Ezra Klein in 2020 on his book tour for Why We’re Polarized, 12 February 2020. copyright Ezra Klein. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
How Can Politicians Connect with Their Base?
What makes a candidate popular? Here is an interesting point of view. In a recent interview with David Remnick, published by The New Yorker, Ezra Klein argues, “one of my most strongly held views about politics is that the most important question for voters is not whether they like the politician but whether the politician likes them.” Klein believes that the worst part of Hillary Clinton’s infamous “deplorables” speech, from 2016, was her use of the word “irredeemable” to describe Trump voters. “When you begin to talk like that, it’s a severing of political community,” Klein said. Instead, he believes that Barack Obama modelled the ideal type of politics, by offering a “very open-palmed approach.”
Current Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet in 2022. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Have you come across recent recommendations online for a shadow cabinet in the United States? The concept of a shadow cabinet originated in Europe. In May 2021, the a British think tank, the Institute for Government, wrote about the shadow cabinet in the UK. “The shadow cabinet is made up of senior members of the main opposition party in Westminster who act as spokespeople for the opposition in specific policy areas. Shadow ministers are appointed by the leader of the opposition and generally take roles that mirror the current government. Their job is to scrutinize those they ‘shadow’ in government, and develop policies for their party.” It is also possible that the shadow cabinet leader might create a shadow post not currently existing in government but which the opposition feels represents important policy.
Immediately after Donald Trump’s second election last November, Democratic politicians, including Representative Wiley Nickel (North Caroline, D), began talking about the need for a Democratic shadow cabinet. He points out that the shadow cabinet communicates what the Democratic party is for in every respect of political policy. In May, Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan proposed that ranking members of congressional committees could be this shadow cabinet. Reporting this story, Politico observed that ranking members “are not the fresh faces who can give the Democratic Party a sleek new look.” Instead, Politico recommends, “Tap accomplished people with the ability to speak plainly and the credibility to puncture the Trump administration’s often Orwellian narratives. Don’t limit members to professional politicians. Pitch a big tent. Don’t draw rigid ideological lines.”
Wiley Nickel, writing a Washington Post opinion, recommended choosing from the Democratic members of Congress but often not the well-known ones. Timothy Snyder, the American professor of Soviet history now teaching at the University of Toronto, argues that a shadow cabinet could help counteract the influence of oligarchy and authoritarianism, reminding citizens that a better government is possible. Such a cabinet can not only critique the government in power but also change the political landscape by proposing new ideas and solutions.
