Sarah Longwell

I do think it is a fundamental change in the main character in the story that we're telling. And the main character in the story that we tell so often as Democrats is Donald Trump. And I think we can do a better job by making the main character our constituents. That doesn't mean that every single talking point and every single issue suddenly becomes, well, they're attacking Harvard.

I do think it is a fundamental change in the main character in the story that we're telling. And the main character in the story that we tell so often as Democrats is Donald Trump. And I think we can do a better job by making the main character our constituents. That doesn't mean that every single talking point and every single issue suddenly becomes, well, they're attacking Harvard.

Well, this farmer in my district, right? But it is the story on a macro level that you're telling, right? And so, yes, I respond to, you know, I've spoken out on a whole host of these issues that some of my colleagues, I presume, think we shouldn't be speaking out on. And we're still keeping the main thing the main thing. We can do both things.

Well, this farmer in my district, right? But it is the story on a macro level that you're telling, right? And so, yes, I respond to, you know, I've spoken out on a whole host of these issues that some of my colleagues, I presume, think we shouldn't be speaking out on. And we're still keeping the main thing the main thing. We can do both things.

And we can tell fundamentally a story that one in two kids in this country are potentially about to have their healthcare either undermined or eliminated, right? That one in five Americans are seeing their healthcare ripped out from under them. That Head Start is being defunded. And that there are families in my state that are about to lose access to quality early childhood education, right?

And we can tell fundamentally a story that one in two kids in this country are potentially about to have their healthcare either undermined or eliminated, right? That one in five Americans are seeing their healthcare ripped out from under them. That Head Start is being defunded. And that there are families in my state that are about to lose access to quality early childhood education, right?

When we talk about it, we should just keep bringing it back to the people we represent, to the flock that we represent, to the families that we're protecting. And I don't think we always do that. And I feel like that's a cliche thing to say, but we've lost that. I do think we've lost that because I think we are talking so often about

When we talk about it, we should just keep bringing it back to the people we represent, to the flock that we represent, to the families that we're protecting. And I don't think we always do that. And I feel like that's a cliche thing to say, but we've lost that. I do think we've lost that because I think we are talking so often about

nationally that like in Congress, we forget that we are representing our district and we are each messengers in our own districts.

nationally that like in Congress, we forget that we are representing our district and we are each messengers in our own districts.

I think... First off, I think one of the problems in politics is that people will often... People think that there are these binary choices between being...

I think... First off, I think one of the problems in politics is that people will often... People think that there are these binary choices between being...

true to ourselves and saying everything we believe in exactly the way that feels viscerally comforting to us, or be completely poll tested and only talk about the issues in the way that the polls tell us to talk about them or not talk about them at all because the polls aren't good. And I think that that is a false choice in our politics.

true to ourselves and saying everything we believe in exactly the way that feels viscerally comforting to us, or be completely poll tested and only talk about the issues in the way that the polls tell us to talk about them or not talk about them at all because the polls aren't good. And I think that that is a false choice in our politics.

I think a lot of times you see politicians who will say, if I can identify a risk, to something, that means I shouldn't do it. We are, as human beings, very bad at evaluating risk and reward. And so I think on the one hand, you've had a dynamic where I think we were lulled into a false sense of security of the sort of cultural momentum of where we were. And I think it created an absolutism

I think a lot of times you see politicians who will say, if I can identify a risk, to something, that means I shouldn't do it. We are, as human beings, very bad at evaluating risk and reward. And so I think on the one hand, you've had a dynamic where I think we were lulled into a false sense of security of the sort of cultural momentum of where we were. And I think it created an absolutism

that has increasingly shrunk our ranks because it has excluded people who are with us on 90% of things but disagree with us on 10% of things. I think people have been scared of getting canceled online. They've been scared of backlash to nuance. They've been scared to do politics because it's not appropriate performative outrage online.

that has increasingly shrunk our ranks because it has excluded people who are with us on 90% of things but disagree with us on 10% of things. I think people have been scared of getting canceled online. They've been scared of backlash to nuance. They've been scared to do politics because it's not appropriate performative outrage online.

So I think they've been scared into not employing an approach that meets voters where they are. But then on the flip side, after the last election in particular, there was such a backlash to that that people went, the lesson learned here is that We can never talk about these things that we have to completely reject it. It's all price of eggs. Right?

So I think they've been scared into not employing an approach that meets voters where they are. But then on the flip side, after the last election in particular, there was such a backlash to that that people went, the lesson learned here is that We can never talk about these things that we have to completely reject it. It's all price of eggs. Right?