March 4, 2025 • 14 mins
This script discusses the transformation of the Democratic Party's political machine from old-style, city-based power structures to a modern, media-driven network. It highlights key mechanisms of the current machine, including media grooming, activist support, big donor networks, and party control. The narrative critiques the trend of promoting inexperienced junior senators who lack real-world governance experience, citing examples like Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Pete Buttigieg. The script also introduces Elissa Slotkin as the next potential product of this system. It argues that such candidates, while polished and media-friendly, often act as figureheads with real power wielded by unelected elites and the party's entrenched operatives.
Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Digital Audio Interface ( (00:11):
Harry Truman and JFK were products of
the old Democrat machine withparty bosses and political
insiders.
So where did Obama and KamalaHarris come from?
And who are we in for next todayon The Tenth Man, I.
(00:32):
Once upon a time, politicalpower was built in smoky back
rooms where party bossescontrolled city governments
handed out favors and made sureelections went the right way.
Machines like Tammany Hall inNew York and the Daly machine in
Chicago perfected the art ofconsolidating power through
patronage influence and bruteelectoral force.
(00:55):
These machines were oftencorrupt, but at least they
produced politicians whounderstood governance.
Mayors, city bosses and partyoperatives who had to actually
run things before being handedhigher office.
These old school politicalbosses produced figures like
Frank Hague of Jersey City, whoran his city like a personal
(01:16):
fiefdom, but kept the trainsrunning on time.
Richard J Daly, despite hisstrong arm tactics, made Chicago
a powerhouse of economic growth.
F men like Ed Rendell inPhiladelphia and Huey Long in
Louisiana had real executiveexperience before becoming
governor.
These men, however corrupt, knewhow to govern because they had
(01:40):
actually managed governmentsbefore ascending to higher
office.
Fast forward to today and theDemocratic party still operates
a machine.
Only now it's sleeker,media-driven, and driven by
identity politics rather thanbackroom deals.
The Modern Democrat machine is anetwork of media allies,
(02:01):
activist organizations, thinktanks, big money donors and tech
elites who push forwardcandidates, not based on
competence, but on narrativebranding and symbolic value.
The result, a pipeline ofinexperienced junior senators
who get fast tracked to thenational stage.
(02:22):
With little to show for it.
Unlike the old machines thatrelied on ward bosses and union
votes, today's Democrat machineoperates through four key
mechanisms.
Media grooming, legacy outletslike CNN, MSNBC, and the New
York Times.
Decide who gets the spotlightand who gets ignored.
(02:45):
If you're a rising Democrat whochecks the right boxes, you'll
get glowing profiles andprimetime interviews before
you've even accomplishedanything.
Activist support groups likeJustice Democrats, Emily's List
and moveon.org help recruit andfund candidates who align with
their ideological goals.
(03:06):
Justice Democrats, for example,was instrumental in launching
the political career of AOC, aformer bartender with no prior
political experience whounseated a longtime democratic
incumbent in a heavily bluedistrict.
Similarly, Ayanna Pressly,another part of"The Squad" was
another Justice Democrats backedcandidate who successfully
(03:29):
defeated a more establishedDemocrat.
These groups focus on findingcandidates who fit their
ideological vision, fundingtheir campaigns.
And using social media andgrassroots networks to elevate
their profiles to nationalprominence often before they
have any meaningful experiencein governance, Big Donor
(03:51):
Networks Silicon Valley,Hollywood, and the Financial
Elite pour money into candidateswho they know will stay loyal to
the machine Party Control theDNC and entrenched political
operatives ensure that the rightcandidates receive endorsements,
funding and institutionalbacking.
(04:13):
And what kind of candidates doesthis system produce?
Polished media-friendly juniorsenators with little real-world
experience.
These are people who may havespent time in academia,
government bureaucracies, orbrief legal careers, but they
haven't run businesses, governedstates, or had to make executive
(04:34):
decisions under pressure.
The 2008 election set thetemplate for this trend.
Barack Obama, a first-termsenator with no executive
experience.
No significant legislativeaccomplishments and no
background in business ormilitary leadership.
Defeated John McCain, anothersenator with no executive
(04:55):
experience.
Before being elected to theSenate in 2004, Obama's only
political experience was as anIllinois state Senator from 1997
to 2004, where he largely toedthe party line and was best
known for voting"Present" ratherthan taking firm stances.
