Sarah’s Little Secret is Out | Bulwark on Sunday

Sarah Longwell emphasizes that in the current media environment, cultivating a 'community' is more impactful than simply having a large 'audience.' A community is 'sticky' and will 'show up for you,' demonstrating loyalty and engagement far beyond typical viewership. This is evident in the pre-order success of her book, driven by the Bulwark community's desire to support shared values and internal 'gags.'

Longwell states, 'I do have a community, we have a community, this Bulwark community and the community is sticky... they will show up for you.' She notes people pulling over their cars to pre-order the book and wanting it to beat other bestsellers.

Longwell argues that the Democratic Party's internal debate between moderate and progressive policies is a 'wrong fight.' The real challenge is for Democrats to become more 'aggressive' and better 'communicators.' Voters are looking for 'fighters' who demonstrate urgency and a clear sense of identity, mirroring the moment's significance.

Longwell states, 'We do not need to actually have a fight about whether we be more progressive or more moderate. We do think need to think a lot about how Democrats become more aggressive, how they become better communicators.'

Candidates must clearly define who they are to build trust and prevent opponents from shaping their narrative. Longwell uses Kamala Harris as an example, noting voters' distrust stemmed from not knowing her well enough, allowing them to 'make of her what they wanted.' In contrast, Trump, despite his lies, is perceived as 'clear about who he is,' fostering a 'parasocial relationship' where voters feel they 'know' him.

Longwell explains, 'Kamla's problem wasn't that people it was people could just sort of make of her what they wanted because she didn't give them this like clear sense of who she was. They needed that parasocial relationship to her.' She contrasts this with Trump: 'He is clear about who he is. And voters when they say they're like oh well I know he lies but I think he tells the truth.'

Republican voters have undergone a significant shift towards isolationism, largely due to 'two decades of war' in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump capitalized on this fatigue in 2016 by attacking Jeb Bush over his brother's war, signaling a departure from the traditional Republican model of exporting democracy.

Longwell notes, 'one of the big shifts has been how different Republican voters are today on foreign policy than they were when I was 22.' She adds, 'Trump basically did two things to make him stand out... One was to get all over Jeb Bush about his brother's war... that's when people realized Trump was right about the voters that... there was this tremendous fatigue about these Middle East wars.'

Trump's administration deliberately avoids calling military actions a 'war' to prevent low-information voters from recognizing a protracted conflict. This strategy relies on voters' limited attention span for foreign policy, hoping for 'smash and grab jobs' that are quickly declared victorious. However, this tactic is vulnerable to rising gas prices, which directly impact average Americans and could force them to 'look up' and question the conflict.

Longwell observes, 'I do think Trump, like part of them trying to not call it a war is they're trying to keep it a secret from low-information voters.' She adds, 'those low-information voters have one data point that Trump can't hide from them, which is their gas prices going up.'

Trump's political instincts, once characterized as 'low cunning' or a 'reptilian ability to understand where the American people were,' may be diminishing. Surrounded by 'yes-men' and billionaires who don't experience everyday economic pressures like gas prices, he is increasingly 'cocooned,' losing touch with the concerns of average voters.

Longwell suggests, 'I think now he is surrounded by people who are like, 'Sir, you have a that this war has a 96% approval among Republicans and they're not telling him that 70% of independents don't like it.' Bill Crystal adds, 'the people in Mara Lago that he's having dinner with don't care about gas prices.'