Democratic strategist James Carville doesn’t hold his tongue in his pocket. The man nicknamed “Ragin Cajun” emerged from the shadows when he managed Bill Clinton’s first campaign in 1992.
Since then, Carville has become a political figure favored by the media because of his boorish manner and outspokenness.
Last Saturday, the columnist of New York Times Maureen Dowd reported some “pearls” from her recent meeting with the man who never fears to shock and who makes fun of cancel culture.
The age of Biden and the wokes
Carville is worried about Democrats ahead of the presidential election. If he affirms that Trump is crazy and a criminal, he at the same time recognizes in him a certain sense of humor and a talent as a storyteller.
If he considers that Joe Biden is doing a good job, he considers him better for minorities than Bill Clinton and Barack Obama combined, he believes that the Democrats pay too little attention to his age.
For Carville, the polls maintain this perception of a man who is too old. In a figurative way, he believes that these polls have the same effect on the electorate as seeing your grandmother naked, we cannot forget that!
Another strong criticism of the strategist, he deplores the hold on the party of a certain progressive democratic elite that he has had his eye on since 2016.
“Woke stuff is killing us», Wokism is killing us, he says. These “purists” would prefer to think that they are right and be defeated in the elections as they believe themselves to be superior to the rest of the population.
Don’t forget the male electorate
A passage from Dowd’s article raised many eyebrows. When Carville addresses the issues of the 2024 campaign, one thing annoys him: we are focusing too much on the female electorate.
He rightly points out that 48% of the electorate is male, including black men who are gradually abandoning the Democratic Party.
How can we explain the flight of this electorate? It is at this moment that the following sentence escapes: “A suspicion of mine is that there are too many preachy females“. His political party would be dominated by preachers who scare away men.
For Carville, the list of prohibitions attributable to this group is too long: “Don’t drink too much beer, don’t eat too many burgers, you’re destroying the planet, you should eat more peas, etc.”
Carville’s words are startling and the formula is anything but elegant, but he hits some good points. Joe Biden may not overcome perceptions about his age, the woke label attached to members of his party is driving away voters and many men are finding refuge within the Republican Party.
James Carville does not condemn the Democratic Party to defeat, but he offers serious warnings.