Thanks for a fascinating discussion. With the average ratio between representative and constituents so high, it seems that many people are looking for a personal connection. (That's another reason to increase the size of the House of Representatives.) At the same time, maybe politicians need to go to the grocery store, look at the prices, and see what people are experiencing. Marjorie Taylor Green did not understand healthcare until her son told her that he and his family could not afford health insurance when the ACA subsidies that Biden and the Democrats put into place were allowed to expire by the Republicans in their Big Beautiful Bill. Politicians need to stay grounded in the everyday experience of their constituents.
I struggled to find the transcript and finally located it by just googling SIN and following a couple more steps. This is fascinating; I’d always wondered about the use of focus groups. It’s difficult: maybe people in these groups are skeptical about political experts but it takes political expertise to reach a certain place. I’m not sure how that empathic connection could be made between harried people like these and candidates. But there must be a way, and this certainly lays the problem, the challenge out there. Really interesting.
Inequality. How do we to tell a low information non voter that Democrats can't deliver for two reasons: 1, we are outnumbered in the federal and many state legislatures and 2. no act of congress can bring down grocery or housing prices.
Maybe we can get Joy to do more! (Joking but not really.) this is just a triangulation, but based on the polling data, I expect people have the same anxieties everywhere
Thanks for a fascinating discussion. With the average ratio between representative and constituents so high, it seems that many people are looking for a personal connection. (That's another reason to increase the size of the House of Representatives.) At the same time, maybe politicians need to go to the grocery store, look at the prices, and see what people are experiencing. Marjorie Taylor Green did not understand healthcare until her son told her that he and his family could not afford health insurance when the ACA subsidies that Biden and the Democrats put into place were allowed to expire by the Republicans in their Big Beautiful Bill. Politicians need to stay grounded in the everyday experience of their constituents.
I struggled to find the transcript and finally located it by just googling SIN and following a couple more steps. This is fascinating; I’d always wondered about the use of focus groups. It’s difficult: maybe people in these groups are skeptical about political experts but it takes political expertise to reach a certain place. I’m not sure how that empathic connection could be made between harried people like these and candidates. But there must be a way, and this certainly lays the problem, the challenge out there. Really interesting.
Inequality. How do we to tell a low information non voter that Democrats can't deliver for two reasons: 1, we are outnumbered in the federal and many state legislatures and 2. no act of congress can bring down grocery or housing prices.
This is very good stuff… where it’s at.
There is an unfortunate paradox here. You don't get economic change without a sustained political movement. Which requires engagement and time.
Good work, thank you so much! I do want to add: I just want an adult in the room.
I was unable to find the transcript button for this podcast on the web version of this post.
Hi Eric. Thanks for flagging! Should work now. E
SO important. Thank you.
Good stuff. Wish this exercise had been conducted beyond Michigan. Guessing perspective in the upper midwest a little different.
Maybe we can get Joy to do more! (Joking but not really.) this is just a triangulation, but based on the polling data, I expect people have the same anxieties everywhere
Were these ex trump voters? Just asking