The Best Breakdown of America You’ve Never Heard - Richard Miniter

Since the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned, those wanting to restrict abortion have lost every election and referendum while those wanting broader abortion access generally won.

“if you look at what has happened in every election since um the Ro vie Wade case was overturned at the Supreme Court, those who wanted to restrict abortion lost those elections, lost those referenda and those who wanted a wider aperture um generally won.”

No state, county, city, or village has banned abortion as of the time of this interview despite Roe being overturned for more than 3-4 years, indicating lack of political will for bans.

“And as a practical matter, I would not expect to see abortion banned in a single state. And my evidence for that is, you know, the Roie weight's been overturned for more than three years, four years. And no state, no county, no city, no village as far as I'm aware has banned abortion.”

Musk is frustrated by having to get FAA permission (an agency meant to regulate airports and airlines) for rocket launches and having to fax forms, which take days or weeks to respond, when he could simply give them a data room with real-time digital access.

“Musk himself is frustrated. He has to get FAA permission uh which is an agency meant to regulate airports and airlines for rocket launches and he has to fax the form right and it takes days or weeks for them to respond. Right? He's like why why why is that? That's crazy, right? And they ask us for data, like we could we could just simply give them a data room and they could have online real-time digital access to the very data they care about rather than sending us another letter.”

The Republican Party is drawing in new voters (African-American vote increased for Trump, Hispanic vote changed dramatically, Asian vote increased in key blue areas like San Francisco), while the Democratic Party is fragmenting and losing voters.

“we know that this consensus model is working for the Republicans because they're drawing in new people, right? So the African-American vote went up for Trump, but not by a lot, but it went up statistically, importantly, um the Asian vote uh was about flatter, went up slightly for Trump, but in key blue areas like San Francisco, the Asian vote actually went up. But the Hispanic vote changed dramatically.”

There is now a very significant and powerful non-religious right in the form of tech entrepreneurs/Silicon Valley who are very powerful in the current Trump administration.

“What's interesting to me as well moving forward is there is a very significant now and very powerful non-religious right, the tech bros who are very powerful in the current administration.”

AOC has never won a high-turnout election in her own congressional district; more people vote in the Democratic primary than in the general election, showing she doesn't draw in new voters.

“Like a serious political party doesn't do this, right? Um, and she has never won a high turnout election in her own congressional district. Mhm. Right. in her district, more people vote in the Democratic primary, generally speaking, than in the general election.”

The middle states and rust belt (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan) determine close elections as swing regions, are turning increasingly red, with Ohio already no longer a swing state, and are experiencing revitalization as people stop leaving and innovation returns to the region—a reversal of 40 years of decline.

“the um the middle states and then arcing into what we call the rust belt, the industrial air, formerly industrial air of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan around the Great Lakes. That was that still determines close elections. Of course, that's where three of the four of the swing states are.”

The Republican Party is successfully expanding its coalition by drawing in new demographic groups: Black voters increased support slightly but importantly, Asian voters increased support in key blue areas like San Francisco, and Hispanic voters shifted dramatically toward Trump due to economic self-interest (accountable-class concerns about wages, crime, taxes, regulation).

“the consensus there. So this fights among factions is actually very healthy because that's what moves the consensus around right inside the party. But the it is and we know that this consensus model is working for the Republicans because they're drawing in new people, right? So the African-American vote went up for Trump, but not by a lot, but it went up statistically, importantly, um the Asian vote uh was about flatter, went up slightly for Trump, but in key blue areas like San Francisco, the Asian vote actually went up.”

On abortion policy, despite some influential religious conservatives wanting to restrict abortion to 3 months or 6 weeks, public opinion does not support widespread abortion bans, and in every election and referendum since Roe v. Wade was overturned, those seeking to restrict abortion have lost while those seeking wider access have won.

“if you look at what has happened in every election since um the Ro vie Wade case was overturned at the Supreme Court, those who wanted to restrict abortion lost those elections, lost those referenda and those who wanted a wider aperture um generally won.”

Racism in America has declined to its lowest ebb in American history; the Star Wars example where barmen refuse to serve robots would have been understood as a reference to racial segregation in 1977 but younger people now interpret it literally without recognizing the civil rights context.

“In May 1977, 11 years after the Civil Rights Act, everyone in the theater knew that was a reference to bigoted Southerners who were segregating their bars and restaurants and not serving black people.”

Immigration is not movement of individuals from country A to country B, but rather the movement of entire social networks with their ideas, religious beliefs, and cultural practices intact across generations.

“there's no such thing as immigration from country A to country B. Social networks move. So the ideas of the village these people are from becomes the idea of the village they settle in. That becomes the idea of the inherited country of the next country. So all immigration is the movement of social networks and ideas move in social networks.”

David Hackett Fischer's book 'Albion's Seed' is the foundational source for understanding the different regional folkways of America and their persistence across centuries.

“I should mention David Hackett Fischer's book Albian's Seed, which is where a lot of this research and he's this sort of the he publishes his book in 1989. It's where a lot of this thinking about the different regions, what he calls the folkways of America come from.”

NATO is perceived by many Americans as a burden because allied countries free-ride on American security guarantees without bearing adequate military costs, similar to a brother-in-law living on your couch without getting a job.

“There is a feeling that NATO especially has been like the brother-in-law living on your couch that won't go get a job, right? Even though he's got a PhD, right?”

European societies are trapped in unaccountable governance dominated by aging baby boomers and schoolteachers (particularly in Germany since the 1980s) who have created toxic decision-making that prioritizes their interests over broader public welfare, and Europe is starting to realize this.

“the Europeans have to decide if they want their politics to be captured by some aging boomers and a large number of school teachers. I mean I'm speaking mostly of Germany here that they have run German politics since the 1980s since Hermit Cole's last days. and they are the force behind the Green Party and the Social Democrats.”

The Democratic Party's intellectual life is dominated by campus culture, which is 'a Disneyland of intellectuals'—unrealistic and run by faculty with enormous power and no accountability for whether their ideas actually work, disconnected from the views of the 73% of Americans without a four-year college degree.

“they're incredibly dominated by the thoughts of the campus. Yes. And the campus is a Disneyland of intellectuals, right? It's unrealistic. uh it's run by the the faculty have enormous power over the administration of this campus life and of the and over the students and there's no accountability for their whether their ideas work or not um or very little accountability”

The Cavalier South (Virginia, Maryland, Carolinas, Georgia) was settled by people from southwest England who favored the crown, believed in hierarchy and farms, and developed an economic system beginning with indentured servitude of Welsh and Irish people that evolved into African slavery.

