn't really tell the whole truth of the Democrats. Truly, the national Democratic Party leadership doesn't care about the working class. They don't think they need to, because they are bought and owned by wealthy C suite and Wall St. donors, who just want to keep the economy humming and preserve the status quo. The unwillingness of elder Democrats in party leadership to fight for democracy is caused by an unwillingness to piss off their donors. The MAGA trifecta in Washington has provided a unique opportunity to let big business and Wall St. donors have the huge tax cuts and removal of regulations they want, while simultaneously being able to hang responsibility for it around MAGA necks. Similarly, the Dem party elders wasted no time in launching full throated attacks on tariffs, which hurt their donors. The senior Dem concern for working Americans is performative, and can be accurately described as "We will create social programs that are enough to keep the wolf from your door, if you elect us to govern and keep our gravy train rolling." This jarring note was in all of Kamala Harris's speeches: "we will give you straight up handouts, if you vote for us." That is not what working Americans want, and it's disrespectful. Working Americans want affordable health care, to be able to buy a home, to be able to afford to send to college the kids who want to go, to have jobs that pay enough to support a family, and have pride in their work. All the things that would take a chunk of profits out of some corporate or hedge fund get rich quick scheme. Working class people know that the Democratic party doesn't care about them, because the messages they get are patronizing. It is imperative that there be a complete ouster of the elder Dem party national leadership, if there is to be any hope of defeating MAGA. Many Gen X and younger Dems have been doing a great job fighting for democracy, the rule of law, and the American people, and they should be in all leadership positions in the party.
I'm pissed that my Democratic reps in Washington are silent. I mean, the two Republican women from Alaska and Maine are more vocal against Trump than are my own Democratic guys. One of them even voted with the Republicans to support that bill giving permission to investigate non-profit groups for subversive activities. And then it's TRUMP who decides whether they can keep their non-profit status. I was appalled.
Honestly, I've told my Democratic legislators that they should NOT just assume that Democrats will vote for them automatically. We will find other Dems who will have stiffer spines, primary them, and then vote them in.
As aggravating as this sounds, try living in a MAGA captured state like Texas, where our Congressional delegation ignores their constituents because there is no competition at all in state elections. The Democratic Party abandoned Texas 20 years ago, and except for the big cities, is a no show in state elections. As a result, in Texas we are ruled by a political minority of oil and gas industry billionaires and Christian Nationalist kooks, and we have not been able to shake them off.
I agree with the main sentiment you express here, Rick. The Democratic consulting class needs to be added to the list, for they are utterly feckless. However, I would also like you to do something else.
Explain to us why it is that a majority of the largest voting block in the United States, white women, has for three consecutive presidential elections voted for Trump. For the life of me, I cannot understand that, nor can I conceive of a way to reach them at all.
I’m a new Substack member, and I was a monthly non-trivial contributor to L.P. for a couple years before the 2024 election. I’m not offended by Rick’s posting about Dems, but I find that L.P. needs similar improvement. I hope Rick will see my questions/comments, or someone can feed these to him.
1) Half of the 2024 ads were effective. Others were mostly video clips with silly music, and no announcer to clarify the point for non-committed voters. I kept thinking that those ads probably caused the opposite of the intended effect. If I had not been so desperate to defeat Donald, I would have canceled my L.P. contribution.
2) When L.P. ads are posted, how do we know they are reaching young men? When I see comments in a Youtube video from one of those ads, it seems to be preaching to the choir. I saw Pete Buttigieg being effective with young men on a social media site, and we need more of that. Other than an occasional ad, I’m not aware that L.P. is reaching beyond the bubble of Substack.
3) From L.P., I see relatively long commentary or interviews, plus recommendations for other media, e.g. the sez.us social media site. That potentially translates to hours of daily viewing. I see good content, but professionals should make best use of our time. Rick’s style can be entertaining, but content could often be edited down to half length in making the same point. It feels like plenty of preaching to the choir. I have trouble seeing how that is optimal in peeling away Trump voters in future elections.
4) I see the idea that contributing to the ineffective Democratic Party is a waste, and we should contribute instead to individual campaigns. But that does not seem to address the need for national priorities of protecting democracy, to gain or keep the most seats. I’m aware of two California U.S. House members who do not take any corporate funding, and one of them will be hit with huge Republican campaign spending. L. P. could have a good Substack session on how to be effective in these apparent competing concepts, i.e. withholding support while somehow ensuring overall success.
5) I have a number of ideas that are meant to be strategic in Democratic success. Some are proposals for Congressional bills which would be rejected by Republicans, but would be a basis for ads in 2026/28 elections. Does someone know who would make effective use of ideas like these? I’m guessing that my California U.S. Senators and House member would not actively consider using them. I don’t know if Democratic campaigns would be open to new ideas.
Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!
The issue that makes me want to rip my hair out in frustration. Thank you for bringing more light to this, Rick 🙏🏼
Lincoln Square also needs to have young male's sharing their opinions on your media. We need to know what they think.
What lost men is the democrats started promoting woman and gays and the men got a f’ing stick up their ass! Oh poor me, they always talk about bla bla bla and my testosterone ego just can’t handle it!
“We reach people by standing for something.” You said it!
When Shakespeare's wrote in Henry VI, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," he got it wrong. He should have said "The first thing we do, let's kill all the campaign consultants."
