For most of my adult life, I worked in and around Democratic politics, and my hobby was work. Then, in 2022, I started taking surf lessons and got hooked. In April of 2023, and again last December, I took a trip to an outdoor wave pool in Waco, Texas.
在我成年的大部分时间里，我在民主政治及其周围工作，我的爱好是工作。然后，在2022年，我开始上冲浪课，并迷上了。在2023年4月和去年12月，我去了德克萨斯州韦科的一个户外波浪池。
If you want to meet the voters who swung toward Donald Trump and put him back in the White House, you could do worse than the hot tub at Waco Surf. I went there with my pickup-truck-driving, Joe Rogan–superfan brother-in-law, and from the moment we arrived, he couldn’t have felt more at home, and I couldn’t have felt more out of place.
如果您想与唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）转向唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）并将他放回白宫的选民，您可能会比Waco Surf的热水浴缸更糟。我带着皮卡式驾驶的乔·罗根 - 苏普凡夫姐夫去了那里，从我们到达的那一刻起，他再也感觉不到宾至如归，而且我再也感觉不到。
At first I couldn’t put my finger on what, exactly, made me feel like the odd man out. But I soon developed a theory: The great divide between us is that I constantly think about politics and they do not.
起初，我无法掌握什么，这使我感到自己像个奇怪的人。但是我很快就发展了一个理论：我们之间的巨大鸿沟是我不断思考政治，而他们却没有。
Two surf trips are hardly statistically significant. But research corroborates my wave-pool hunch: Democrats are becoming the party of political junkies; Republicans, the party of people who would rather think about anything else. And there are more of the latter than there are of the former.
两次冲浪旅行几乎没有统计学意义。但是，研究证实了我的波浪池直觉：民主党人正在成为政治迷的政党。共和党人，宁愿考虑其他任何事情的人们的政党。后者比前者更多。
Read: What we lose when we’re priced out of hobbies
阅读：当我们从爱好中定价时，我们损失了什么
Last November, a poll from Data for Progress asked voters how much attention they paid to news about the election. Among voters who answered “none at all,” just 32 percent supported Kamala Harris. Among those who paid a great deal of attention to politics, Harris’s support shot up to 52 percent. Similarly, according to the research firm Catalist, Harris improved on Joe Biden’s 2020 margins among so-called super voters—people who voted in each of the four most recent elections—by a percentage point. The good news for Democrats is that by definition, these voters turn out consistently. The bad news is that the rest of the electorate moved toward Trump by 10 points.
去年11月，一项来自进度数据的民意调查询问选民对选举的新闻有多少关注。在回答“完全没有”的选民中，只有32％的人支持卡玛拉·哈里斯。在那些非常关注政治的人中，哈里斯的支持率高达52％。同样，根据研究公司的催化剂，哈里斯（Harris）在乔·拜登（Joe Biden）在所谓的超级选民中的2020年利润率（在最近四个最近的四个选举中都投票）提高了一个百分点。对民主党人来说，好消息是，从定义上讲，这些选民始终如一。坏消息是，其余的选民向特朗普提出了10分。
The Democratic Party’s candidates, donors, staff, and voters are thus caught in a contradiction. Americans’ obligation to engage politically—always present in a democracy—has never been greater. President Trump is trampling our system of checks and balances, dismantling our government and institutions, pitting the military against protesters, and putting all Americans at greater risk of disease and natural disaster. These are serious times, and serious measures, including collective action such as the “No Kings” protests that took place this past Saturday, are warranted.
因此，民主党的候选人，捐助者，员工和选民陷入了矛盾。美国人有义务在民主国家中参与政治 - 永远存在的义务 - 从未如此大。特朗普总统正在践踏我们的制衡制度，拆除我们的政府和机构，使军队反对抗议者，并使所有美国人面临更大的疾病和自然灾害风险。这些是严重的时期，有必要采取严重措施，包括集体行动，例如上周六举行的“无国王”抗议活动。
Yet the best hope for defeating authoritarianism remains the ballot box. And to win elections, Democrats have to win back at least some voters who have no interest in becoming more politically engaged. The party is going to need another way to reach people—and perhaps that path goes through activities other than politics.
