Jay RosenJan 2, 2023

A virtue of this profile of
Elise Stefanik by Nick Confessore is that it doesn't describe an ideological conversion.

Rather, Stefanik had no strong beliefs to begin with. Her rise is a simpler tale of ambition— and an emptiness inside. The profile is of the party's direction, as much as the person who went with it.

"Friends going back to Ms. Stefanik’s Harvard days struggled to identify any of her deeply held political beliefs at all."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/us/politics/elise-stefanik.html?unlocked_article_code=ZqqumQpFaKiu36YmTlZOOTuDBVhlk4TtK8O2-2FC7sPTbFMlxwhApVFugrIV_l4-LS5oUtAJXr2GSlSqgirZdBOlymyvax8pIe-MyF0kA4ihpJiauxO7leeIb9--ksInVGbabZuloLX_nszTNxLB_P7WXJjF7dgusEVBDql-5t7R7y68tkwimey_870q2ZB0DctKhknmuE49Yybr_J6tjD3G9hiMlZGx1Gonbg2x9w6FvFLqqbGQAn2wWciRHKcBJwj459m4wzMxL0UmXKQX9DJjgcVitIkDLl63iGinQooM4TLmpszR1qzLSo-79DWxE7i0CYWtDpFyY1aN&smid=share-url

#journalism #uspolitics #uspol

The Invention of Elise Stefanik

To rise through the Trump-era G.O.P., a young congresswoman gave up her friends, her mentors and her ideals. Will it be enough?

The New York Times
Show threadRamsi WoodcockJan 2, 2023
@jayrosen_nyu This shows, of course, that the system continues to work as intended. We don't want people with deeply held political beliefs as our representatives. We want people who will do what their voters tell them to do---and fall all over themselves changing when they change. The threat to the system does not come from pleasers like Stefanik, even if it would have been nice from the perspective of the rest of us if she had resisted.
Show threadRobinJan 2, 2023

@zephyranth @jayrosen_nyu Christ, I can’t figure out if this is you showing your age or your privilege or just sarcastic or just WTF?
My grandfather was a life long political activist and civil servant because he wanted to HELP THOSE WHO COULD NOT HELP THEMSELVES

Talk about losing the plot (!)

Show threadRamsi WoodcockJan 2, 2023
@Chimaera @jayrosen_nyu I thought people are supposed to be more respectful of others on Mastodon . . . . I'm glad that your grandfather fought for his ideals. That's important. My point is that in a system of representative democracy it's important that representatives bend to the will of voters. Indeed, that's how activists are able to have an impact.
Show threadRobinJan 2, 2023
@zephyranth @jayrosen_nyu “We don't want people with deeply held political beliefs as our representatives.” 😑
You must have missed the Clintons in the 90s.
I cant. You have a good one.
Show threadRamsi WoodcockJan 2, 2023
@Chimaera @jayrosen_nyu That's democracy, I'm afraid.
Show threadRamsi WoodcockJan 2, 2023
@Chimaera @jayrosen_nyu In a democracy, politicians with deeply held political beliefs operate under a constraint that handicaps them---inflexible commitments. They don't change as the electorate changes. So they lose. As a result, when the system is working, you get ideologically empty politicians---true servants of the people.
Show threadRamsi Woodcock
@Chimaera @jayrosen_nyu Of course, each of us would love people who have deeply held political beliefs that accord with our own to be elected to office. But that's only because we all harbor our own animal spirits---our own antidemocratic tendencies. We would love a representative who doesn't listen to members of the electorate whose views differ from our own and adheres to our preferences no matter what. When the system works, however, it must disappoint us in this regard.
Jan 2, 2023 at 9:08pmWeb