Authenticity

Sometimes the moment just demands it.

It is said “Washington is Hollywood for ugly people.”

I laugh when I hear it. Politics is all performative. Where is the substance? It is there, but you have to look for it.

I think a theme we are seeing creep more and more into politics is the idea of authenticity. Authenticity is the paradox of Hollywood. Hollywood is used to driving the culture of America, but it has, like politics, run up against something else. People are craving something substantive. The products, the franchises, are not meeting the needs of the people anymore. Disney is one of those companies truly grappling with these consumer changes and how to be responsive to instead of driving the cultural narrative. We are Balkanizing, breaking up.

Same with politics. As I was writing about the polling earlier last week, it was obvious to me that polls reflect they want to be real versus what is real. Sure, our Governor is getting a “surge” in the polls for “fighting back” on redistricting, but how high will it go and will voters care in 2028 when he runs for the Democratic nomination? Is it an attempt to drive the narrative instead of reflecting the narrative? Is it another Marvel Super Hero movie instead of Sinners coming out of nowhere, blowing everyone away? Sure it will turn out the people, but will it flop ultimately?Was redistricting right or just a collective Democratic “emotive” response to punch back but get pummeled because it was not thought out?

Where is the Democratic Party going? You have the New York Times saying Democratic voter registration is falling, creating a crisis. Is it truly a crisis or to generate donations for the groups which register voters? Sad we even have to ask these questions. You also have overall opinions of Democrats in the doldrums. The internal civil war is, do you go further left and follow the New York Mayor’s path or do you go a different way, more centrist a la San Francisco. The further left is painting themselves as the insurgent, as the future, and the centrist as the “old, establishment” Democrats. The left is providing something to meet the moment, and the establishment is fighting itself as much as anything else. They need something.

Then you have the need to re-establish the party, but which part of the party will win? Is the establishment of the party an emperor with no clothes? Are they weighed down by the coalitions which brought them to where they are today? Are they vulnerable to insurgents? And, if so, what does that mean? Are consultants killing the party? Consultants, I could do a whole Substack on them (and likely will).

Here is the thing about these situations as I have learned. Do not count out those who have Power. They might be slower, they might be awkward while the “aircraft carrier turns around,” but once they focus their sights on you, they can still be very dangerous. For Republicans looking in glee at the Democrat’s civil war, things will happen on their side after Trump retires. It too is a revolution as we have said already.

What to do? A great conversation between Mike Madrid and Gustavo Arellano regarding Latino voters is worth a listen. Latinos are the “swing” electorate and how they vote for the redistricting will tell a lot about where the party is going. It is not just about Latinos. It can go beyond. It is a broader group. Yesterday, the discussion continued with another disillusioned Democrat, Evan Barker, starting a Substack and writing about the hemorrhage of votes, being carried on RealClearPolitics. Another read worth it.

A lot of these discussions go back to the Abundance theory from Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. The purpose of the book was to provide a “safe” place for Democrats to evaluate who they are and where they are going. It is the equivalent of saying, “the ghost ship has lost its way and it is time to get back on track.” It is time to stop the crazy and get back to “center.” What made us successful and what do we need to look at as the “throw aways?”

All of them are saying is something I have written about here. The Party, well all politics, is “corrupted” by interest groups and advocates. These groups use their influence and Power to move their cause to the forefront and thus creating a “grease pole” situation. The fringes control the center. Authenticity is hard to use when you have so many masters to appease. I see it here on the ground in Altadena and cannot imagine it at the macro levels of Sacramento and DC and even beyond.

As Mike Madrid told me back in April, maybe this is the moment when things get snapped back because of places like Altadena. Maybe it is time to reset the whole conversation. Maybe it is time to rethink how the structures of California are. I am not advocating for a Republican take over per se, rather, I am advocating more than just one discussion point. I am advocating for our electeds to look at things differently.

The question is how? How do you get that “momentum” started when there is so much in the other way?

Well, it is doing little things. It is figuring out AB 797 and seeing how we can create a pilot to help bring a new funding mechanism into the disaster response and beyond for economic growth. We can prove how we can get bank funding into the equation and move away from grants. We can start to drive a model of self sufficiency. We can do it the way the federals are telling us.

We can also start by creating a California Disaster Investment Fund which can unlock funding which otherwise sits in the State’s coffers without dynamism. Instead of fighting everyone head on, it is about creating new paths which align interests and move the discussion forward. It is about using what is out there. It is about proving what people are pushing for with more than words, with actions, with authenticity. It is about finding a way to build housing while lowering taxes so people have more money and housing and we stop spending billions to build affordable housing when it is right here.

It is about advocating for economic development in a way that makes sense. We spend on businesses which are not here instead of businesses which are here. We offer tax credits to bring businesses in and let others go right out the door. $750 million to Hollywood. I get it but…

Aerospace is a major piece of our economy in Southern California. We wrote about the same months ago when Joel Klotkin wrote his piece. We were a month ahead of him too. Let’s bring in the jobs our population wants. Let’s do it with the manufacturing of the future. We can.

These are authentic. They will poll well if someone were to poll them (which they will not because it does not benefit everyone to know people want lower taxes, solid jobs, and housing). They are obvious. The methods to achieve these goals are well established. Advocacy groups are entrenched. They have their angles. Trump is destroying those foundations though. We are getting California (Tough) Love as we wrote about after returning from DC a couple weeks back. We need to adapt. We have the tools. But now we are in this arms race for redistricting, singing while we march off to the slaughter. The other Republican States are moving in the direction of adding seats to obviate what we are doing here. And as Arellano and Madrid discussed, who knows if any of these gambits even work as planned? Best laid plans of mice and men right? Mark Barabak has great pieces on this question in the LA Times, summarized in this Substack.

Authenticity is what matters today. It is not hard to see. Why is it hard to understand?We understand there is performative, but the moment allows for us to go beyond. We can bring solutions which can allow for political wins and move us forward. We need to do it. We need to demand it.

If those who oppose the “fringes” truly care about the things they say they do, then the authentic thing is to start discussing the paths forward. Listen to what the people are telling you, not what you are asking for. Listen to what they care about. Use that to give the customer what they want and need. There are solutions. They are not rocket science (unless of course you are in Altadena and doing aerospace). They are right here, on this Substack. I am sure others have opinions too.

The legislation is here. AB 797 was conceived in Altadena. The Disaster Investment Fund (bill language here), can also be a foundation to drive investment in California even further is here too. Federal Disaster Opportunity Zones? Here is the language for that bill too.

Ah what about philanthropy? Well, we did a three part series on them, the philosophy behind them, their capabilities and resources, and the how to catalyze their resources.

It is about pushing these agendas to change those at the top. It is about having people realize these are the paths to get there without using the mechanisms which have alienated voters, worsened our financial situation, and causing the trends at the outset of this piece. As Madrid and Arellano said about Latino voters, which I think goes beyond, people are just searching for something authentic to meet the moment. It is not about left or right. It is not about Democrat or Republican. It is about authenticity in a sense, the authenticity of the moment, meeting people where they are, not where you want them to be.

We wanted to show how Altadena can fulfill these challenges and it seems we are elevating to that higher level as these challenges are being felt far beyond, in the dark corners, in the smoke filled rooms, in the funding conversations (which matter), where people are searching for something new, something real, something which fulfills the sugar high some of the more “anti-establishment” groups are supplying, but with protein everyone knows is needed.