A recent piece, by Ben Mathis-Lilley, in Slate Magazine, shows what kind of perspective you develop when you are as deep into identity politics as Slate. The piece focuses on the people who might get a Democratic presidential nomination. Mathis-Lilley does a brief writeup on NC Governor Roy Cooper’s chances.
I thought I was getting pranked when Roy Cooper appeared on screen. This is what he looks like.
This is not a rising-star modern politician. This is the leader of an evangelical congregation in 1966. This is a guy who thinks Jimmy Carter is “too rock ’n’ roll.” This is what it would look like if a sweater designed a human. This is an advertisement you use to scare teenagers into using drugs.
It’s not that Cooper was incoherent in his statements about subjects such as raising teacher pay and using “science and data” to “make the tough decisions” about COVID. He would probably win some votes from older Americans who aren’t paying close attention and who might get him kind of conflated in their head with Ronald Reagan. But no. It’s not going to happen.
You have a candidate being judged solely on their looks in an evaluation that this person presents like an older white dude who is pretty buttoned down. You don’t get an analysis of politics — or you would see that Roy Cooper is pretty progressive. Nor do you get the opinions of the voters in the candidate’s state, because Cooper would certainly shine in that area. I’ve had a chance to interact with Gov. Cooper, and he’s a very competent thinker and leader.
If you are considering a candidate’s viability based on their looks or the identity box you put them in, you’re not only a bad political strategist, you’re also probably a poor voter.
🔗 Via Axios Raleigh