“Virginia and Maryland uh the the shores of Maryland, not the big city of Baltimore. The car North and South Carolina, parts of Georgia, Kentucky are settled by people from the southwest of England. They were on the ultimately the losing side of the English Civil War. They favored the crown. They believed in hierarchy. They believed in farms uh and incredibly indentured servitude uh which is how slavery becomes it begins with it begins in Britain with servitude of Welsh and Irish people and in America since there's a shortage at the time of Welsh and Irish people in the 1600s uh they they turn to African sources out of the Caribbean.”

At UK royal jubilees, particularly the Queen's jubilee, large numbers of working-class people showed up, including people from Caribbean and West African communities, cheering the monarchy. This was unexpected by 'the great and the good' who thought no one would attend. They nearly didn't hold the jubilee in the 70s due to this expectation.

“on the various jubilees of the crown, especially the queens, you will see many people from the Caribbean cheering her on when she was alive. I mean, right. And um they almost didn't hold the Jubilee in the 70s. They thought no one would turn. The great and the good thought that no one would turn up. Mh. And yet millions of working-class people did, including people from the Caribbean and from West Africa.”

Immigration is not the movement of individuals from country A to country B, but rather the movement of entire social networks and the ideas embedded within those networks, meaning immigrant communities preserve the cultural patterns and worldviews of their place of origin across generations.

“there's no such thing as immigration from country A to country B. Social networks move. So the ideas of the village these people are from becomes the idea of the village they settle in. That becomes the idea of the inherited country of the next country. So all immigration is the movement of social networks and ideas move in social networks.”

Trump's political success stems primarily from cultural fit across three of the four American founding cultures—the hierarchical Cavalier tradition, the libertarian Scots-Irish tradition, and the merchant middle-state tradition—while losing almost entirely with Puritan New England, which is not primarily explained by issue positions but by deep cultural comfort or discomfort with him as an embodiment of particular virtues.

“Trump wins because the people who have ideas about individual liberty is to be completely left alone and not helped. what you could call the proto libertarian impulse in American life. They are a they COVID was a watershed moment for them.”

Active participants in conservative churches rely on themselves for moral improvement and spiritual development, and therefore resist dependence on the state or schools to shape their souls. This puts them at odds with the left, which believes schools should impart values and government programs should use economic incentives to enforce value compliance.

“everyone who's active in those churches is on some kind of self-improvement journey. But the political issue for people on those spiritual journeys is they come to rely on themselves and they they do not like dependence on the state or on the school to shape their souls.”

America was founded as four separate somewhat coercive religious utopias that come from different time periods in Britain's past, and understanding the English Civil War and regional origins of British settlers is essential to understanding American politics today.

“The way to understand America, it was founded as four separate somewhat religious utopias that come from different time periods in Britain's past. So the more you understand the the past of your country, the more you understand the English war especially, the more you'll understand America.”

Long-term social trends beyond COVID include incredible social loneliness especially among young men and women, the dictatorship of the small screen creating unhealthy social comparison, and many young men from single-mother homes searching for models of how to become men.

“So, a CO is a uh a catalyst, but there's other long-term trends here, right? So, one is there is and I assume this is true in Europe as well, incredible social loneliness, especially among young men, right? But also young women.”

Bigotry has dropped to its lowest ebb in American history; do not think all racism is gone, as there is a terrible part in every human heart that dislikes those not like them, but the level of bigotry as institutional and cultural practice has declined significantly.

“Do I think all racism is gone? Of course not. There's a a terrible part in every human heart that dislikes those who are not like them, right? Um, but I think bigotry has dropped to its lowest eb in America in our history, right?”

The rust belt region has bottomed out and is climbing back up economically; there is more innovation there and fewer people are losing population, indicating a reversal of decades of decline.

“Um, but that region has now seemed to have hit the bottom and is climbing back up. There's more innovation there. They are losing fewer people.”

Silicon Valley has realized that there is a fundamental conflict between an 'accountable class' (people paid by results, customer service workers, small business owners, commission-based employees) and an 'unaccountable class' (government bureaucrats, pensioners, students, academics) that controls institutions through managerial revolution but is shielded from consequences.

“there's an accountable and an unaccountable world and they're at war with each other. Right? When I say accountable, I'm not talking about an income level. I mean, is your pay tied to some specific result, right? Are you getting a commission as a shoe salesman for selling shoes? Are, you know, are you being paid by the number of people who can actually pass a reading test after you've taught them to read, right? So is there a real world result that you are paid on the basis of or are you paid simply for showing up right?”

Trump felt completely safe saying he wants to do nothing on abortion and received no criticism from the right, indicating lack of genuine public demand for abortion restrictions.

“That's why Trump felt completely safe saying he wants to do nothing on abortion and he did not take any criticism from the right for that.”

Project 2025 (though Trump distanced himself from it) includes goals to restrict abortion to 3-month terms and eventually 6-week terms through appointees Trump selected who worked on it.

“We interviewed uh one of the one of the main people behind it. And he was saying to us that their ambition and one of their goals is to take abortion to a 3-month term and then eventually a six-w week term.”

Florida and Texas are attracting the most internal migrants as people move from California, the Northeast, and other states; red states with Cavalier and Middle States values are experiencing demographic growth while blue states and the Puritan Northeast are losing population.

“As we sit here, I think Florida and Texas are attracting the most internal migrants. people moving from California, the Northeast, and so on into those states is happening very rapidly, right?”

Religious right members who oppose politicization argue that since Christianity's appeal lies in its universal application regardless of education/income/race, politicizing religious messages damages that universality.

“Because the appeal of Christianity is that it it it doesn't make education, income, racial, cultural distinctions. And everyone has to in in the traditional Christian faith has to go on their own journey to find, you know, to to manifest Christ in their life to to discipline themselves to right.”

The Appalachian culture values freedom as being left alone, and while this proto-libertarian impulse is appealing, the culture is also deeply opposed to education especially of women, so it is a very mixed bag with both good and bad elements like all four cultures.

“Their idea of freedom is not the freedom to impose virtue, which is the Puritan idea, or the freedom to maintain a social hierarchy, which is the cavalier royalist idea. Their idea is the freedom to be left alone. M but before your libertarian heart fills with joy and say these were my people they're also deeply opposed to education especially of women. So it's a very mixed bag there. This is not a story with good guys on one side and bad guys on the other.”

The accountable world consists of people paid based on specific results (shoe salesmen, teachers whose pay might be tied to reading test results), while the unaccountable world consists of the unemployed, retirees, students, and government employees paid for showing up regardless of results.

