The Futile Quest to Build a 'Liberal Joe Rogan'
For months, pundits have decried the absence of a 'Joe Rogan of the left' — an online media figure who can galvanize young men to support Democrats in the way that popular right-wing creators like Rogan, Adin Ross, and the NELK Boys have done for President Donald Trump. Now, it appears that Democratic operatives have a $20 million plan to build such a figure.
The proposal, titled 'Speaking With American Men: A Strategic Plan,' from Ilyse Hogue, the former president of the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, and John Della Volpe, polling director for the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics, is one of several pitches floating around in Democratic policy spaces aimed at making up ground with demographics the party lost in 2024. The plan was immediately panned online by critics who argued that young men would view this type of approach as inauthentic.
In the last election, young white men swung aggressively in the direction of Trump, voting for him by a 28-point margin, after supporting Joe Biden in the last election.
Online media has largely been credited with the shift, particularly among young white men.
In an analysis of 320 of the most popular online shows across platforms such as Youtube, Rumble, and TikTok, Media Matters found that right-leaning shows were significantly more popular, accounting for roughly 82% percent of the total following of online shows analyzed. It also found that 9 out of 10 of the most followed online shows were right-leaning. Evidence suggests that young men are absorbing what these far-right streamers are sharing. A survey ahead of the election from the Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice found that more than 40 percent of young men trust one or more misogynistic voices online.
The plan would raise $20 million from Democratic donors, which the project's leadership has reportedly already begun to collect, to study the 'syntax, language, and content' that's popular among young men in online spaces, then develop content that spreads an 'aspirational vision of manhood that aligns with Democratic values without alienating other core constituencies' and partner with influencers.
Experts on masculinity and gender in politics argue that while it's good to research why young men left the party, investing millions to recreate a 'Joe Rogan of the left' fundamentally misunderstands why young men moved so rapidly to the right — and misses an opportunity to woo them back.
'To try to create the next Joe Rogan, it's [misguided],' said Gary Barker, president and CEO of Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice. 'Because it's going to come across as preaching and a kind of lab-designed android.'
Last year, Barker and Equimundo released a report on the 'Manosphere,' tracking how young men engage in online communities and why. Barker's research suggests that young men are attracted to these spaces out of a desire for community and for someone to speak directly to them about their social, political, and economic anxieties.
Right-wing influencers and Republicans fill that void, stoking those anxieties and creating a useful scapegoat in women, minorities, and immigrants. 'They've talked to men about their feeling of anxiety and said, 'You're right to feel anxious. You're not the problem. Tear it all down,'' said Barker.
However, Barker said that Democrats shouldn't be trying to recreate that strategy even if it would work for them. 'You don't want a Democratic Mr. Beast,' he said. 'It's horribly manipulative. It's exploitative of people. I'm not sure if we can get something so big online that doesn't follow a playbook that's either exploitative, exaggerated, or harm-inducing. And if we do, I think it's going to feel like it's preaching to you.'
If Democrats want to win back young men, they'll have to prove to them that their economic and social issues matter to them, said Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute and author of 'The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy.'
Deckman's research found that young men's political shift toward Republicans was heavily influenced by the economy. 'A lot of young men feel that the American Dream is increasingly out of reach for them. And the Democratic Party certainly didn't have an answer for how their policies or their vision might help them get a better paying job,' she said.
While Deckman's research suggests that young men felt chided by the Democratic Party instead of helped, nostalgia for the economy under Trump was a significant factor in their shift. 'For a lot of young men, especially those that don't pay a lot of attention to politics, they remember the economy being better under the first Trump administration,' she said.
A more populist economic message could resonate with this group of voters, argued Deckman. 'There's an economic blueprint that can emerge that is less elitist and less about giving tax breaks to billionaires. I think that has a broader reach, but for whatever reasons, I think a lot of young men aren't hearing that message from Democrats, and I kind of struggle with it. Is it a messenger issue, or is it they're just not receptive to it?' she said.
Barker argues that the real problem is that Democrats have been trying to sell a 'piecemeal' approach to economic issues that feels automatically inadequate for the issues we're facing.
'Piecemeal compensatory social policies don't work. I mean, they work for some segments of the population, but they don't take on the root of what's driving so much of the inequality, which is leading to white men's death of despair, and has always been part of people of color's economic challenges,' said Barker.
Nina Smith, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Stacey Abrams, said instead of propping up a creator who checks the perfect ideological boxes, Democrats should embrace the online spaces for young men that already exist.
For example, creators like Hasan Piker, a left-leaning creator with over 5.5 million subscribers on Twitch and broad popularity among young men, has largely been ignored by the Democratic establishment. Piker's political content leans farther left, sharing a populist economic message paired with strong criticism of U.S. foreign policy in Israel.
'There is a tendency to shy away from those spaces because our favorite thing to do in the Democratic Party is to, pardon my language, shit on the left,' said Smith.