(05:15):
He had no record of governingrunning a major enterprise or
spearheading significantbipartisan in legislation.
His meteoric rise was almostentirely a product of media
promotion, a well-craftednarrative, and the democratic
machines backing rather than anysubstantive leadership
experience.
(05:37):
Meanwhile, the one candidate onthe 2008 ballot with actual
governing experience, SarahPalin, a sitting governor, was
relentlessly mocked by the mediafor supposed inexperience, even
though she had more executiveexperience than John McCain, Joe
Biden and Barack Obama combined.
(05:57):
Yet Obama, despite his lack ofgoverning credentials, a
carefully crafted narrative,media driven appeal and party
backing propelled him tovictory.
This marked the beginning of atrend where media influence and
machine support became moreimportant than actual leadership
ability.
Since then, the machine hascontinued churning out junior
(06:19):
senators as presidentialhopefuls, including one of the
most famous Hillary Clinton.
Despite her high profile.
Clinton had only served one fullterm in the Senate before
launching her first presidentialbid.
Her experience was primarily inlegal and advisory roles, and
her most significant politicalasset was her association with
(06:43):
Bill Clinton.
Her 2008 loss to Obama and her2016 loss to Trump demonstrated
that media backing and partysupport alone were not enough to
overcome voter skepticism.
Other examples are KamalaHarris.
She was a senator for just twoyears before launching her
(07:05):
presidential bid.
She failed spectacularly in the2020 primary, despite media
support had to be installed asVP because she couldn't win on
her own.
Cory Booker, a Senator since2013 with a carefully curated
media presence.
He flamed out in 2020 afterfailing to gain traction.
(07:28):
Booker is more sizzle thansteak.
Lots of rhetoric, littlesubstance.
Then there's Pete Buttigieg, noteven a senator, just a small
town mayor with no nationalexperience, but elevated to
transportation.
Secretary as a stepping stone tohigher office.
A classic example of a machinegroomed candidate with no
(07:48):
qualifications.
Many more like Elizabeth Warrenand Amy Klobuchar who tried to
break through but couldn't.
The common themes, little to noexecutive experience
over-reliance on media buzzrather than real
accomplishments, beingpositioned as fresh faces, but
(08:09):
lacking any compellingleadership record.
The Democratic party's relianceon junior senators isn't working
and it's costing them elections.
Here's why.
Voters want leaders, nottalkers, senators, debate and
grandstand, but governorsactually run things.
(08:30):
Compare the Senate-heavy 2020field to Republican nominees
like Trump, a businessman andDeSantis a governor.
Swing.
Voters don't care about medianarratives.
Once upon a time, politicianswrote books with actual
substance.
Teddy Roosevelt authoredscholarly works on history and
(08:51):
policy.
He was considered an expert onthe war of 1812, and John F.
Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize forProfiles in Courage, though it
was later revealed that his bookwas largely ghost written and
the value of authorship began toslip.
Fast forward to today and everyDemocrat machine candidate is
(09:12):
expected to release a memoir asa rite of passage.
Barack Obama, Kamala Harris (09:17):
all follow this playbook using their
books to craft a carefullycontrolled story about their
backgrounds and policypositions, despite their lack of
substantial governingexperience.
Some even receive questionableliterary awards to bolster their
credibility, but voters wantresults, not well-packaged
(09:39):
autobiographies filled withbuzzwords.
The identity politics trap, theparty keeps prioritizing
symbolism over substance pickingcandidates based on diversity
optics rather than competence.
This worked for Obama, but itbackfired with Harris and
(10:00):
Buttigieg.
The machine refuses to adapt.
And instead of recalibrating,it's simply preparing the next
junior senator for the pipeline.
Enter Elissa Slotkin, the nextproduct of the Democratic
machine.
Slotkin has no real worldexperience going straight from
the CIA and Pentagon intopolitics.
(10:22):
she barely won Michigan's Senateseat in 2024 after defeating
Mike Rogers a former congressmanwith far more experience.
Slotkin is perfectly packaged asa moderate Democrat while
actually voting in lockstep withthe party.
Slotkin represents the nextiteration of the Democratic
(10:42):
machines formula.
A polished media-friendly figurewith government experience, but
not in governance itself.
