Six-Chart Sunday (#28) - The Seinfeld Election

6 Infographics from the week + 1 Video (Will Jawando's "My Seven Black Fathers")

In the hours after President Biden withdrew from the 2024 campaign and VP Harris became de facto nominee, millions shared that amazing clip from Veep where the same events had earlier transpired.  Life was imitating art!  Yet for my money, there are even more similarities between this year’s election & the GOAT, Seinfeld.  Since it’s August, and we’d all rather laugh than cry, here’s why 2024 is really the Seinfeld Election.

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1. THE ROOMMATE SWITCH: “In the entire history of western civilization no one has successfully accomplished the Roommate Switch. In the Middle Ages you could get locked up for even suggesting it!”  Politics has so far borne out George’s admonition, as Democrats tried and failed to swap in VP Humphrey for LBJ in 1968, and they considered but decline to swap in Ted Kennedy for President Carter in 1980.  Democrats are trying again in 2024, and so far betting markets think it’s working.

2. OPPOSITE GEORGE: “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.”  In 2020, then-Senator Harris ran on a platform supporting Medicare for all, a $10 trillion Green New Deal, decriminalizing illegal border entry, banning fracking and cutting the LAPD budget, among other Progressive priorities… and she failed before Iowa. In 2024, Harris appears to be following Jerry’s and progressive pundit Matt Yglesias’ recent advice to “shake the Etch-A-Sketch” and embrace a more moderate agenda:

3. THE PONY REMARK: “I hate anyone that ever had a pony when they were growing up.”  With that attempt at humorous provocation, Jerry offended the matriarch of the family, who turned out to be a pony-loving immigrant who had one growing up.  Far more American women own cats than ponies, of course, and many are among the estimated 46% without children potentially-offended by VP nominee JD Vance’s controversial “childless cat ladies” comments from 2021.

4. THE CONTEST: “But are you still master of your domain?” Former President Trump’s extraordinary strength & defiance after getting shot created an iconic moment and rare opportunity to broaden his appeal, as Ronald Reagan did after surviving his own assassination attempt.  All it required was self-discipline.  Whether strategic (run the same hard-hitting campaign that defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016) or impulsive, his speech accepting the GOP nomination – longest in convention history – combined with his combative appearance before the National Black Journalists Association, suggests no such pivot is in the offing.

5. THE AIDS RIBBON: “But everyone wears the ribbon. You must wear the ribbon!” scolded AIDS walk organizers unsatisfied with Kramer’s support for the cause but unwillingness to conform by wearing the ribbon. Legendary Democratic political scientist Ruy Teixeira has warned that working class voters are increasingly turned off by elite Democrats’ virtue-signaling and intolerance for those who don’t conform both in symbol & substance.  Can Harris broaden the party to a big tent like Obama and Bill Clinton successfully did, or will Progressive elites’ obsession with symbols and language continue to narrow Democrats’ working class appeal?

6. THE CADDY: Just as Kramer ignored the trial advice of super-lawyer Jackie Chiles in favor of his trusted caddy Stan, the Trump campaign reportedly dismissed the counsel of some seasoned political pros in favor of other trusted outsiders when making its VP selection. Kramer lost his case. Time will tell whether Sen. Vance proves an inspired or less helpful running mate.

VIDEO

Montgomery County (MD) Councilman Will Jawando’s inspiring story of his early life and career is a fantastic and uplifting book. We discussed it here:

Fellow Seinfeld fanatics… let me know what I missed! And if you enjoy these please share with friends and encourage them to also Subscribe. It’s free!