然而，击败威权主义的最大希望仍然是投票箱。为了赢得选举，民主党人必须至少赢得一些对在政治上更加参与的兴趣的选民。该党将需要另一种方式来吸引人们，也许这条路经历了政治以外的其他活动。
Democrats used to do more to put their hobbies on display. The party’s most recent two-term presidents were a saxophone-playing Rhodes Scholar and a pickup-basketball-playing former editor of the Harvard Law Review. I wrote speeches for the latter and can say from experience that President Barack Obama’s sports-guy-in-chief persona was not an act. Standing backstage, watching the president ad-lib about the Bears or Bulls, I often got the sense that he found talking rosters or playoff games far more enjoyable than diving into the details of the day’s policy announcement. The voters in the audience usually felt the same way.
民主党人曾经做更多的事情来展示自己的爱好。该党最近的两届总统是萨克斯管戏剧学者和哈佛法律评论的拾音器篮球前编辑。我为后者写了演讲，可以从经验中说，巴拉克·奥巴马总统的主持人派系人物不是一个行为。站在后台，看着总统广告有关熊或公牛的信息，我经常感觉到他发现谈论名单或季后赛游戏比潜入当天政策公告的细节要有趣得多。听众中的选民通常也有同样的感觉。
Today’s Democrats aren’t completely somber. I attended last year’s convention in Chicago, where “Joy” was a campaign slogan and a guest appearance by Lil Jon turned the roll call into a 23,000-person party. But that’s actually a symptom of the problem, not a solution. Democrats focus on making politics fun, when the real question is whether they can have fun outside of politics. Faking hobbies, or trying desperately to appear relatable, won’t cut it. It’s got to be real.
当今的民主党人并不完全阴沉。我参加了去年在芝加哥举行的大会，“乔伊”是一个竞选口号，而莉尔·乔恩（Lil Jon）的嘉宾露面将滚动电话变成了一个23,000人的聚会。但这实际上是问题的症状，而不是解决方案。当真正的问题是他们是否可以在政治之外玩乐时，民主党人专注于使政治变得有趣。伪造的爱好，或者拼命尝试相关，不会削减它。一定是真实的。
In that respect, the party has taken a giant step backwards during the Trump era. Biden’s age and limited schedule didn’t just make it harder for him to command the bully pulpit; it meant Americans got fewer chances to see him enjoying himself outside work. In 2020, Harris launched a YouTube cooking show, but it was scrapped by the time she became vice president, and it never returned.
在这方面，该党在特朗普时代迈出了巨大的一步。拜登（Biden）的年龄和有限的日程安排不仅使他难以指挥恶霸的讲坛。这意味着美国人看到他在工作外面享受自己的机会更少。2020年，哈里斯（Harris）发起了一场YouTube烹饪表演，但是当她成为副总统时，它被取消了，它从未回来。
In Harris’s case, I suspect her campaign worried that women candidates who share too much about their hobbies are quick to be branded as unserious. It’s a valid concern. But so, unfortunately, is its opposite. Women candidates who share too little will be branded as being motivated solely by personal ambition. Besides, Democrats now struggle to have fun in public regardless of gender. Make a mental list of the most likely 2028 nominees—JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker. How many of them have a single identifiable interest outside of their job?
