I wanted to quote tweet every paragraph on this new op-ed by Tressie McMillan Cottom, it's so good. It could be taught in women's & gender studies courses or polisci courses.
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“For any chance of doing that, her campaign would have to embrace what makes Harris unique and brand that uniqueness as authentic leadership.” It seems like they were focused on reigning in her uniqueness last time around and that’s one of the big contrasts between 2024 and 2020.
Finally some intelligent and relevant commentary in the NYT. So much is tired old both-sidesing commentary that normalizes Trump’s threats to democracy and handicaps the Democrats.
AUTHENTIC is the byword, the one that absolutely was missing in 2020 and absolutely is there this time.
I was worried about this very thing. It's what Hillary Clinton has ALWAYS LACKED - the ability to fake being genuine. If you can't BE genuine, you MUST be able to fake it.
Now, I don't know if Harris is ACTUALLY being authentic, or if she's just learned to fake it very well - and that's the point, it's what matters, that WE CAN'T TELL.
It reminds me of the old joke -
Guys, what a woman is attracted to the most in a man is honesty and sincerity, so... if you can fake that, you've got it made.
Dr Tressie McMillan Cottom is too brilliant to put up with shenanigans.
As long as I can access TressieMcMillanCottom's wisdom via free access, Idc what vehicle I must use to get it.
If you miss her as a person check her on the Insta website, no app needed.
There's loads of insight from her there✨
It’s in the eye of the audience not the person, despite being defined as subjective to the person. So being authentic in politics is defined recursively as *seeming* authentic. There’s no “there” there, so it’s a mirage.
"The shortest presidential campaign against one of the most popular incumbents in modern presidential history seems poised to also be the most transformative."
As shocking as it is, Trump still polls at around 50% (average) and nearly won in 2020. That’s unusually and consistently high…and why the GOP won’t get off the MAGA train.
I think the one mistake this piece makes is brushing off the opposition's actions in a few spots. We were told for decades the future couldn't look like Hillary Clinton, and she might be tied to mass murders!
The opposition hasn't yet repeated effective messaging about Kamala Harris.
The GOP had been campaiging against Hillary Clinton since Bill was in office. I lost count of the number of white women who said they were disgusted by Trump but also said they just hated Clinton. When I pressed them on why, they couldn't explain it they just hated her "for some reason"
Can't say I delve deeply into Fox News, but I'm surprised the minute Kamala became the VP pick she didn't get the full Hillary treatment. They had 4+ years to soften her up, but if they tried it didn't even bubble up to the point that a political junkie like me picked up on it.
It just occurred to me that this might be an unanticipated benefit of Trump replacing the GOP apparatchiks with incompetent but loyal MAGAts. Trump never thought he’d be running against a black woman so he didn’t bother going after her. She was invisible to him and his people.
Thanks for the article. I unsubscribed from NYT a while back because of so many things, Tressie McMillan Cottom was one of the columnists I miss. And on twitter.
It is the diametric opposite of a Chait think piece: it’s insightful and useful. So refreshing reading political writing by somebody who understands that electoral politics means getting other people (plural) to vote for you, not just getting Chait (singular) to vote for you.
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https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1940161220948013?download=True )
I was worried about this very thing. It's what Hillary Clinton has ALWAYS LACKED - the ability to fake being genuine. If you can't BE genuine, you MUST be able to fake it.
THAT is the essence of a great politician.
All bets are off after Inauguration.
OR DOES SHE.
If I do it, I could be resisting the urge to beat someone senseless to make it stop.
Guys, what a woman is attracted to the most in a man is honesty and sincerity, so... if you can fake that, you've got it made.
Incredible piece on the interstitial space Harris is occupying
As long as I can access TressieMcMillanCottom's wisdom via free access, Idc what vehicle I must use to get it.
If you miss her as a person check her on the Insta website, no app needed.
There's loads of insight from her there✨
"The shortest presidential campaign against one of the most popular incumbents in modern presidential history seems poised to also be the most transformative."
Trump is neither popular nor an incumbent, right?
Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 got more votes than the Republican incumbent, resulting in the Democrat Wilson winning.
Those are the best two performances by an ex-president, and Trump will likely be comparable to one or the other.
The opposition hasn't yet repeated effective messaging about Kamala Harris.
Arkansas.