Friday Edition: Who Is Normal?
Plus: The politics of dating.
Bubba
23 Aug
1. The Normies
It’s becoming increasingly clear Democrats are trying to position themselves as the party of normality. (NBC News)
The latest: Minnesota governor and Kamala Harris running mate Tim Walz’s speech at the DNC on Wednesday emphasized “freedom” and his small-town roots.
Uncommitted delegates’ request for a pro-Palestinian convention speaker was denied, a sign Dems have little interest in catering to their far-left flank at the moment.
In a major tone shift from four years ago, when the DNC featured an undocumented mother describing how she crossed the border illegally, a number of speakers called for tougher immigration policies.
A viral moment: Clips of Walz’s children reacting to their father’s speech were shared widely on social media, prompting some Republicans to criticize the display of emotion.
Big picture: Democrats have adopted a strategy of calling Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, “weird.”
Ahead of the convention, the DNC projected the word “weird” on Chicago’s Trump Tower.
They’ve also reined in their more unpopular rhetoric on crime and the border, defying activists’ complaints that characterizing Trump as a “convicted felon” stigmatizes a marginalized group.
Nuance: Democrats haven’t completely rooted out their own “weirdness.”
This year’s DNC started with a "land acknowledgement," observing that the event was taking place on territory once held by a “forcibly removed” tribal nation.
Planned Parenthood set up a mobile clinic near the DNC to offer vasectomies and abortion pills.
Bubba’s Two Cents
It wasn’t long ago that Republicans’ claim to being the “normie” party — the party of buttoned up professionals and suburbanites — was undisputed. But times (and voter demographics) have changed. Democrats’ policies are arguably weirder and more extreme than Republicans’. But, with Americans tuning into the 2024 race in earnest, it seems like the party is toning down a lot of the fringe rhetoric and trying to cast Trump and Vance as oddballs. Democrats are also helped by the media glossing over their weirdness, while putting even the most harmless GOP behavior under a microscope.
2. Connecting the Dots on Debt
American entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan says the world is hurtling toward a financial crisis “far worse” than the one that happened in 2008. (Balajis)
The U.S.: According to Srinivasan, who cites a Treasury Department report from February, the true U.S. debt stands at $175.3 trillion, once you factor in entitlements.
U.S. Treasury
Emergency loans in 2023 outpaced those during the 2008 financial crisis, signaling severe stress in the banking system.
The U.S. is borrowing at unprecedented levels, with interest payments now the second-largest government expense, exceeding defense spending.
Over the past four years, the U.S. dollar has lost 25% of its value.
Our rivals: While the U.S. is borrowing heavily and running up its debt, competitors like China and Russia are taking actions to reduce global reliance on American currency.
China is rapidly offloading U.S. Treasuries, decreasing foreign demand for U.S. debt and complicating U.S. borrowing efforts.
BRICS nations, including China and Russia, are stockpiling gold and moving away from the U.S. dollar, weakening its role as the global reserve currency.
Bubba’s Two Cents
If Srinivasan’s right, the mammoth levels of U.S. borrowing combined with less demand for American dollars would mean we might suddenly find ourselves being unable to finance our massive debt. What would happen then? Skyrocketing interest rates? Economic instability? Whatever it is, it wouldn’t be pretty.
You can read Balaji’s post featuring a number of charts here.
3. The Politics of Dating
Is politics playing a bigger role in our romantic lives? (Yahoo News)
A new Dating.com survey: Since June, 72% of daters have engaged in politically charged conversations on dating apps since the June debate between Biden and Trump.
Per the survey, 55% of respondents are generally open to dating someone with opposing political views, but this drops to 49% during an election year.
Among Democrats, the majority look for partners who are "open-minded," "global citizens," and "well-traveled."
Whereas Republicans tend to seek partners who are "hardworking" and "family-oriented."
Related: Other surveys have found differences in liberals and conservatives when it comes to dating.
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