With no executive leadershipbackground, her rise has been
carefully curated by the samenetworks of donors, media
elites, and politicalstrategists that have elevated
previous machine candidates.
(11:02):
And if history is any indicator,she'll be expected to follow the
modern playbook, a book deal, amemoir to shape her narrative,
glowing media profiles, and thepositioning as the centrist who
can win.
If she hasn't already startedwriting that book, she might
want to get moving And right oncue, slotkin has been chosen to
(11:25):
deliver the democratic rebuttalto Trump's address to the joint
session of Congress in March,2025 after having given one of
the speeches at the DNCconvention in 2024.
These are classic machine moveselevating a carefully groomed
figure into the nationalspotlight as a serious leader,
before they've actually had tolead anything.
(11:48):
It's the same strategy used withObama, Harris, and Hillary,
giving the party a chance totest how she handles the
pressure while reinforcing herbrand as a rising star.
The stage is set.
Slotkin will be marketed as thepragmatic centrist for 2028.
she'll be sold as an experiencedforeign policy expert.
(12:10):
Even though her background isentirely in intelligence
administration, not actualgovernance.
The Democratic machine keepschurning, keeps running the same
playbook and keeps failing, butinstead of adjusting course,
they're doubling down on thejunior Senator strategy.
And Slotkin is just the nextname on the list.
(12:32):
The Democratic Party had a deepbench of experienced leaders in
the past, governors, mayors,even business leaders.
Now, they rely on the samemanufactured media groomed
senators, and the results speakfor themselves.
But when one of theseinexperienced candidates wins,
who is actually in charge?
(12:53):
With no executive leadershipbackground these presidents are
often figureheads, while realpower is wielded by donors,
longtime bureaucrats, partystrategists, and deep state
operatives.
Obama had Valerie Jarrett bidenwas managed by former Obama era
officials, and Harris waspropped up by handlers shielding
(13:16):
her from scrutiny.
These senators do not enter theWhite House with strong
leadership skills.
They enter as part of a systemthat ensures policy decisions
remain in the hands of unelectedelites.
If Elissa Slotkin is the nextchosen one, expect the same
results.
A highly polished, well-funded,media-promoted, candidate with
(13:40):
no actual leadership experienceand a growing disconnect between
the party and the voters theyneed to win, but as long as the
machine keeps running, so doesthe cycle.
The only question is, willvoters keep electing figureheads
while the real power remains inthe shadows?
(14:02):
Tell a friend about The TenthMan, and thank you for
listening.
Harry Truman and JFK were products of
the old Democrat machine withparty bosses and political
insiders.
So where did Obama and KamalaHarris come from?
And who are we in for next todayon The Tenth Man, I.
(00:32):
Once upon a time, politicalpower was built in smoky back
rooms where party bossescontrolled city governments
handed out favors and made sureelections went the right way.
Machines like Tammany Hall inNew York and the Daly machine in
Chicago perfected the art ofconsolidating power through
patronage influence and bruteelectoral force.
(00:55):
These machines were oftencorrupt, but at least they
produced politicians whounderstood governance.
Mayors, city bosses and partyoperatives who had to actually
run things before being handedhigher office.
These old school politicalbosses produced figures like
Frank Hague of Jersey City, whoran his city like a personal
(01:16):
fiefdom, but kept the trainsrunning on time.
Richard J Daly, despite hisstrong arm tactics, made Chicago
a powerhouse of economic growth.
F men like Ed Rendell inPhiladelphia and Huey Long in
Louisiana had real executiveexperience before becoming
governor.
These men, however corrupt, knewhow to govern because they had
(01:40):
actually managed governmentsbefore ascending to higher
office.
Fast forward to today and theDemocratic party still operates
a machine.
Only now it's sleeker,media-driven, and driven by
identity politics rather thanbackroom deals.
The Modern Democrat machine is anetwork of media allies,
(02:01):
activist organizations, thinktanks, big money donors and tech
elites who push forwardcandidates, not based on
competence, but on narrativebranding and symbolic value.
The result, a pipeline ofinexperienced junior senators
who get fast tracked to thenational stage.
(02:22):
With little to show for it.
Unlike the old machines thatrelied on ward bosses and union
votes, today's Democrat machineoperates through four key
mechanisms.
Media grooming, legacy outletslike CNN, MSNBC, and the New
York Times.
