Jonathan Alter: The Democrats’ Anti-Koch Brothers Strategy Is ‘Not Sufficient’

‘Turning the Koch brothers into boogeymen is a long-time proposition’

Jonathan Alter: Democratic Anti-Koch Brothers Strategy ‘Not Sufficient’ (Mediaite)

Liberal columnist Jonathan Alter appeared on MSNBC on Monday and diagnosed the Democratic strategy aimed at mobilizing base voters around the concerns about the Koch Brothers and other wealthy Republican donors as insufficient in their aim to maintain control of the U.S. Senate in November.

“As Richard Nixon said, politics is often the mobilization of resentments,” Alter said. “So when you have something to vote against, it can be a powerful motivating factor for driving turnout.”

Alter said that he agreed with the Democratic strategy aimed at foster resentment against “the 1 percent,” but that was not going to be enough to hold the Senate. “Pure populist appeals tend not to work in America because people want to be wealthy themselves,” he added. “They aspire to be in the 1 percent.”

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