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The problem of agency, or, the Dems' other messaging problem: a response to Kos. [1]

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Date: 2025-05-31

Greetings all! Long time lurker, first time poster here. After reading Kos’ last two screeds about the messaging problems within the Democratic Party and liberal/progressive circles in general, I was reminded of an article I read in the The New Republic entitled Why the Democratic Tea Party Failed (and How It Could Succeed).

I won’t try to summarize everything said in the article (it’s worth a read), but one central point the author, Toby Buckle, makes is in regards to the idea of agency. Kos, as I read his articles, falls squarely within the ‘low-agency’ camp that Buckle describes.

The problem with this approach as I see it, and I think many fellow Kossacks agree (judging from the comments in Kos’ posts), is that it focuses too much on ourselves. It completely ignores both actions that the GOP/MAGA took during the 2024 campaign and the personal responsibility of the American voter.

Why not talk about the near monopoly the right has on the media in this country? Yes, many in this country see the Democratic party as the party of elites. But how can that be when Dems put up a woman who was raised by a single mother in Oakland, and the GOP puts up a nepo baby who got millions from his rich father? How can that be when the GOP has consistently cut spending on programs that benefit the average American while giving tax breaks to the rich? How can that be when Trump had America’s richest people lined up behind at his inauguration?

Why not talk about just how plain racist/sexist/whateverphobic many of the people in this country are? About how and why a great many Americans so willingly respond to the racist dogwhistles of the MAGA crowd? I’m tired of hearing people dismiss the inherent racism of many in this country as ‘economic insecurity’. Does that argument really hold water? A great many of the MAGA types I know live comfortable lives in posh suburbs with a swimming pool in the back and a giant pickup trunk in the garage. When someone clad from head to toe in hundreds of dollars of Trump/MAGA swag starts complaining about the price of eggs or gasoline, my instincts tell me they are being, well, less than honest.

By failing to discuss the things above, many of your loyal readers feel like your pointing fingers and placing the blame for the election squarely on us. That none of the blame for the mess we’re in can or should be placed on Trump or the people who voted for him?

I know that’s not what what Kos is trying to say, but by only focusing on ourselves, it feels like a blame game. No one comes to this site to read articles talking about all the things we’ve done wrong. If you are a preacher who spends every sermon telling your flock that they are sinners and are damned to hell, they’re just going to quit coming to church.

That is what I mean by ‘the Dems’ other messaging problem’. We’re angry. We’re scared. And we’re sick and damned tired of hearing about how we’re to blame for the mess this country is in.

Please quit playing the blame game on the front page. I don’t want to read articles talking about how if we start using different words when talking policy and politics that things will get better. If that’s all we’re talking about, then they won’t. I want to read stories about how we’re going to dismantle the GOP propaganda machine. I want to read stories about how we can fight the racism and sexism that is now so prevalent in our country. I want to read stories about how we going to take the fight to them, instead of fighting amongst ourselves.

Okay, that’s my $0.02. Thanks for reading...

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/31/2325287/-The-problem-of-agency-or-the-Dems-other-messaging-problem-a-response-to-Kos?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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