This analysis nails the deeper issue with credibility in political discourse. The centrists like Baron and Yglesias aren't just slow to recognize patterns—they've built entire brands on dismissing early warnings as "unserious." Back in 2019 I remember ppl saying Bezos would never interfere with the Post, and now we're seeing the predictable result. What's frustating is how this pattern repeats itself: leftists identify structural problems early, get mocked, then vindicated too late to change anything. The institutional narcissism point is spot-on tho.
Yea, it'd be one thing if they learned from their mistakes and were more open to alternative ideas going forward. But as you said, they've built their careers on not doing that, which leaves the country suffering from problems that the left could easily solve.
That’s why I invented the Cassandra Brigade. Like that princess cursed by Apollo for refusing to have sex with him, we are constantly being dismissed as “Chicken Little” until the sky does fall, and then the people who dismissed us twist themselves into 6-dimensional pretzels to avoid stating the obvious.
I’m a little guilty of this myself (I supported Hillary over Bernie in 2016). I think this happens because, psychologically, most people simply can’t fathom the worst case scenario; our brains are very good at rationalizing in order to feel better.
I wouldn't say you're guilty of it, because it sounds like you changed your politics after 2016. I think the people who are guilty are those who say, "We need more economic populism, but I was still right to vote for Hillary in 2016." That doesn't sound like you. 😀
But you're right about people not accepting worst-case scenarios. I remember a study from a while ago that showed voters Republican statements saying they wanted to cut Social Security and the Department of Education. But even after hearing it from the Republicans, the voters didn't think they would cut SS or the DOE. People refuse to accept what goes against their protective instincts.
This is a great piece. You illustrate how, when imperialists do what imperialists are gonna do, in the US the media blames leftist analysis for giving the imperialists the idea in the first place!
As if there were no economic forces, no profit motives, no burning desire for American hegemony on the part of its rulers, just bad ideas that would go away if only those annoying leftists would stop thinking bad thoughts.
Which is just one step away from "Feel the Joy!" It's one reason Kamala lost to Trump.
It's also so crazy because it's not like US coups and invasions are anything new. Everyone could see Trump was headed that way. But Latin America is one long history of Yankee imperialism. It's crazy to pretend a continuation of that is somehow outlandish.
The centrists never miss an opportunity to punch left no matter how silly they look. They are the loyal opposition to the right but they regard the left as an existential threat.
Sadly true . For me the (and a lot of others) was when they censored the opinion desk by withholding the 2024 endorsements and firing popular pundits like Rubin and Telnes . A lot of people thought that Bezos would have been a benign dictator but that didn’t last long 😳
America’s problem has always been hating hippies worse than Nazis.
This analysis nails the deeper issue with credibility in political discourse. The centrists like Baron and Yglesias aren't just slow to recognize patterns—they've built entire brands on dismissing early warnings as "unserious." Back in 2019 I remember ppl saying Bezos would never interfere with the Post, and now we're seeing the predictable result. What's frustating is how this pattern repeats itself: leftists identify structural problems early, get mocked, then vindicated too late to change anything. The institutional narcissism point is spot-on tho.
Yea, it'd be one thing if they learned from their mistakes and were more open to alternative ideas going forward. But as you said, they've built their careers on not doing that, which leaves the country suffering from problems that the left could easily solve.
That’s why I invented the Cassandra Brigade. Like that princess cursed by Apollo for refusing to have sex with him, we are constantly being dismissed as “Chicken Little” until the sky does fall, and then the people who dismissed us twist themselves into 6-dimensional pretzels to avoid stating the obvious.
I’m a little guilty of this myself (I supported Hillary over Bernie in 2016). I think this happens because, psychologically, most people simply can’t fathom the worst case scenario; our brains are very good at rationalizing in order to feel better.
I wouldn't say you're guilty of it, because it sounds like you changed your politics after 2016. I think the people who are guilty are those who say, "We need more economic populism, but I was still right to vote for Hillary in 2016." That doesn't sound like you. 😀
But you're right about people not accepting worst-case scenarios. I remember a study from a while ago that showed voters Republican statements saying they wanted to cut Social Security and the Department of Education. But even after hearing it from the Republicans, the voters didn't think they would cut SS or the DOE. People refuse to accept what goes against their protective instincts.
This is a great piece. You illustrate how, when imperialists do what imperialists are gonna do, in the US the media blames leftist analysis for giving the imperialists the idea in the first place!
As if there were no economic forces, no profit motives, no burning desire for American hegemony on the part of its rulers, just bad ideas that would go away if only those annoying leftists would stop thinking bad thoughts.
Which is just one step away from "Feel the Joy!" It's one reason Kamala lost to Trump.
It's also so crazy because it's not like US coups and invasions are anything new. Everyone could see Trump was headed that way. But Latin America is one long history of Yankee imperialism. It's crazy to pretend a continuation of that is somehow outlandish.
It's true. A prophet is not honored in his/her own country. Look what happened to Cassandra as just one example.
The centrists never miss an opportunity to punch left no matter how silly they look. They are the loyal opposition to the right but they regard the left as an existential threat.
Thank you, Joe!
Sadly true . For me the (and a lot of others) was when they censored the opinion desk by withholding the 2024 endorsements and firing popular pundits like Rubin and Telnes . A lot of people thought that Bezos would have been a benign dictator but that didn’t last long 😳