Are you a Democrat who is progressive in the tweets and centrist in the streets?

[Agschmid]

Perhaps the most telling poll of the Democratic primary season hasn’t been about the Democratic primary at all — but about the fallout from a 35-year-old racist photo on a yearbook page. Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia was pummeled on social media after the revelation, and virtually every Democratic presidential candidate demanded his resignation.

Yet the majority of ordinary Democrats in Virginia said Mr. Northam should remain in office, according to a Washington Post/Schar School poll a week later. And black Democrats were likelier than white ones to say Mr. Northam should remain.

Today’s Democratic Party is increasingly perceived as dominated by its “woke” left wing. But the views of Democrats on social media often bear little resemblance to those of the wider Democratic electorate.

The outspoken group of Democratic-leaning voters on social media is outnumbered, roughly 2 to 1, by the more moderate, more diverse and less educated group of Democrats who typically don’t post political content online, according to data from the Hidden Tribes Project. This latter group has the numbers to decide the Democratic presidential nomination in favor of a relatively moderate establishment favorite, as it has often done in the past.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/08/upshot/democratic-electorate-twitter-real-life.html

Watch out for the paywall!

[zipplewrath]

1. Not sure this is what they are saying

They seem to be suggesting that "woke left" is vocal on social media, but out numbered "in the streets" by more centrist voices. The result being that the left makes all the noise, and the centrists win the elections.

[msongs]

2. one suspects the twitter crowd is more reactionary in a knee-jerk sort of way and

less prone to thoughtful contemplation before responding

[happybird]

3. I look at social media politics as being similar to online reviews

Most people only take the time to post a product or restaurant review if:
1.the experience exceeded their expectations or 2.they had a horrible, unacceptable experience

5 stars or 1 star. Those who are merely ok with the product, or found it to be as expected or average, are less likely to take to the keyboard and share their thoughts. There's always mid-range reviewers, but their position can be easily overlooked in the flood of 5 and 1 star reviews (which often can be a lot more entertaining to read than the earnest, average reviews).

Similarly, those at the extreme end of the political spectrum (to either side) tend to be more vocal. That makes it seem like there are a lot more of them than there really are.

I really think the vast majority of people fall somewhere in the center, politically. They just aren't out there shouting about it. We all have more in common than the entrenched partisans and pundits want us to realize. After all, they make their money by keeping us at each others' throats.

Right now the center can be difficult to see because the whole spectrum has been slowly dragged to the right since Reagan.Then the Tea Party/Freedom Caucus douchebags, along with RW radio, accelerated the process, so now it's become a giant, festering Magat clusterfuck. It's an artificial spectrum. Policy ideas being shouted down by the right as "radical" are actually pretty standard, center-left Democratic ideals.

The natural, real bell curve of the political spectrum needs to be restored if we want to return to political sanity. Overturning the Citizen's United decisions and implementing a modern version of the Fairness Doctrine would be the first places to start, imo.

These are just my thoughts, based on personal observation over the years. My husband votes R, as do most of his friends. I'm a proud Democrat, through and through. It makes for fun and interesting (and sometimes frustrating) debates.

Through these discussions and debates, I've found that we have a lot more in common than any of us could have ever imagined. When we rank priorities, almost all the items are the same, just in slightly different order. I think that puts us, as a group, in the center.

It always comes down to one point: we are all getting fucked over by the rich and powerful and we all know it. Our kids are the first generation that won't do better than us, or at least match our prosperity.

The one big difference seems to be: are you fatalistic about it because "all politicians are corrupt and that will never change" (R) or do you want to fight to change it (D)?

[Aristus]

4. Ah. Political orthodoxy. The iceberg to the Democratic Party's Titanic.

[ismnotwasm]

5. So I downloaded this app

It follows current bills in Congress as well as topics, and you can upvote or downvote and comment. I’m enjoying it, not because it’s any more “real” than Twitter, but because it’s presenting actual information as far as legislation goes. The comments section can be interesting. The right brings up the constitution a lot, but when you fact check, you realize they have little real. understanding.

The left is far more humane, and concerned with human progress and there are a significant number who seem to be in the middle.