Aside from entering authentic online spaces that already connect with men, both Smith and Barker said the most important way to reach young voters is in person. 'We get the best out of young men [when] we actually go and see them face to face,' said Barker.
Smith pointed toward the success of youth conservative movements like Turning Point USA as an example of how ground game can make a huge difference with the groups Democrats are trying to win back.
'I honestly believe it would be better for us to have a bus tour than to spend a bunch of money on research that is cold,' she said, 'Turning Point did that sort of investment where they did a tour to different college campuses, and that's how they got in contact with these young people.'
Republicans have created a space for young men to blow off steam, Barker said. Now, Democrats need to find a way to offer them something better.
'Trump did not offer men anything that will make their life better,' he said. 'What he did is he offered them a place to yell at the wind for a little while. It doesn't seem like it should be that tough for us on the left to at least pull them in, out of a space where they're just yelling at the wind.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
18 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Republican Senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the US debt load, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The changes made to President Donald Trump's big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in health care coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill, which CBO has projected would add $2.4 to the debt over a decade. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the scoring for the House-passed version of the bill, which predicts 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage. The stark numbers are yet another obstacle for Republican leaders as they labor to pass Trump's bill by his self-imposed July 4th deadline. Even before the CBO's estimate, Republicans were at odds over the contours of the legislation, with some resisting the cost-saving proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid and food aid programs even as other Republicans say those proposals don't go far enough. Republicans are slashing the programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks put in place during his first term. The push-pull was on vivid display Saturday night as a routine procedural vote to take up the legislation in the Senate was held open for hours as Vice President JD Vance and Republican leaders met with several holdouts. The bill ultimately advanced in a 51-49 vote, but the path ahead is fraught, with voting on amendments still to come. Still, many Republicans are disputing the CBO estimates and the reliability of the office's work. To hoist the bill to passage, they are using a different budget baseline that assumes the Trump tax cuts expiring in December have already been extended, essentially making them cost-free in the budget. The CBO on Saturday released a separate analysis of the GOP's preferred approach that found the Senate bill would reduce deficits by about $500 billion. Democrats and economists decry the GOP's approach as 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. In addition, Democrats note that under the traditional scoring system, the Republican bill bill would violate the Senate's 'Byrd Rule' that forbids the legislation from increasing deficits after 10 years. In a Sunday letter to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, CBO Director Phillip Swagel said the office estimates that the Finance Committee's portion of the bill, also known as Title VII, 'increases the deficits in years after 2034' under traditional scoring.
New York Post
20 minutes ago
- New York Post
Cuomo's election loss reveals onetime kingmaker NYC unions now toothless ‘paper tigers'
The biggest loser in the Democratic primary race for mayor besides Andrew Cuomo is New York's weakened labor movement. Cuomo's Big Labor muscles were exposed as nothing but 'paper tigers' without bite, according to longtime political strategists and even people active in the union movement. 'Clearly, the support of some of the largest NYC unions for Cuomo, which he very prominently showcased in the debates and elsewhere, did not do much for the former governor (nor for the unions themselves),' Johsua Freeman, a labor historian and professor at the CUNY Graduate Center, wrote to The Post. Advertisement 9 Andrew Cuomo's Big Labor muscles were exposed as nothing but 'paper tigers' without bite. Getty Images 'Also, the membership in some unions is less mobilized and engaged in political action than in earlier years. 'In some respects, the impressive DSA field operation has moved into the void,' Freeman said, referring to the Democratic Socialists of America party that includes primary-race winner Zohran Mamdani. Advertisement Mamdani and his army of thousands of passionate volunteers — including many DSA members — outworked the network of unions that Cuomo relied upon to get out the vote. 9 'The membership in some unions is less mobilized and engaged in political action than in earlier years,' Freeman said. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock It turned out Mamdani didn't need the unions, and it's clear from the results that at least some rank-and-file union members defied their leadership and voted for the two-term Queens state assemblyman — just as many union households voted for Republican President Trump last year. The city's 8-1 matching funds for small donations also make candidates less reliant on union cash, Freeman noted, while others pointed to large funding from 'independent' Super PACs backing candidates as making labor unions less relevant. Advertisement 'The unions were paper tigers,' a veteran labor associate said. 'Their get-out-the-vote operations are diminished. They've been living off past success.' 9 Mamdani and his army of thousands of passionate volunteers outworked the network of unions that Cuomo relied upon to get out the vote. Getty Images Cuomo was endorsed by the heart of Big Labor — Service Employees International Union Local 1199 representing health care workers, Local 32 BJ for building workers, the Hotel Trades and Gaming Council, the firefighter unions, Teamsters Local 237 and the entire network of the hardhat construction trade unions. 