Is social media ‘splintering’ the Democratic Party? John Curley weighs in

Is social media “killing” the Democratic Party?

John Curley, host of “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said that this could be the case, noting that many of those who share posts online could be over-radicalizing the views of the party, giving Republicans a leg up.

“Most people care about…is my kid safe? Am I safe? Do I have a job? Am I making a decent living? Can I afford to buy a house someday?” Curley said. “You know, all that other stuff that you see, because of social media, because of the use of the algorithm, the Republicans don’t have to do a thing. Just put enough people with dyed hair…simply throw them out there and say, well, here you go. These are the Democrats.”

Curley referred to an article in The National Review, where reporter Christian Schneider compared the Democratic Party to a farmers market, explaining that Democrats would previously coexist in different kinds of booths, that they “didn’t necessarily like one another, but they tolerated the strangeness of the coalition because it won elections.”

“Social media, as much as people want to get the word out, is actually causing the party to splinter,” Curley said.

He claimed that social media puts people’s differences on display, forcing the public to see one person’s viewpoint as a symbol for the party.

Repeating history

Curley noted that this happened similarly within the Republican Party as well, recalling the basic philosophy of Pat Buchanan’s Reform Party, which aimed to go “real conservative.” Curley said the creation of this party could be compared to what leaders on the left, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), are trying to campaign for today.

“(Buchanan) said if you had true conservatives, you would win. It’s when you start to move a little bit to the left and try to pick up some of those people, that’s when you lose,” Curley said. “This will be interesting because, right now, AOC is on a tour across the U.S. with Bernie Sanders, and people like talking to her, saying she would make a great president. If we just did the same thing as Pat Buchanan in the 80s, right? If we just got true left? Well, I think it didn’t work for you before, and it certainly won’t work again.”

Listen to the full conversation below:

Listen to John Curley and weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jcurleyshow