Episode 23: With Friends Like Enemies, Who Needs You?
Today I’d like to address an important question: why should a Democrat vote for me?
To kick that discussion off, I’d like to point you to this article, which is definitely one of the most San Francisco things I’ve ever read. You really should read the article for yourself, but the upshot is, a group of lifelong Democrats from a part of San Francisco that is, like, mildly less progressive than other parts of San Francisco tried to get a charter from the San Francisco Democratic Party to create a local Democrats club, and their petition to get the charter did not pass.
Note that the leader of the effort to start the club was an Asian lesbian ex-Obama administration diplomat who sends her kids to public school, has been active in Democratic party politics since high school, voted for Elizabeth Warren, and thinks Republicans are “the biggest threat to our democracy.” Despite this, the feedback from SF Dems was “how do we know you’re not Republicans in disguise? How do we know you’re not DINOs??” Evidence cited by members of SF Dems in support of the idea that the petitioners might be closet Republicans included:
The group invited someone who supported last year’s school board recall to come speak to their group. Note that the person they invited was not some big meanie talk-radio conservative Republican; he was a gay Democrat who is now a sitting member of the Board of Supervisors.
Because the area the petitioners live in is one of the few remaining parts of the city with a lot of families with kids, they expressed as a goal that they wanted to promote “family-friendly policies”, which they explicitly defined as “improve the city’s public schools, make its streets cleaner and safer, get more housing built and strengthen public transit.” But one of the SF Dems said that was suspicious because the word ‘family’ is “a dog whistle for the right”.
Take a minute and let that marinate in your mind: in the worldview of SF Dems, the word ‘family’ is “a dog whistle for the right”. Really take some time to let that sink in.
I have tried in these posts to cling to a measured tone the way Jack clings to that chunk of wood with Rose on it at the end of Titanic, but the idea that the word ‘family’ is a dog whistle… I mean, that’s… that’s literally insane.
Which brings me back to the question I posed at the beginning: why should a Democrat vote for me?
The answer is twofold: you should vote for me because of a project I’m working on that’s in your best interest as a Democrat, and because of a project you’re (hopefully) working on that’s in my best interest as a Republican.
The project that I’m working on that’s in your best interest as a Democrat is my project to refocus my party on practical problem-solving, and stop getting baited into fighting about every little culture war thing. A world in which the Republican party is bringing more serious policy solutions to the table is a better world for you. A world in which my party spends less time and energy on culture war stuff is a better world for you. And it’s a better world for us as Republicans, because we’ll have a path to becoming relevant in cities again.
Which brings me to the project you’re (hopefully) working on that’s in my best interest as a Republican: having your party be run by the center left and not the far left. The most powerful tool you have at your disposal to successfully complete that project is people like me: practical Republicans who have serious policy ideas. San Francisco is the shining example of what happens when you finally succeed in wishing all the Republicans under the cornfield: you get a city that is increasingly ungovernable, increasingly unsafe, and increasingly shedding population and tax revenue. Of the 50 largest metro areas in the United States, it’s dead last in how quickly it’s recovering from the pandemic. And none of that is my party’s fault: we’re 6% of the electorate in San Francisco now. SIX PERCENT.
But beyond the bad policy, what you get when the chance of losing to Republicans has finally dropped to zero is a mentality like the one described in the article: a French Revolution-style mentality that says, “sure, you may be an Asian lesbian ex-Obama administration diplomat who sends her kids to public school, has been active in Democratic party politics since high school, and voted for Elizabeth Warren, but you know what? Not lefty enough.” And then you get sent to the metaphorical guillotine.
San Francisco is already there. LA is close behind. Here in San Mateo County we’re well on the way: 30 years ago Republican registration was around 40%; now it’s down to 14%. If the thought of San Mateo becoming San Francisco is as alarming to you as it is to me, then communicate that to your party in the one and only language they will ever understand: by taking your vote and casting it for a Republican. Now, it’s my party’s responsibility to present you with a serious alternative, but guess what? Here I am! I have a wide range of experience, serious policy ideas, and a willingness to bargain with Democrats, and if you put me in this Assembly seat, then I will produce more Republican candidates like me.
And once the Democrats have lost some more Assembly seats, the crazy will magically start getting reined in, and you’ll get better policy. More importantly, you’ll get what Californians of all political persuasions want: a state that’s back on the right track and whose cities are not poster children for bad governance.
My name is Gus Mattammal, and I’m running for California State Assembly. Electing me is the simple, easy first step to getting a better Republican party AND a better Democratic party here in California. So let’s get to work and make it happen!