“When I say accountable, I'm not talking about an income level. I mean, is your pay tied to some specific result, right? Are you getting a commission as a shoe salesman for selling shoes? Are, you know, are you being paid by the number of people who can actually pass a reading test after you've taught them to read, right? So is there a real world result that you are paid on the basis of or are you paid simply for showing up right?”

Silicon Valley wants to expand the accountable class and shrink the unaccountable class, and sees tremendous opportunity in digitizing government, which would both modernize it and create opportunities for the private sector.

“Silicon Valley looks at all this and they say okay first of all we have to we have to expand the accountability class and shrink the unaccountable class. Second of all there's tremendous opportunity to digitize government.”

COVID catalyzed a resurgence in traditional religion among young adults through a search for certainty in response to threat, with growth in orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, traditional Anglicanism, and Salafi Islam among young, educated people.

“co made a lot of people in their 20s and one of the things about being in your 20s is you think you're going to live forever, right? All been there. And you suddenly realize like, oh wait a minute, there's this mysterious pathogen that the media has been telling us could kill large numbers of us very suddenly, right?”

Social loneliness and isolation, particularly among young men but also young women, driven by small-screen technology and social media creating false comparisons (Instagram-perfect life envy) and nihilism, is a major structural cause of young people seeking community and meaning through traditional religion.

“incredible social loneliness, especially among young men, right? But also young women. The the social isolation, right? the the dictatorship of the small screen and the uh has put women into competition with each other, make believe versions like oh her life is perfect on Instagram, my life should be like that and that creates a kind of nihilism”

COVID-19 was a watershed moment for libertarian-leaning Americans because government mandates on socialization, work, worship, and commerce directly violated their core value of being left alone. Governor Whitmer's specific edicts about which store aisles were accessible exemplified this violation and drove support toward Trump.

“COVID was a watershed moment for them. Suddenly the government would invade your private life and tell you who you could socialize with, where you could go to work, when you could work, uh all how you could worship, um what products you could buy”

The religious resurgence in America is part of a profound social change also happening to a lesser extent in Europe and Australia, driven by loneliness, alienation, and family fragmentation, and this change will have significant effects on American and global politics because America's political changes affect global politics.

“So it's a it's a Francis I think you put your finger on a profound social change. I think it's not just happening here. I think to a lesser extent it's happening in Europe and Australia but it's definitely happening here and in a big way and it's that is also going to have effect society both positive and in some instance negative but it's also going to have an effect on your politics and not only your politics because let's be fair politics affects our politics and it affects global politics.”

The Republican Party is a consensus party, not a coalition party—factions fight until about 80% reach a shared position, then the remaining 20% either align or step aside; this model is healthy and generates new consensus, whereas the Democratic coalition model requires synthesizing incompatible groups.

“Republican party and the media always reports fights within the Republican party as, 'Oh my gosh, the whole thing is going to fall apart because they assume it's a coalition party. It is not. It is a consensus party. And in a consensus party, people fight until about 80% of them share a view and then the other 20% either go along or change their minds. Right? So the consensus there. So this fights among factions is actually very healthy because that's what moves the consensus around right inside the party.”

While other waves of immigration (German, Irish, Asian, Mexican, South American) have been important, America is essentially a compromise between these four cultures, which is why to outsiders America seems strange—culturally America is Europe's past.

“So, what is America today? Yes, there have been other waves of immigrants that have come and changed things. the German immigration, the Irish immigration, the um the Asian immigration, the immigration from uh Mexico and South America all are important, right? Um but essentially it's a compromise between these four different cultures which is why to a people that continued to evolve we seem strange because we are in a cultural sense I mean obviously our technology is cutting edge but in a cultural sense we are your past”

For a coalition party (Democrats) to recover, it must transform from focusing on coalition management to focusing on actual voter outcomes and quality of life improvements; making cities cleaner, safer, and more modern would demonstrate blue governance works.

“They have to transform themselves into a party that cares more about its voters and their lives and their outcomes, right? And they used to do this supremely well.”

People win the presidency by getting their own culture plus one or two of the other subcultures to agree with them, as shown by successful presidents like Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

“People win the presidency by getting their own culture and one or two of the other subcultures to go along with them, right? And that's how Jimmy Carter got elected. It's Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, so on. Right?”

The Democrats have been very successful in the last 40 years when they have a Southerner on the ticket or someone congenial to Southerners (representing the Cavalier culture) because that is a culture outside their home base in the Northeast.

“The Democrats have been very successful in the last 40 years when they have a Southerner on the ticket or someone who seems congenial to Southerners because that is a culture outside of their home base. That is the Cavalier culture, right?”

When people in Pennsylvania say 'make America great again,' they mean they had it just a generation ago and wonder why they can't have it back, referring to their recent industrial past rather than a distant mythical past.

“And there's a great longing there to return to those days. So when you say make America great again in Pennsylvania, what that means is wait a minute, we had it just a generation ago. Like why can't we have it back?”

Young men lack cultural touchstones for how to become men, so they seek traditional answers largely because those are the only ones on offer, but also because those messages work and have worked for decades.

“There are no easy to turn to cultural touchstones for how you make that journey and become a man. So they're seeking very traditional answers largely because those are the only ones on offer. But also those messages work and have worked for decades, right?”

Liberal and reform religious expressions (reform Judaism, liberal Christianity) are not growing among young adults because they do not offer the certainty and clear answers that people seeking security in crisis desire.

“the more liberal faiths didn't because they what attracts people in a crisis is certain clear answers. And so the more the the more the religion imposed upon them, the more it was attractive, right?”

The concern that religious right politicians would use state power to impose their vision on everyone is legitimate, but even among those who want restrictions, there is internal debate about whether this serves the religious cause.

“And one thing that we've both noticed since being here is and it's reminded to us is how religious this country is. Yes. And not only how religious it is, but we're seeing a resurgence not only of Catholicism, but I think of Christianity across the US as a whole.”

The unaccountable class's fear of accountability is fundamental: they are terrified by the prospect of having to justify their work through measurable results, which is why they oppose efficiency audits.

“Because if you lived an unaccountable to to us, it's ordinary, right? We we would ask that question of ourselves, right?”

European politics, particularly in Germany, has been captured by aging boomers and schoolteachers who have run the country since Helmut Kohl's last days and are behind the Green Party and Social Democrats, making decisions for themselves rather than the broader society.

“the Europeans have to decide if they want their politics to be captured by some aging boomers and a large number of school teachers. I mean I'm speaking mostly of Germany here that they have run German politics since the 1980s since Hermit Cole's last days. and they are the force behind the Green Party and the Social Democrats.”

