Conservative gains on four issues
A look at DEI, “rigged” elections, immigration, and vaccines
Conservatives build their own media ecosystem. They define issues early, frame them in emotionally resonant terms, and push the narrative they want out there relentlessly. Conservative streamers are in their heyday.
Meanwhile, the progressive and center left— at a structural disadvantage in the media and perennially on defense—too often respond late, not at all, or not with enough brute force to be heard.
Here are three issue areas where the left—and at times the mainstream position— has lost the narrative. (Note: I’m only talking about the storyline itself—not policy positions.)
On DEI
Trump and his acolytes have made it a mission to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion in government and corporate America. For years, conservative influencers like Robby Starbuck and Christopher Rufo on Substack have negatively branded DEI as “woke”—a proxy for fairness and inclusive policies. Both of these guys have created toxic vibes in the business world around DEI, even before President Trump’s anti-DEI executive order. The end result of this work has been a roll back of DEI policies in the federal government and some major companies– or a more quiet approach to pursuing such policies. In one way or another, a silence has fallen in many–though not all- quarters.
On Democracy
MAGA has successfully raised doubts about the integrity of our election system. This is a shining example of completely making something up and spoon feeding it to people enough that huge chunks of voters, about a third of the country, believe it. Painting free and fair elections in the U.S. as not free or not fair – generally fraudulent– is one of those most successful campaigns to move public opinion from zero people believing something to tens of millions, in the Republican Party. Most Americans don’t believe the ‘20 election was stolen, but a striking number do.
On Vaccines
The campaign against science and scientists isn’t new. But in recent years a pocket of the right wing, including Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and Elon Musk, targeted Dr. Peter Hotez, the renowned pediatrician in Houston. The anti-vaxxers political movement has grown and begun to shift a slice of public opinion against vaccines. The percentage of Americans who believed childhood vaccinations was important plummeted by 18 points in five years—from 2019 to 2024.