This reminds me of 2019 when you had at the Democratic Party debates what was referred to later as the “Woke Olympics”. Who would would the Woke Olympics?" Elizabeth Warren? Pete Buttigieg? Kamala Harris? It was “time for a woman” after all (or at least a guy who played for the other team).
None of them won the nomination.
It went to old Sleepy Joe Biden. Because it turns out that normie Dems really do exist and don’t really like the woke shit.
Now of course, Joe Biden ended up being much more woke than his voters realized as he esssentially let his staff set the tone for his administrations communication and policies - which is a big part of why Trump won in 2024. But it still doesn’t take away from the fact that in 2020, the Normie Dems wanted a normie guy - not the woke.
I just read Navalny’s memoir, and regularly he emphasizes something called the “Principle of Normality” - which asserts exactly what you’d think it does - that’s even more applicable here than it is in Russia.
A number of good points about regular behavior compared to the most political engaged voters.
But I think “beware the normie Democrat” does a disservice to your writing. You may think of it as just click bait or cleverness. Think though of the number of Substack users who are scrolling. Those that don’t read your article will imbibe the negative connotation. Some might specifically not read it because it seems like yet another piece attacking traditional and or moderate Democrats. And those who do read the article receive the negative connotation as well which doesn’t fit with the nonjudgmental feel of the rest of the piece.
Great post! Another thing I think people do when responding to polls is try to be more progressive in their poll response than they vote! This happened in the Michigan and Wisconsin primaries but I also think that might be why trump is sometimes underrated in the polls: people say the more progressive response (not voting for trump) but vote less progressive: ie for Trump! But clearly a lot was going on in these primaries that would screw up the polling 😎
This reminds me of 2019 when you had at the Democratic Party debates what was referred to later as the “Woke Olympics”. Who would would the Woke Olympics?" Elizabeth Warren? Pete Buttigieg? Kamala Harris? It was “time for a woman” after all (or at least a guy who played for the other team).
None of them won the nomination.
It went to old Sleepy Joe Biden. Because it turns out that normie Dems really do exist and don’t really like the woke shit.
Now of course, Joe Biden ended up being much more woke than his voters realized as he esssentially let his staff set the tone for his administrations communication and policies - which is a big part of why Trump won in 2024. But it still doesn’t take away from the fact that in 2020, the Normie Dems wanted a normie guy - not the woke.
I’m sure that will be true in 2028 as well.
"Beware"? Who do you think your audience is actually?
Left wing I guess 😆
I just read Navalny’s memoir, and regularly he emphasizes something called the “Principle of Normality” - which asserts exactly what you’d think it does - that’s even more applicable here than it is in Russia.
A number of good points about regular behavior compared to the most political engaged voters.
But I think “beware the normie Democrat” does a disservice to your writing. You may think of it as just click bait or cleverness. Think though of the number of Substack users who are scrolling. Those that don’t read your article will imbibe the negative connotation. Some might specifically not read it because it seems like yet another piece attacking traditional and or moderate Democrats. And those who do read the article receive the negative connotation as well which doesn’t fit with the nonjudgmental feel of the rest of the piece.
Idk it makes sense in the context of being in response to the big upset in Wisconsin, especially when the polls were big in Hong’s favor
Thanks for replying.
It seems like you missed my point.
Unless one bets on political outcomes or one polls for a living, “beware” has unnecessarily denotations and connotations.
Great post! Another thing I think people do when responding to polls is try to be more progressive in their poll response than they vote! This happened in the Michigan and Wisconsin primaries but I also think that might be why trump is sometimes underrated in the polls: people say the more progressive response (not voting for trump) but vote less progressive: ie for Trump! But clearly a lot was going on in these primaries that would screw up the polling 😎