Christianity in America, especially in conservative churches, is about pointing the finger at yourself and saying you need to fix certain things in your life because you're falling short of the glory of God, making it fundamentally about self-improvement and personal discipline.

“Christianity in America as opposed to Christianity elsewhere is more about pointing the finger at yourself, saying, 'All right, you need to fix certain things in your life. You're falling short of the glory of God. M it's not I'm so great I go to church. Not in the more stricter conservative churches. It's about you're falling short. You need to improve.”

The Appalachian Mountains were settled by people from the English side of the Scottish border who believed in freedom as being left alone, in contrast to Puritan freedom (freedom to impose virtue) and Cavalier freedom (freedom to maintain hierarchy).

“the borderlands uh near the Scottish border in in North Umbrea and that area those people settle the Appalachian Mountains which are a rocky spine that runs from the state of Maine all the way down to Georgia. You've probably heard of the Appalachian Trail.”

Americans love victory and will not tolerate incompetence; if you attempt something big and fail, Americans won't give you a second chance in politics, though they will in business, entertainment, and religion.

“Americans love victory like the Romans did and will not tolerate incompetence. If you're going to go do something big and you pull it off, everyone applauds. If you fail, they quietly walk away. Right? There are second chances in life in America, in business, sometimes among celebrities, definitely among pastors. You could be caught in the biggest scandal and have a big church 5 years later, right? But in political life, if you're going to involve the energies of our great economy and and direct it in some direction and fail, that's just not tolerated.”

There is no female equivalent to Jordan Peterson because traditional religious and cultural frameworks offer resources for male formation but lack comparable models for female formation, making the situation harder for young women.

“For younger women, I think it's much much harder. There is no female Jordan Peterson, right? And maybe there can't be.”

Federal agencies remain stuck using fax machines and paper forms for critical processes like immigration applications, which travel back and forth multiple times, causing delays that have little to do with policy but rather with medieval administrative technology.

“This is why like work permits and immigration applications take so long. The departments are literally mailing it back and by the way the same document I moved back and forth three or four times right”

Musk's statement that tech entrepreneurs are 'just tech support' for government is accurate—the real problem is how to digitize government administration to function in 2025, not ideology.

“the truest thing that that Musk said that no one seems to understand is he says we're just tech support. Yes. If you look at the problem of administering the federal government you say well how would we drag that forget about into 2025 how would we gra drag it to 2005 right?”

The Republican Party is a consensus party where factions fight until 80% align, rather than a coalition party; this structure allows it to incorporate new constituencies and remains healthier than the Democratic coalition model.

“Republican party and the media always reports fights within the Republican party as, 'Oh my gosh, the whole thing is going to fall apart because they assume it's a coalition party. It is not. It is a consensus party. And in a consensus party, people fight until about 80% of them share a view and then the other 20% either go along or change their minds.”

Young men raised in single-mother households are actively seeking traditional male role models and cultural touchstones for becoming men, and in the absence of readily available secular alternatives, they turn to traditional religion and conservative movements that offer explicit instruction in masculine development.

“there are a great number of people who grew up in single what you would call lone parents homes, single mothers homes, and they are trying to figure out how do I for the men, how do I become a man, right? It doesn't just happen automatically. You have to you have to try and fail at a number of things to to find out who you are and what you're made of. Um, and there are no easy to turn to cultural touchstones for how you make that journey and become a man.”

The Republican Party has captured old-school left-wing economic policies (worker protections, tariffs, immigration control) that used to be Democratic platforms, leaving the Democratic Party without its traditional economic weapon and reliant on cultural/identity politics it cannot win on.

“One of the challenges the left faces is that the Republican party have captured that old school left-wing economic policy of protecting workers rights and tariffs. And that I always thought was the main weapon the left have once it gets over its identity politics madness. But the fact that the Republican party have taken that away from them and I'm looking at the left and I'm going, what else have you got? Right.”

The recent resurgence in traditional and conservative religious practice (Latin mass, Orthodox Christianity, traditional Anglicanism) among young people under 35 was catalyzed by COVID's existential threat, which made people seek certainty; during crises, people are attracted to religions and ideologies that impose clear answers and rigidity rather than liberal, flexible alternatives.

“co made a lot of people in their 20s and one of the things about being in your 20s is you think you're going to live forever, right? All been there. And you suddenly realize like, oh wait a minute, there's this mysterious pathogen that the media has been telling us could kill large numbers of us very suddenly, right? And you can go one of two ways when threatened with sudden random death, right? You can say I'm going to live for today and party like crazy and people did that. But I think a lot of people started looking online for other alternatives ways of thinking about their life. So there was a big surge in people under 35 getting interested in the traditional Latin mass.”

When factory closures began in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, workers blamed environmentalists from Massachusetts specifically—and this regional blame reveals the persistent echo of the English Civil War cultural divide, showing that cultural memory outlasts political and economic change.

“when those factories began to be closed, steel mills, especially in the in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, they accused uh environmentalists from Massachusetts. Why did they say from Massachusetts? Right? It's a it's an echo. It's a memory of a cultural divide that in 1970 was still enough to to make a a distinction.”

The Democratic Party is a coalition party that has succeeded historically by assembling diverse groups with conflicting interests, but current Democratic leadership has abandoned this skill of synthesis and compromise—exemplified by the idea of replacing Chuck Schumer with AOC, a decision that would be suicidal for a coalition party as it replaces a leader with legislative and fundraising skill with someone who has never won a high-turnout election.

“So the left is a coalition party in all countries where there is a left, right? And so that's why they talk about intersectionality, right? M. So, but in reality, what does the steel worker who's a proud member of his union have in common with the vegan woman's studies professor and the fitness nut who um you know has is living off the grid somewhere”

Elon Musk's characterization of his government reform efforts as 'just tech support' is the most accurate description of what needs to happen—the federal government needs to be dragged from 1977 into 2025 (or even just 2005) through digitization, which is both a massive financial opportunity for the tech sector and genuinely necessary for functional governance.

“the truest thing that that Musk said that no one seems to understand is he says we're just tech support. Yes. If you look at the problem of administering the federal government you say well how would we drag that forget about into 2025 how would we gra drag it to 2005 right? How would we digitize government right?”

The unaccountable class fears accountability more than anything else; asking someone who lives unaccountable to demonstrate five things they accomplished this week is terrifying because they have never had to justify their existence, making the prospect of accountability fundamentally threatening.

“But the very fear of the unac unaccountable class is accountability, right? Tell me five things you did last week. Why is that terrifying? Because if you lived an unaccountable to to us, it's ordinary, right? We we would ask that question of ourselves, right?”