Decide who gets the spotlightand who gets ignored.
(02:45):
If you're a rising Democrat whochecks the right boxes, you'll
get glowing profiles andprimetime interviews before
you've even accomplishedanything.
Activist support groups likeJustice Democrats, Emily's List
and moveon.org help recruit andfund candidates who align with
their ideological goals.
(03:06):
Justice Democrats, for example,was instrumental in launching
the political career of AOC, aformer bartender with no prior
political experience whounseated a longtime democratic
incumbent in a heavily bluedistrict.
Similarly, Ayanna Pressly,another part of"The Squad" was
another Justice Democrats backedcandidate who successfully
(03:29):
defeated a more establishedDemocrat.
These groups focus on findingcandidates who fit their
ideological vision, fundingtheir campaigns.
And using social media andgrassroots networks to elevate
their profiles to nationalprominence often before they
have any meaningful experiencein governance, Big Donor
(03:51):
Networks Silicon Valley,Hollywood, and the Financial
Elite pour money into candidateswho they know will stay loyal to
the machine Party Control theDNC and entrenched political
operatives ensure that the rightcandidates receive endorsements,
funding and institutionalbacking.
(04:13):
And what kind of candidates doesthis system produce?
Polished media-friendly juniorsenators with little real-world
experience.
These are people who may havespent time in academia,
government bureaucracies, orbrief legal careers, but they
haven't run businesses, governedstates, or had to make executive
(04:34):
decisions under pressure.
The 2008 election set thetemplate for this trend.
Barack Obama, a first-termsenator with no executive
experience.
No significant legislativeaccomplishments and no
background in business ormilitary leadership.
Defeated John McCain, anothersenator with no executive
(04:55):
experience.
Before being elected to theSenate in 2004, Obama's only
political experience was as anIllinois state Senator from 1997
to 2004, where he largely toedthe party line and was best
known for voting"Present" ratherthan taking firm stances.
(05:15):
He had no record of governingrunning a major enterprise or
spearheading significantbipartisan in legislation.
His meteoric rise was almostentirely a product of media
promotion, a well-craftednarrative, and the democratic
machines backing rather than anysubstantive leadership
experience.
(05:37):
Meanwhile, the one candidate onthe 2008 ballot with actual
governing experience, SarahPalin, a sitting governor, was
relentlessly mocked by the mediafor supposed inexperience, even
though she had more executiveexperience than John McCain, Joe
Biden and Barack Obama combined.
(05:57):
Yet Obama, despite his lack ofgoverning credentials, a
carefully crafted narrative,media driven appeal and party
backing propelled him tovictory.
This marked the beginning of atrend where media influence and
machine support became moreimportant than actual leadership
ability.
Since then, the machine hascontinued churning out junior
(06:19):
senators as presidentialhopefuls, including one of the
most famous Hillary Clinton.
Despite her high profile.
Clinton had only served one fullterm in the Senate before
launching her first presidentialbid.
Her experience was primarily inlegal and advisory roles, and
her most significant politicalasset was her association with
(06:43):
Bill Clinton.
Her 2008 loss to Obama and her2016 loss to Trump demonstrated
that media backing and partysupport alone were not enough to
overcome voter skepticism.
Other examples are KamalaHarris.
She was a senator for just twoyears before launching her
(07:05):
presidential bid.
She failed spectacularly in the2020 primary, despite media
support had to be installed asVP because she couldn't win on
her own.
Cory Booker, a Senator since2013 with a carefully curated
media presence.
He flamed out in 2020 afterfailing to gain traction.
(07:28):
Booker is more sizzle thansteak.
Lots of rhetoric, littlesubstance.
Then there's Pete Buttigieg, noteven a senator, just a small
town mayor with no nationalexperience, but elevated to
transportation.
Secretary as a stepping stone tohigher office.
A classic example of a machinegroomed candidate with no
(07:48):
qualifications.
Many more like Elizabeth Warrenand Amy Klobuchar who tried to
break through but couldn't.
The common themes, little to noexecutive experience
over-reliance on media buzzrather than real
accomplishments, beingpositioned as fresh faces, but
(08:09):
lacking any compellingleadership record.
The Democratic party's relianceon junior senators isn't working
and it's costing them elections.
Here's why.
Voters want leaders, nottalkers, senators, debate and
grandstand, but governorsactually run things.