These worthless weasels are going to destroy our country. You want to know why in the big campaigns all they do is run TV ads? It's because the consultants get a cut of all of the money spent on those TV ads. It can add up quick and big, like six to seven figures big. And they focus group and message test everything within an inch of its life. No spontaneous normal talking. No acting like a human. They suck the life out of their candidates and turn them into robots. That's why regular folks grow to hate politicians. The Dems better figure this out quick or next stop will be a reimagining of our country to look like Hungary.
In Shakespeare's play "Henry VI", the character ("Dick the Butcher") who says "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" is a "villainous character"; a "large, threatening murderer" who is "aggressively anti-intellectual". With that context in mind, the implication of the quote becomes rather different.
https://lithub.com/what-did-shakespeare-mean-when-he-wrote-lets-kill-all-the-lawyers/
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens: "As a careful reading of that text will reveal, Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government."
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/06/28/Stevens-No-lets-not-kill-all-the-lawyers/1571488779200/
Hellfire! Lost my long-azz response! 🙃
Time to wind down and get going on tomorrows am 🤷🤔🤣.
Preach, Brother Rick!!
I agree! 👍 💯
I think parts of Rick’s take on how democrat leadership might address the grievances of the white male working class is uncharacteristically superficial. And sure, it pisses me off. But I agree on other fronts. The consultant class is for shit and has been through cycles too numerous to count. The Democratic Party is rudderless and needs a robust vision of democratic and economic life that speaks directly to the struggles of Americans and commits to addressing these struggles, with a real, credible plan. Straight talk. Movement across several fronts (at the same time). No more bullshit. No more theater. And, while Rick may disagree, no more facial hair, flannel shirt cosplay, (which is basically how some in leadership are trying to signal bona fides). The senior leadership is clueless, but there are many (younger) members who are not. And they need to be given running room.
Is this cadre of "young males" a bunch of mindless goons who haven't enough brain cells to rub together to generate a calorie of heat? That's what it sounds like. The big "dem" mistake is treating them as caring adults when what they truly are are brainwashed thugs who only want to play "blow up the world" video games? Really? And there are enough of them to scuttle the entire Democratic agenda? It is utterly demoralizing that this is what the 21st century has produced for male children - stunted intellect, shallow thought processes, inability to extrapolate a future that has eliminated school shootings? Darwin has won. PS: I am grateful not to have contributed to this problem. It was a big reason why I opted out.
Jesus! The democrats are weak. That’s why I’ve been an independent since I was able to vote. They want to push and defend things that aren’t popular, but don’t want to actually fight for real things. The old guard needs to move to the side and let the AOCs, Crocketts, Garcia, Frost - lead!. Schumer and Jeffries aren’t good leaders whatsoever! They are weak! Booker and Newsom are not better either. They can’t be the ones leading the charge for the moment we are in.
It had to be said.
Everyone needs to hear this message. You are dead on. I'm so tired of what passes for action with Democrats today. Fight!
“…donor-bait cosplay bullshit…” I love your figurative language.
That Ritz Carlton is in Half Moon Bay, just a bit south of San Francisco, not far from where I live. I wish I’d known about this meeting in advance so that I could have hand delivered a message from you to them.
This Enemies’ List was a long-time coming. I just hope that the people who need to hear this are hearing this.
As harsh as Rick Wilson's message may be in this piece, he didn't really tell the whole truth of the Democrats. Truly, the national Democratic Party leadership doesn't care about the working class. They don't think they need to, because they are bought and owned by wealthy C suite and Wall St. donors, who just want to keep the economy humming and preserve the status quo. The unwillingness of elder Democrats in party leadership to fight for democracy is caused by an unwillingness to piss off their donors. The MAGA trifecta in Washington has provided a unique opportunity to let big business and Wall St. donors have the huge tax cuts and removal of regulations they want, while simultaneously being able to hang responsibility for it around MAGA necks. Similarly, the Dem party elders wasted no time in launching full throated attacks on tariffs, which hurt their donors. The senior Dem concern for working Americans is performative, and can be accurately described as "We will create social programs that are enough to keep the wolf from your door, if you elect us to govern and keep our gravy train rolling." This jarring note was in all of Kamala Harris's speeches: "we will give you straight up handouts, if you vote for us." That is not what working Americans want, and it's disrespectful. Working Americans want affordable health care, to be able to buy a home, to be able to afford to send to college the kids who want to go, to have jobs that pay enough to support a family, and have pride in their work. All the things that would take a chunk of profits out of some corporate or hedge fund get rich quick scheme. Working class people know that the Democratic party doesn't care about them, because the messages they get are patronizing. It is imperative that there be a complete ouster of the elder Dem party national leadership, if there is to be any hope of defeating MAGA. Many Gen X and younger Dems have been doing a great job fighting for democracy, the rule of law, and the American people, and they should be in all leadership positions in the party.
I'm pissed that my Democratic reps in Washington are silent. I mean, the two Republican women from Alaska and Maine are more vocal against Trump than are my own Democratic guys. One of them even voted with the Republicans to support that bill giving permission to investigate non-profit groups for subversive activities. And then it's TRUMP who decides whether they can keep their non-profit status. I was appalled.
Honestly, I've told my Democratic legislators that they should NOT just assume that Democrats will vote for them automatically. We will find other Dems who will have stiffer spines, primary them, and then vote them in.
As aggravating as this sounds, try living in a MAGA captured state like Texas, where our Congressional delegation ignores their constituents because there is no competition at all in state elections. The Democratic Party abandoned Texas 20 years ago, and except for the big cities, is a no show in state elections. As a result, in Texas we are ruled by a political minority of oil and gas industry billionaires and Christian Nationalist kooks, and we have not been able to shake them off.