就哈里斯而言，我怀疑她的竞选活动担心候选人对自己的爱好分享过多的候选人很快被烙印为不受欢迎。这是一个有效的问题。但是，不幸的是，它是相反的。分享太少的女性候选人将被称为仅受个人野心的动力。此外，无论性别如何，民主党人现在都在努力在公众场合享受乐趣。列出最有可能的2028名提名人的心理清单-JB Pritzker，Gretchen Whitmer，Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez，Pete Buttigieg，Cory Booker。他们中有多少人在工作之外有一个可识别的兴趣？
It’s not just candidates. The more that donors and staff surround themselves with people who are into politics, the easier it becomes to ignore the fact that most Americans aren’t. Critics have mocked every detail of the donor retreats that bring together strategists, funders, and influencers in attempts to create “the Joe Rogan of the left.” But the biggest flaw with these gatherings is baked into the premise: There will never be a Joe Rogan of the left, because there was never a Joe Rogan of the right. Rogan rose to prominence as a mixed-martial-arts color commentator. According to the fan site jrelibrary.com, he went 1,169 episodes before recording his first interview with a sitting elected official, and even now, his catalog lists just 19 episodes (out of more than 2,300) under the “Politicians” category.
不仅仅是候选人。捐助者和员工围绕着政治的人所包围的越多，就越容易忽略大多数美国人不是这样的事实。批评家嘲笑了捐助者撤退的每个细节，这些细节将战略家，资助者和影响者汇集在一起，以创建“左派的乔·罗根”。但是，这些聚会的最大缺陷被烤在前提中：永远不会有左派的乔·罗根（Joe Rogan），因为从来没有右边的乔·罗根（Joe Rogan）。罗根（Rogan）成为一名混合军事彩色评论员。根据粉丝网站jrelibrary.com的报道，他获得了1,169集，然后录制了他与现任当选官员的第一次采访，即使现在，他的目录列出了“政治家”类别下的19集（超过2,300多个）。
Read: How hobbies infiltrated American life
阅读：爱好如何渗透到美国的生活
Building progressive political media networks is important for those opposed to Trump. Progressive podcasts and news sites are where people who are deeply engaged in politics can stay informed, discuss strategy, and build both on- and offline communities. But to win over people who aren’t already political junkies—say, even a small fraction of Rogan’s audience—it’s important to recognize that his political credibility comes in large part from the fact that he doesn’t think of himself as political. The same is true of nearly all the other “manosphere” hosts who powered Trump’s reelection. Andrew Schulz and Theo Von are comedians. Dave Portnoy talks sports and reviews pizza. Jordan Peterson focuses on self-help. The Nelk Boys do pranks. Each of them followed the same path: focusing first on interests, then issues, and only years later turning to elections.
建立进步的政治媒体网络对反对特朗普的人很重要。进步的播客和新闻网站是深入参与政治的人们可以保持知情，讨论战略并建立在线和离线社区的地方。但是，要赢得尚未成为政治瘾君子的人（例如，甚至一小部分罗根（Rogan）的听众），重要的是要认识到他的政治信誉很大程度上来自他认为自己没有政治的事实。几乎所有其他“ Manosphere”主持人都为特朗普连任的动力也是如此。安德鲁·舒尔茨（Andrew Schulz）和西奥·冯（Theo von）是喜剧演员。戴夫·波特诺（Dave Portnoy）谈论体育和评论比萨饼。乔丹·彼得森（Jordan Peterson）专注于自助。内尔克男孩在恶作剧。他们每个人都遵循相同的道路：首先关注利益，然后是问题，仅仅几年后，就转向选举。
These hosts have something else in common: The media they use to reach people are all relatively new. In prose writing, where gravitas is still valued, Democrats maintain a cultural advantage. But in media that prioritize fun over seriousness—podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, memes, or any other format you were never assigned as homework—conservatives dominate.