'Big Labor endorsed Cuomo but did not seem particularly enthusiastic about him, certainly compared to Mamdani's supporters' enthusiasm level,' said CUNY political science professor John Mollenkopf. Advertisement 'They also did not seem to mount a particularly strong canvassing and GOTV [Get Out The Vote], which they are capable of doing under the right circumstances,' he said of the unions. 9 The city's 8-1 matching funds for small donations also make candidates less reliant on union cash, Freeman noted. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock Meanwhile, Big Labor's membership rolls are shrinking. Union membership in New York City has fallen in recent years: In 2024, only about 20% of all wage and salary workers in the city were union members, down from around nearly one quarter a decade ago. Another challenge in terms of GOTV efforts is the fact that many more union members don't reside in the city as they did decades ago — particularly in the construction trades, among uniformed officers and even in the unions with lower-paid workers, sources said. 9 In 2024, only about 20% of all wage and salary workers in the city were union members, down from around nearly one quarter a decade ago. New York Post 'If you have less and less members and more and more of them live outside New York City, their ability to mobilize large groups of their members has dramatically cratered and shows no sign of slowing down,' a veteran labor insider said. Former Gov. David Paterson, a Cuomo supporter, said, 'The unions don't work like they did years ago for a candidate. Advertisement 'There was not a lot of street activity.' 9 Many more union members don't reside in the city as they did decades ago — particularly in the construction trades. AFP via Getty Images It wasn't just Cuomo who was hurt by the unions' dwindling influence. District Council 37, the union representing the largest number of city municipal workers, backed losing Council Speaker Adrienne Adams for mayor, though they ranked Mamdani second. Advertisement The United Federation of Teachers, whose membership was divided, sat out the race. 9 Former Gov. David Paterson, a Cuomo supporter, said, 'The unions don't work like they did years ago for a candidate.' AP Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen — who appeared at a pro-Mamdani campaign rally touting the candidate's free-bus-fare plan days before the primary — said many labor leaders, along with the city Democratic Party establishment, made a calculated decision that Cuomo would win. 'The Democratic Party establishment got demolished,' Samuelsen said. Advertisement Unions that backed Cuomo or were neutral in the primary are now shifting to Mamdani while others are considering backing incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for re-election as an independent. 9 'The Democratic Party establishment got demolished,' Samuelsen said. Getty Images Local 32 BJ, the Hotel Trades and Gaming Council and the state Nurses' Association have already joined Mamdani. Some labor sources whose unions backed Cuomo took issue with criticism that they didn't work hard and instead blamed the candidate for running a lackluster campaign. Advertisement 'You need a general in charge to win,' a pro-Cuomo union insider said. 'You can't win with a ghost.' 9 'You need a general in charge to win,' a pro-Cuomo union insider said. 'You can't win with a ghost.' Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock Austin Shafran, a spokesman for HTC and 32 BJ, said unions assist but don't run a candidate's campaign. 'The best unions provide high-quality, supplemental support that help push good campaigns over the finish line. But core field infrastructure for citywide campaigns needs to be owned by campaigns themselves,' he said. He said the unions did a good job in pulling out the Cuomo vote in The Bronx and southeast Queens, areas they focused on and where the ex-governor performed well. .
Los Angeles Times
25 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the U.S. debt load, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The changes made to President Trump's big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in healthcare coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates that the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1-trillion increase from the House-passed bill, which the CBO has projected would add $2.4 to the debt over a decade. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the estimate for the House-passed version of the bill, which predicts that 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage. The stark numbers are yet another obstacle for Republican leaders as they labor to pass Trump's bill by his declared July 4 deadline. Even before the CBO's estimate, Republicans were at odds over the contours of the legislation, with some resisting the cost-saving proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid and food aid programs even as other Republicans say those proposals don't go far enough. Republicans are slashing the programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks put in place during his first term. The push-pull was on vivid display Saturday night as a routine procedural vote to take up the legislation in the Senate was held open for hours as Vice President JD Vance and Republican leaders met with several holdouts. The bill ultimately advanced in a 51-49 vote, but the path ahead is fraught, with voting on amendments still to come. Still, many Republicans are disputing the CBO estimates and the reliability of the office's work. To hoist the bill to passage, they are using a different budget baseline that assumes the Trump tax cuts expiring in December already have been extended, essentially making them cost-free in the budget. The CBO on Saturday released a separate analysis of the GOP's preferred approach that found the Senate bill would reduce deficits by about $500 billion. Democrats and economists decry the GOP's approach as 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. In addition, Democrats note that under the traditional estimation system, the Republican bill would violate the Senate's 'Byrd Rule' that forbids the legislation from increasing deficits after 10 years. In a Sunday letter to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, CBO Director Phillip Swagel said the office estimates that the Finance Committee's portion of the bill, also known as Title VII, 'increases the deficits in years after 2034' under traditional scoring. Hussein writes for the Associated Press.