The anger and organized attacks on Musk and Tesla are partly sponsored by left-wing billionaires and trade unions, but even without external organization they might happen spontaneously because the unaccountable class lives in constant fear of accountability, and this fear keeps them in their unaccountable positions.

“So the anger you see and yes I understand it's it's sponsored paid for by various leftwing billionaires and trade unions and so on the attacks on Tesla but if it weren't organized by those groups it might happen spontaneously because the unaccountable live in fear of accountability and it's terrifying.”

Within the religious right, there is genuine debate: some believe the state should impose religious values (ban strip clubs, Only Fans, marijuana), while a larger group believes politicizing Christianity is destructive because it compromises the message's universal appeal and undermines voluntary conversion.

“among the religious right there is actually debate on this. There are it's not just a leftwing boogeymen there are people on in what you would call the religious right who absolutely do and both Catholic and Protestant who want to impose religious values.”

Co-educational dormitories on college campuses have had more effect in removing people from Christian faith than any other institutional factor, forcing young people from religious homes to abandon religion due to sexual activity and resulting shame; this represents a major, permanent, and unscrambleable social change.

“would the religious right be bigger if we didn't have co-ed dorms, right, on college campuses? Because that forces a lot of people who come from religious homes to stop being religious, right?”

Christianity in America emphasizes pointing the finger at oneself for self-improvement rather than superiority, particularly in stricter conservative churches. The message is that 'you're falling short of the glory of God, you need to improve,' not 'I'm so great because I go to church.'

“Christianity in America as opposed to Christianity elsewhere is more about pointing the finger at yourself, saying, 'All right, you need to fix certain things in your life. You're falling short of the glory of God. M it's not I'm so great I go to church. Not in the more stricter conservative churches. It's about you're falling short. You need to improve.”

The historical desire throughout the United States to emulate New England no longer exists, and there is no longer an idea that the Puritan Northeast is something other regions should aspire to, representing a fundamental shift in cultural orientation.

“the idea that there used to be um a desire throughout the country, our country, to emulate New England. That just isn't around anymore, right?”

Americans have a cultural longing for technological progress and achievement—'we left the keys in the moon rover, we're coming back'—and this reflects a cultural desire to feel proud of American accomplishment. Government dysfunction that prevents technological progress frustrates this cultural value.

“There's a great longing for technological progress and growth and things that make people feel proud to be Americans. And um when I would when I was living in Europe and people would criticize me for uh not liking the metric system”

The Appalachian region from Maine to Georgia was settled by people from the Scottish borderlands who valued being left alone above all else, had deep opposition to education especially for women, and represent a distinct proto-libertarian strand in American culture.

“Their idea of freedom is not the freedom to impose virtue, which is the Puritan idea, or the freedom to maintain a social hierarchy, which is the cavalier royalist idea. Their idea is the freedom to be left alone. M but before your libertarian heart fills with joy and say these were my people they're also deeply opposed to education especially of women.”

It is highly unusual in world history to have two enormous continental economic powerhouses (Europe and America) within the same civilization in different geographies, and if Europe were to fall and disappear, there would be serious consequences, while Americans don't want Europe eliminated despite NATO frustrations.

“It is highly unusual in world history to have two enormous continental um economic powerhouses inside the same civilization, right, in different geographies. It just hasn't happened before. And if Europe were to fall and disappear, I think there would be I I don't think the average American is is saying, you know, the heck with the Europeans. On the other I mean, there is a feeling that NATO especially has been like the brother-in-law living on your couch that won't go get a job, right?”

The left-wing managerial revolution has been to insert institutional layers to insulate people from accountability, which has worked to build their institutions, but now the accountable class has been burdened by regulations, taxes, and cultural hatred, making them sick of it and drawn toward Trump.

“and the left-wing managerial revolution has been to insert layers to insulate people from accountability. Um and that has been that has worked for them. That's how they've built their institutions. And now the accountable class, the people who live by results are have been just bedeled by regulations and taxes and cultural hatred and so on and they're sick of it. Right?”

For Democrats to recover, they must transform from a coalition party focused on power struggles to a party genuinely focused on voter welfare and outcomes, which they did supremely well from 1932-1966, and they need to make cities gleaming, safe, modern, and attractive to show blue governance works.

“they have to transform themselves into a party that cares more about its voters and their lives and their outcomes, right? And they used to do this supremely well. They did this from, let's say, 1932 to 1966, just to pick two more or less random years, right? Um, you have to care more about the people who you want to support you than about the different coalitions fighting for power, right?”

Kamala Harris lost badly not primarily because of specific policy failures or economic conditions, but because she could not assemble a coalition of even 2-3 of the four founding cultures, and she embodied virtues and values of a subculture that couldn't win allies; Americans value victory like the Romans did and will not tolerate political incompetence if you fail to accomplish what you set out to do.

“Kamla Harris is also somebody who embodies certain virtues and values of her subculture but it's a subculture that couldn't win any allies, which is why she lost so badly. That and that and and the idea of incompetence. Americans love victory like the Romans did and will not tolerate incompetence.”

There is a great longing for technological progress, growth, and things that make people proud to be Americans, and this is why achieving things like moon landing is important for American pride.

“You know the old joke of we left the keys in the moon rover. you know, the car they drove around the restaurant store because we're going back. Why haven't we been back, right? There's a great longing for technological progress and growth and things that make people feel proud to be Americans.”

The resurgence in traditional Christianity and religious practice is not just happening in America but to a lesser extent in Europe and Australia, and will have effects on both politics and global politics as America's politics affect global dynamics.

“So it's a it's a Francis I think you put your finger on a profound social change. I think it's not just happening here. I think to a lesser extent it's happening in Europe and Australia but it's definitely happening here and in a big way and it's that is also going to have effect society both positive and in some instance negative but it's also going to have an effect on your politics and not only your politics because let's be fair politics affects our politics and it affects global politics.”

The Democratic Party is missing 'dignity'—the core value from the civil rights era—which requires respecting the worth of each individual without dismissing them as deplorables or making sweeping negative claims like 'all men are trash.'

“another thing that's missing and the Democrats need to bring this back this was a big word in the civil rights era dignity you have to be a party and this applies to both parties but especially them right know the dignity and worth of each individual. You have to not dismiss people as deplorables or you know um anything like that.”

The inability of elites to recognize the humanity and equal worth of people with fewer years of education and income is profoundly destabilizing and puts the country on the road to anarchy or civil war.