(08:30):
Compare the Senate-heavy 2020field to Republican nominees
like Trump, a businessman andDeSantis a governor.
Swing.
Voters don't care about medianarratives.
Once upon a time, politicianswrote books with actual
substance.
Teddy Roosevelt authoredscholarly works on history and
(08:51):
policy.
He was considered an expert onthe war of 1812, and John F.
Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize forProfiles in Courage, though it
was later revealed that his bookwas largely ghost written and
the value of authorship began toslip.
Fast forward to today and everyDemocrat machine candidate is
(09:12):
expected to release a memoir asa rite of passage.
Barack Obama, Kamala Harris (09:17):
all follow this playbook using their
books to craft a carefullycontrolled story about their
backgrounds and policypositions, despite their lack of
substantial governingexperience.
Some even receive questionableliterary awards to bolster their
credibility, but voters wantresults, not well-packaged
(09:39):
autobiographies filled withbuzzwords.
The identity politics trap, theparty keeps prioritizing
symbolism over substance pickingcandidates based on diversity
optics rather than competence.
This worked for Obama, but itbackfired with Harris and
(10:00):
Buttigieg.
The machine refuses to adapt.
And instead of recalibrating,it's simply preparing the next
junior senator for the pipeline.
Enter Elissa Slotkin, the nextproduct of the Democratic
machine.
Slotkin has no real worldexperience going straight from
the CIA and Pentagon intopolitics.
(10:22):
she barely won Michigan's Senateseat in 2024 after defeating
Mike Rogers a former congressmanwith far more experience.
Slotkin is perfectly packaged asa moderate Democrat while
actually voting in lockstep withthe party.
Slotkin represents the nextiteration of the Democratic
(10:42):
machines formula.
A polished media-friendly figurewith government experience, but
not in governance itself.
With no executive leadershipbackground, her rise has been
carefully curated by the samenetworks of donors, media
elites, and politicalstrategists that have elevated
previous machine candidates.
(11:02):
And if history is any indicator,she'll be expected to follow the
modern playbook, a book deal, amemoir to shape her narrative,
glowing media profiles, and thepositioning as the centrist who
can win.
If she hasn't already startedwriting that book, she might
want to get moving And right oncue, slotkin has been chosen to
(11:25):
deliver the democratic rebuttalto Trump's address to the joint
session of Congress in March,2025 after having given one of
the speeches at the DNCconvention in 2024.
These are classic machine moveselevating a carefully groomed
figure into the nationalspotlight as a serious leader,
before they've actually had tolead anything.
(11:48):
It's the same strategy used withObama, Harris, and Hillary,
giving the party a chance totest how she handles the
pressure while reinforcing herbrand as a rising star.
The stage is set.
Slotkin will be marketed as thepragmatic centrist for 2028.
she'll be sold as an experiencedforeign policy expert.
(12:10):
Even though her background isentirely in intelligence
administration, not actualgovernance.
The Democratic machine keepschurning, keeps running the same
playbook and keeps failing, butinstead of adjusting course,
they're doubling down on thejunior Senator strategy.
And Slotkin is just the nextname on the list.
(12:32):
The Democratic Party had a deepbench of experienced leaders in
the past, governors, mayors,even business leaders.
Now, they rely on the samemanufactured media groomed
senators, and the results speakfor themselves.
But when one of theseinexperienced candidates wins,
who is actually in charge?
(12:53):
With no executive leadershipbackground these presidents are
often figureheads, while realpower is wielded by donors,
longtime bureaucrats, partystrategists, and deep state
operatives.
Obama had Valerie Jarrett bidenwas managed by former Obama era
officials, and Harris waspropped up by handlers shielding
(13:16):
her from scrutiny.
These senators do not enter theWhite House with strong
leadership skills.
They enter as part of a systemthat ensures policy decisions
remain in the hands of unelectedelites.
If Elissa Slotkin is the nextchosen one, expect the same
results.
A highly polished, well-funded,media-promoted, candidate with
(13:40):
no actual leadership experienceand a growing disconnect between
the party and the voters theyneed to win, but as long as the
machine keeps running, so doesthe cycle.
The only question is, willvoters keep electing figureheads
while the real power remains inthe shadows?
(14:02):
Tell a friend about The TenthMan, and thank you for
listening.
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