这些主机还有其他共同点：他们用来吸引人们的媒体都是相对较新的。在散文的写作中，在格拉德斯仍然受到重视的地方，民主党人保持文化优势。但是在优先级优先的媒体中，Podcasts，YouTube，Tiktok，Memes或您从未被分配为家庭作业的任何其他格式 - 保守派占主导地位。
What can the anti-Trump opposition do to reverse this trend? Although governor-hosted podcasts are an interesting experiment, what the party needs are channels that build audiences by being purely entertaining and then, on rare occasions, bring on candidates as guests. The Harris campaign was smart to land an interview with Call Her Daddy, and I suspect some newly launched podcasts, such as Good Hang With Amy Poehler, will be similarly sought-after for appearances as the primaries approach. Look at the comedian Ian Fidance parrying a MAGA heckler, or Ricky Velez’s brutally accurate assessment of Biden’s age. These stand-ups don’t bill themselves as Democrats. In fact, I would guess they find Democrats cringe inducing. Which is why, if they were ever to take a Rogan-like political turn, their endorsement might actually move the needle.
反特朗普的反对可以做些什么来扭转这一趋势？尽管州长主持的播客是一个有趣的实验，但聚会的需求是通过纯粹的娱乐性来建立观众的频道，然后在极少数情况下，将候选人当作客人。哈里斯（Harris）的竞选活动很明智地吸引了与她的爸爸的采访，我怀疑一些新发行的播客，例如与艾米·波勒（Amy Poehler）的良好挂钩，作为初选接近时的露面。看看喜剧演员伊恩·艾德斯（Ian Fridance）在玛格尔·赫克勒（Maga Heckler）招架，或者瑞奇·维勒斯（Ricky Velez）对拜登（Biden）年龄的残酷准确评估。这些站立并不是自己作为民主党人的收费。实际上，我想他们会发现民主党人诱使引起诱因。这就是为什么，如果他们曾经采取像罗根（Rogan）般的政治转折，他们的认可实际上可能会动弹。
Democrats should also double down on their last remaining cultural edge—traditional celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, who both endorsed Harris in 2024. When celebrities endorse a candidate on social media, they reach millions of voters who might not otherwise consume much political content. Even though the Swift and Beyoncé endorsements were clearly not enough, the strategy still holds promise. The challenge for Democrats is how to get even more exposure to that audience. Imagine, in 2026 or 2028, entertainers from across genres and fandoms lending their platforms to long, personal conversations that get past campaign talking points and allow candidates to connect directly with their fans. It would be the kind of opportunity to reach disengaged voters that no TV ad or well-attended rally could replace.
民主党人还应该加倍在其剩余的文化优势上加倍 - 泰勒·斯威夫特（Taylor Swift）和碧昂斯（Beyoncé）等传统名人，他们在2024年都认可了哈里斯（Harris）。当名人在社交媒体上认可候选人时，他们吸引了数百万选民，他们可能不会消耗太多政治内容。即使迅速和碧昂斯的认可显然还不够，但该策略仍然具有希望。民主党人面临的挑战是如何使观众更多地接触。想象一下，在2026年或2028年，来自各种流派和狂热者的演艺人员将平台借给了长时间的个人对话，这些对话超越了竞选的谈话要点，并允许候选人直接与粉丝建立联系。这将是吸引脱离接触选民的机会，没有电视广告或有影响力的集会可以取代。
Republicans might not have their normal-guy advantage for long. Having taken over the political establishment, they risk losing their place as the party of people who don’t like politics. President Trump is determined to inject government into every corner of American life. J. D. Vance is a walking “How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?” meme. Stephen Miller is many things, but chill isn’t one of them.
长期以来，共和党人可能没有正常的投资优势。接管了政治机构后，他们冒着失去自己不喜欢政治的人政党的地位的风险。特朗普总统决心将政府注入美国生活的每个角落。J. D. Vance是一个步行“你好吗，孩子们？”模因。斯蒂芬·米勒（Stephen Miller）是很多事情，但寒意不是其中之一。
Democrats, in other words, have an opportunity to become the party of fun again. The moment is far too serious for them not to seize it.
换句话说，民主党人有机会再次成为娱乐党。对于他们不抓住它而言，这一刻太严重了。