“The inability to recognize the humanity of people with different education levels and different income levels and the is profoundly destabilizing. And this is a problem caused by our elite. If you cannot see people with fewer years of education and fewer dollars in their pocket as equal to you, as someone you could potentially learn from, uh certainly that you could engage as an equal and have a back and forth. If you don't have that, you are on the road to anarchy or civil war.”

Traditional churches that make real demands on members create in-person social networks that reduce loneliness and allow members to discover that others suffer similar struggles, creating belonging and psychological benefit.

“When you start attending a more traditional church or synagogue, you be you get to join a social network that meets in person that makes demands on you, that forces you to change in small and sometimes in big ways. But in exchange for that, you become part of a group larger than yourself. and it's not so lonely and suddenly the things that you are suffering you realize that other people are suffering similar things or the same things and there's a power in that.”

The theocratic people on the religious right who want to impose a theocracy are a very small minority and cannot win any election in even the reddest of red states.

“The theocratic people, I think, are a very small minority. And I cannot imagine them winning any election in even the reddest of red states.”

Appalachian region has leveled off but is not rising; the current political battle is primarily between the Cavaliers and the Puritans with the other two subcultures functioning as swing elements in the middle.

“And the Appalachian the Appalachian region I I mean I would not I would not say it's rising. I mean it's it's leveled off. So it feels like the battle is really between the Cavaliers and the Puritans and the others are kind of the swing in the middle. Is that for now? Yes. At the moment.”

European society is starting to realize that their unaccountable political class are toxic people making bad decisions for society rather than for themselves, creating the basis for political realignment.

“And I think that the society in Europe is starting to realize they're not making they're kind of toxic people and they're not making the best decisions for all of us. They're making the best decisions for themselves.”

Trump has the hierarchical idea of liberty strand as well, and even though he's criticized as a populist, he's a fully paid up member of the elite who went to one of the most elite schools in the country, comes from a rich family, and has been a celebrity for more than 40 years.

“Trump has that Trump has the hierarchical idea of liberty strand as well right so even though he he's criticized as a populist he's a Trump is a fully paid up member of the elite I mean he went to warden one of most elite schools in this country. Uh he comes from a rich family. Um he has been a celebrity for more than 40 years, right? Uh he was important enough to be ridiculed by spy spy magazine in the 1980s as a short-fingered vulgarian, right?”

COVID created a watershed moment for those holding libertarian beliefs about individual liberty because government suddenly invaded private life with restrictions on socializing, work, worship, and consumption.

“COVID was a watershed moment for them. Suddenly the government would invade your private life and tell you who you could socialize with, where you could go to work, when you could work, uh all how you could worship, um what products you could buy.”

The Democratic Party has captured the religious right as a bogeyman through fear, but for a long time it was possible to pretend the religious right wasn't a big deal because Trump wasn't god-fearing, but figures like JD Vance show the religious right does exercise power.

“I know for a fact that one of the things that really drives the left in this country is the fear of the religious right. And I think for a lot of people with Trump, it was possible to pretend that the religious right isn't a big deal cuz he's I mean, he's clearly not...But at the same time as as Francis mentioned Devance and others...frankly you know the religious right does exercise a lot of power.”

New England, settled primarily by Puritans from East Anglia, developed a culture emphasizing religious legalism and the freedom to impose virtue, contrasting sharply with the Cavalier South's hierarchical worldview.

“New England is which is Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, parts of upstate New York culturally is settled by the people, the Puritans who are primarily from East Anglia, that hump of England that points out into the English Channel at the Netherlands.”

The Roundheads who fought for Parliament were young, ideological, sure of their beliefs, intolerant of dissent, and willing to use political violence even before the war started to advance their views.

“the people who are doing the fighting and dying on the groundhead side so-called because of the hats the young clerks wore in London at the time uh these are young men who are very ideological very sure of their beliefs very intolerant of dissent who are willing to use political violence even before the war starts to advance their views.”

The Puritan view of America at the time of settlement was that they were a desperate religious minority fighting oppression, despite simultaneously carrying out witch hunts, demonstrating the cognitive dissonance within their self-perception.

“The Puritans who came here in the 1620s when they fled they the royalists were in the ascendancy so they fled to go practice their religion here. They their view is still that they're a desperate religious minority fighting oppression. Meanwhile they're also carrying out witch hunts and literal hunting for witches.”

It is historically unusual to have two enormous continental economic powerhouses in the same civilization in different geographies; if Europe were to fall, it would have profound implications for America.

“It is highly unusual in world history to have two enormous continental um economic powerhouses inside the same civilization, right, in different geographies. It just hasn't happened before. And if Europe were to fall and disappear, I think there would be I I don't think the average American is is saying, you know, the heck with the Europeans.”

Proposals to provide government agencies with real-time digital data rooms instead of requiring them to request documents through mail would modernize administration and reduce wait times for critical processes.

“He's like why why why is that? That's crazy, right? And they ask us for data, like we could we could just simply give them a data room and they could have online real-time digital access to the very data they care about rather than sending us another letter.”

The power and influence of the four founding cultures shifts over time: Florida and Texas are attracting the most internal migrants and surging in cultural power (Cavalier and merchant cultures), while New England Puritan cultural power has faded considerably in the last 30-40 years despite retaining elite universities and cultural institutions.

“As we sit here, I think Florida and Texas are attracting the most internal migrants. people moving from California, the Northeast, and so on into those states is happening very rapidly, right?”

Musk has no financial motive to improve government efficiency for personal gain; he is genuinely frustrated (needing FAA permission for rocket launches, having to fax forms, waiting days for responses) and the claim that he's doing this to profit is dismissed as absurd by people who understand his actual circumstances.

“Musk himself is frustrated. He has to get FAA permission uh which is an agency meant to regulate airports and airlines for rocket launches and he has to fax the form right and it takes days or weeks for them to respond. Right? He's like why why why is that? That's crazy, right?”

The theocratic minority within the religious right is very small and cannot imagine winning elections even in deep red states; theocracy is not a significant political force or the future of the Republican Party.

“The theocratic people, I think, are a very small minority. And I cannot imagine them winning any election in even the reddest of red states. I do not think they're an important political force.”

JD Vance's Catholicism is significant because it represents a generational shift—a generation ago, Catholic-Protestant marriage was unthinkable, but Vance's Catholic background combined with Appalachian heritage shows that religious boundaries have become fluid while cultural/regional ones persist.

“And I'm sure uh if you're willing, we'll be delighted to have you back many times to talk about all sorts of different things. Uh it's been great to have you on. Uh before we go to Substack where we ask you questions from our supporters, what's the one thing that we're not talking about that we should be? I think u I should mention David Hackett Fischer's book Albian's Seed, which is where a lot of this research and he's this sort of the he publishes his book in 1989.”

