Pod Against America

Trump's Leadership Beat the Elite's Control

Lomez tweeted about enjoying the liberal media’s post-Trump victory cope and seethe. He screenshotted Pod Save America, which was funny because that was also where I went yesterday to maximally indulge, as even the seething on NPR was simply too annoying to bear.

What struck me is how closely the Pod Save America hosts map to the archetype of effeminate white male valedictorian Brooklyn striver whose boot we've been stuck under for two decades. They're almost like the perfect platonic variations on this type, all in the room together with their "I'm safe" signaling vocal fry and "but I'm still a guy" signaling scruff.

They’re defined by a very specific perspective that I've noticed since first encountering them in New York in 2007. This perspective represents the big difference between what middle class people teach their kids versus what elites teach their kids—what state schools teach their students versus what the Ivys do. You can hear it vividly throughout the episode.

Normal people teach their kids how to express themselves to get what they want. Elites teach their kids how to express what others want to hear, so that they can rule over them.

In other words, elites learn to manipulate. In this episode, every proposed question is answered by some survey or factoid indicating what "normal people" want to hear, and the proposed solution is always how to tweak the messaging, not you see their own actual beliefs or policies, but the messaging in order to rule, without catching too much flak from those they rule over. Never once do they allow into their discussion whether or not Trump actually isn't evil, or whether Progressivism actually doesn't work...it's solely about strategizing ways to to tell other people what they want to hear, so they can appear innocent and holy, and thus stay in power.

It's not leadership, it's control.

I remember once having a Harvard friend look over my resume, and him going to great lengths to explain the importance not of my job history, but of the personal interests section—you must have one sport, one intellectual pursuit, one cute reference. This is how Ivy Leaguers think...they're trained in the art of making other people feel warm and fuzzy about you. And, for a very long time, this is why they always won.

But even in this episode the Pod Save America hosts admit that the era is over. "We can't just create messaging points based on surveys of various target groups, then bundle those solutions together [thereby dividing and conquering the population] and hope to win," they say. They are admitting that this was their magic formula up until now. But Trump blew it up.

However, the solution they come up with is that they need more of a "narrative approach" to "storyelling,"... so they can still manipulate people into voting for them. Never do they address what they actually believe. Never do they consider that perhaps their beliefs is simply wrong, or perhaps insane, or perhaps completely radical. Never do they consider that the problem might not be that they aren't perceived as the party of working people anymore, but that they actually aren't. No policies or beliefs ever reach the cutting room floor.

And thus, they miss the overwhelmingly obvious truth, which is that authenticity works for Trump because Trump is actually interested in America. He wants to lead it, not control it. He's not trying to manipulate us into thinking he cares so he can rule. He's simply stating his actual real beliefs, and trying to convince us of them.

If the left wants to compete in today's authenticity-centric media environment, they will need to do the same. We need to hear why we should have open borders. Instead of spending all their hours on strategy, they'll need to spend all their hours honing their principles. What are their principles besides "we should be in charge"? Do even they know?

They'll need to stop "let's convince Hispanics we care about them," and more "Hispanics, here's why you should follow us." But something tells me they're not able to do that...because the things they actually care about really are insane, utterly disconnected from the interests of those they seek to rule (this is why so many of them remain hidden, unlike rulers of the past). They make vague pronouncements about freedom (except for their enemies) and equality (except for their enemies) but these cloak their genuine belief that they, because they are very special snowflakes, simply deserve to rule.

To return to the resume: one sport, one intellectual pursuit, one cute reference. But what are they actually interested in? The answer is getting the job. Beyond that? They haven’t thought much about it.