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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   5913 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026

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Eh, I can believe Matty is still trying to do the Obama technocratic progressivism thing, like a Japanese solider holding out on a remote island decades after the War, but the problem with openly coming out in favor of tactical lying is that people tend to hold it against you forever.

I don't think Yglesian popularism necessarily involves tactical lying (although all politicians, populist, popularist or otherwise do a lot of it), and I don't think Yglesias personally is engaging in tactical lying about his political views. He definitely hasn't "come out in favour of tactical lying" in the sense of saying that elected Democrats should be saying more things that are not true. He is smart enough to know that enough things are true that you can make almost any argument by selectively emphasising true statements.

The essence of popularism is to talk about your popular policies and not about your unpopular policies. That can involve lying, but it can also involve ignoring awkward questions, whataboutism, agenda manipulation, and all the other not-technically-lying things that are staples of political communication. And, of course, it mostly involves saying true things about your popular policies while using the other set of staples of political communication to get heard. Once you put it this way, it really is just common sense, but common sense which the internal politics of the Democratic Party makes controversial.

The thing Yglesias is mostly pushing back on when he talks about popularism is Ford and Hewlett Foundation funded advocacy groups making Demoratic candidates and electeds say unpopular far-left things as a flex in intra-left factional politics, which (unlike doing unpopular things which are either nonpartisan good ideas or advance a left-wing partisan agenda) is all cost and no benefit.

He definitely hasn't "come out in favour of tactical lying" in the sense of saying that elected Democrats should be saying more things that are not true.

He tweeted literally that back in the day. Can't find an easily linkable version now, but something like "Yes, advocates should fight dishonesty with dishonesty. That's an honest view." I mostly remember because people have been throwing it in his face for a decade.

I'm sure he deeply regrets saying it now, whatever his feelings on the topic.

I don't think Yglesias personally is engaging in tactical lying about his political views.

Matt Yglesias has said, historically, that lying for political reasons is good. Article on the topic with a few extra links.

I don't think Yglesian popularism necessarily involves tactical lying (although all politicians, populist, popularist or otherwise do a lot of it), and I don't think Yglesias personally is engaging in tactical lying about his political views.

He has, he knows it, and he's not even good at it.

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