The Republican Party has captured traditional left-wing economic policies (worker protection, immigration control, tariffs) that the Democrats abandoned, removing the Democrats' main weapons on working-class issues.

“One of the challenges the left faces is that the Republican party have captured that old school left-wing economic policy of protecting workers rights and tariffs. And that I always thought was the main weapon the left have once it gets over its identity politics madness. But the fact that the Republican party have taken that away from them and I'm looking at the left and I'm going, what else have you got? Right.”

The Democratic Party's intellectual life is dominated by campus intellectuals in an unaccountable environment with no incentive to test whether their ideas actually work, causing them to adopt positions divorced from broader American opinion.

“they're incredibly dominated by the thoughts of the campus. Yes. And the campus is a Disneyland of intellectuals, right? It's unrealistic. uh it's run by the the faculty have enormous power over the administration of this campus life and of the and over the students and there's no accountability for their whether their ideas work or not um or very little accountability and that is where the that drives the intellectual life of the Democratic party”

Democrats' approach to Black voters is paternalistic: the Democratic belief that Black people cannot survive without Democratic support, combined with a political understanding of Black Americans that is trapped in the past and doesn't reflect contemporary reality.

“I always find it really interesting the Democrats attitude to black voters in particular because I wouldn't use the word racist, but it's certainly paternalistic, isn't it? It is. It's an idea that black people cannot survive without them.”

Co-education dorms on college campuses have ended more Christian lives and taken more people out of the faith than anything else, according to a professor from Wheaton College, and this was a major social fight in the 1960s.

“would the religious right be bigger if we didn't have co-ed dorms, right, on college campuses? Because that forces a lot of people who come from religious homes to stop being religious, right?...I was talking to this professor from Wheaten College, which is a Christian school some years ago, and he said, 'Yes, co-end dorms have ended more Christian lives and taken more people out of the faith than anything else.'”

Immigration control was a left-wing issue for decades based on the principle that it harmed working-class lives by creating competition for entry-level jobs, not from hatred of foreigners.

“And also immigration control was a leftwing issue for decades. Yes. That it would destroy the lives of working people. Not that there was a hatred of foreigners, it's just that you when you make people compete for entry jobs and trade jobs, you're making their lives harder, not better, right?”

The decline of manufacturing in Middle States from the 1970s onward led to accusations that environmentalists from Massachusetts were responsible, reflecting the continued salience of 400-year-old cultural divisions.

“When those factories began to be closed, steel mills, especially in the in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, they accused uh environmentalists from Massachusetts. Why did they say from Massachusetts? Right? It's a it's an echo. It's a memory of a cultural divide that in 1970 was still enough to to make a a distinction.”

Trump's political support is strongest in three of the four subcultures (Cavalier South, Appalachian borderlands, and Middle States) and weakest in the Northeast/Puritan region (Massachusetts, New England, California, Oregon, Washington), explaining his political strength at a deep cultural level rather than through issue politics.

“Where Trump's support is the weakest, is in the the Northeast, Massachusetts, New England area, California, which was settled predominantly by the people of the Northeast, and Oregon and Washington, which was settled predominantly by people from New England.”

The Middle States (New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey) were settled from the west midlands of England and developed a culture valuing commercial freedom, law and order to prevent theft in markets, and merchant interests.

“the what we now call the middle states uh New York uh Pennsylvania is essentially a middle state, the Delaware Valley, the state of Delaware, New Jersey, they are settled from the west midlands of England. So these people have and then the borderlands uh near the Scottish border in in North Umbrea and that area those people settle the Appalachian Mountains”

Political correctness is a form of class warfare where university-educated people correct others' language to assert superiority, reinforcing educational and class hierarchies rather than pursuing genuine communication.

“When you're correcting people's words and phrases, what you're really saying is, 'I went to university. I learned the magic words. You didn't. and I'm going to correct you and I'm going to improve you and I'm going to scold you because I am better than you. It's class warfare.”

King Charles I was executed by Parliament in what Staley calls the only assassination of a king in English history, and he gave a famous scaffold speech pleading for individual liberty before his execution. This speech was required reading in American public schools in southern states until the 1960s, showing how deeply the cultural shadow of English Civil War events persists in America.

“the king is executed, gives a famous speech, which is called the scaffold speech, uh, where he makes a plea for individual liberty, ironic in that he's about to be the first and only assassinated king in English history, uh, assassinated by the parliament”

West African immigration patterns in UK show same conservatism and traditionalism as in America—first-generation West African immigrants from Ghana, Nigeria are 'staunchly conservative and very traditional in their ways.' Multi-generational black UK residents are more likely to vote Labour.

“Those cultures who have come over you know West African particularly in Ghana and Nigerian first generation immigrants from the Caribbean staunchly conservative and very very traditional in their ways. And then you look at black people who have been in the UK for three, four generations far more likely to vote Labor as opposed to conservative.”

Modern progressive ideology emphasizes immediate gratification, consumption, and materialism, while traditional religious worldviews emphasize deferred gratification and the 'clean upright and sober life.' This is a fundamental value conflict that explains part of the religious vs progressive cultural divide.

“you can make arguments on both sides here. But the fact is that this group which you're calling the British right wants to break free and live according to the principles they found in the Bible. And you know to use the phrase from the prayer book the clean upright and sober life, right? M that's a threat because you're ignoring the the materialism and the preference over the now as opposed to later. Right. The you're you're you're pushing a life of deferred gratification, not instant gratification.”

Trump will absolutely cancel defense contracts with major corporations if he believes it's bad for the country, demonstrating that accountable-class leadership is not captive to donor interests unlike Democratic leadership.

“Trump would absolutely cancel a defense contract with Boeing or McDonald Douglas or whatever a big RAON a big donor that would happen and in fact that decision might be taken several layers down it's not good for the country and he would absolutely do it right”

The next Republican president may find it harder to resist donor pressure than Trump because Trump cannot run again, but structural dynamics within the Republican consensus party still favor accountability over capture.

“he's not captive and certainly because he can't run again um the next Republican might find it harder uh but the dynamics inside the Republican party mean that these fights are just fights for readjusting, not fights for dissolution.”

Richard cannot imagine that the theocratic people are the future of the Republican party, despite their media visibility.

“And I can't and I could I've been wrong before, but I can't imagine that they are the future of the Republican party.”

The anger at Tesla and organized attacks on Musk are partly paid for by left-wing billionaires and trade unions, but if it weren't organized by those groups it might happen spontaneously because the unaccountable live in fear of accountability and Musk represents that threat.

“So the anger you see and yes I understand it's it's sponsored paid for by various leftwing billionaires and trade unions and so on the attacks on Tesla but if it weren't organized by those groups it might happen spontaneously because the unaccountable live in fear of accountability and it's terrifying. So the anger you see and yes I understand it's it's sponsored paid for by various leftwing billionaires and trade unions and so on the attacks on Tesla but if it weren't organized by those groups it might happen spontaneously because the unaccountable live in fear of accountability”

JD Vance represents the Scots-Irish/Appalachian culture tradition (the Scottish borderlands transported to America) while Ron DeSantis represents a mixture of Cavalier and immigrant (Italian, Hispanic) cultures; the 2028 presidential election will likely be between these two representing different visions of where the Republican Party should go.

“I think 2028 is probably a fight between Dantis and Vance. Um and that is a to go back to our four cultures. that is the the Scottish borderlands transported Appalachia culture which is JD Vance to a tea and Dantis which is a mixture of the the Cavalier and the immigrant Italian and Hispanic cultures that is modern day Florida and that's a vision of two two different visions of where the Republican party could go”

The Republican Party was successful under Donald Trump partly because Trump would cancel big defense contracts with major defense contractors if he determined they were not in the country's interest, and would make such decisions several levels down in the bureaucracy. Trump prioritizes national interest over donor relationships because he cannot run again.

“Trump would absolutely cancel a defense contract with Boeing or McDonald Douglas or whatever a big RAON a big donor that would happen and in fact that decision might be taken several layers down it's not good for the country and he would absolutely do it right”

Traditional newspapers face a fundamental business model problem: their payrolls and structure are designed for a different era. Without sufficient advertising revenue or subscription revenue to cover costs, newspapers will either collapse or require wealthy benefactors to bankroll them for personal or propaganda reasons.

“How will traditional newspapers survive with such big payrolls and seemingly not enough to offer above and new media to keep advertisers paying? Will they all end up with rich benefactors effectively bankrolling them for fun or propaganda?”

JD Vance represents the Scottish borderlanders/Appalachian culture transported to modernity, while Ron DeSantis represents a mixture of Cavalier and immigrant Italian and Hispanic cultures of modern Florida.

“Um and that is a to go back to our four cultures. that is the the Scottish borderlands transported Appalachia culture which is JD Vance to a tea and Dantis which is a mixture of the the Cavalier and the immigrant Italian and Hispanic cultures that is modern day Florida”

There are profound philosophical and value differences between the tech right and the religious right that will play out over time as the initial excitement of the new administration fades and power struggles emerge.

“It's really interesting is how the differences between these two groups within the right are going to play out over time because uh right now there's a new presidency, new administration, everyone's excited. They're moving at a fast pace. Things are getting done. You know, DOA is cutting things left, right, and center. But we all know that over time tensions that are inherent in in a group tend to manifest themselves more as setbacks occur, as time goes by, as there are power struggles, as all sorts of things. And so there is a very big philosophical chasm, I would put it to you, between those two parts, the tech right and the and the more religiously minded right.”

Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election not primarily because of policy disagreements but because she embodied values and norms of a subculture that couldn't win any allies among the other three American subcultures, combined with perceptions of incompetence.

“Kamla Harris is also somebody who embodies certain virtues and values of her subculture but it's a subculture that couldn't win any allies, which is why she lost so badly.”

The cultural power of the Puritan New England region has faded considerably in the last 30-40 years despite having most elite universities, due to institutional failures like antisemitic riots at Columbia, censorship at Harvard, reputational damage, and loss of cultural desirability.

“The power of the Puritan New England has has faded considerably in the last 30 or 40 years. So yes, all the elite universities or almost all the elite universities are located there. Um, and they still have enormous cultural power. But I see even that cultural power has declined.”

The Star Wars bar scene ('We don't serve their kind') was understood by audiences in 1977 as a reference to racial segregation and bigoted Southerners, but this cultural context has faded so completely that younger people today cannot interpret the scene without explicit explanation, suggesting that racial prejudice and segregation have declined to their lowest ebb in American history.

“In May 1977, 11 years after the Civil Rights Act, everyone in the theater knew that was a reference to bigoted Southerners who were segregating their bars and restaurants and not serving black people. And this was George Lucas's way of making this point. But I ask this question now here in 2025 for a different reason. That cultural context of segregation is so far behind us. You didn't think about it as an explanation for why the bar man says that.”

When Democrats say 'all men are trash,' they are inviting men (a large proportion of the electorate) not to vote for them; by cutting away more and more demographic groups, Democrats are left with only a campus-town electoral base.

“When you say all men are trash, you're inviting men not to vote for you. That's a large proportion of the electorate. Right. Right. and then you keep cutting more and more pieces out, you're not left with an electoral majority except maybe in campus towns.”

Silicon Valley sees that the unaccountable class wants to create cartels to pick winners and losers in tech, which would be bad for the industry and bad for the country, making this a crucial realignment point.

“And then I think the aha moment and Mark Andre has said this. The aha moment was wait a minute in order to maintain your insulated unaccountable class. You want to create cartels and you want to create cartels in tech. Pick winners and losers. And that would be bad for the industry but bad for the country.”

Black American reality in 2025 is not 1965 anymore—most black Americans are not living in projects and are not criminals, and if Democrats insist on seeing them this way, they will suddenly realize 'you're talking to my grandfather, not me.'

“So the reality of black American life, it's not 1965 anymore. It's just not. And if a Democratic party insists on seeing them that way, they will suddenly realize that, oh, you're talking to my grandfather, not me.”

Black American success stories of entrepreneurship and middle-class achievement are common and should be covered by media; a Black newspaper publisher thanked Richard's news service for covering 'the 99% instead of the 1%' because most Black Americans are not in projects or involved in crime.

“one of the businesses that I own supplied um news to African-American newspapers across the United States and we pointedly did stories of entrepreneurial success of which there are many many examples somebody born to a middle-ass family or born to the projects you know makes it and just fantastic fantastic stories.”

The accountable class has been beleaguered by regulations, taxes, and cultural hatred, making them sick of the status quo and receptive to candidates like Trump who challenge the system.

“now the accountable class, the people who live by results are have been just bedeled by regulations and taxes and cultural hatred and so on and they're sick of it. Right?”

James C. Scott's 'Seeing Like a State' is another important work, though 'a whole other conversation.' This suggests Scott's framework about how state rationality misses local knowledge is relevant to understanding American governance and institutional problems.

“or frankly anything by that author or or another book by a Yale scholar called Seeing like a state which is a whole other conversation.”