
""We have become so caught up in our own rhetoric of helping the little guy that we've stopped actually checking to make sure that we are doing that,""
""I think a lot of Democrats are frustrated and feel powerless, and so that rhetoric has this cathartic effect," he said. "But I don't know that it actually, over time, moves us toward success, and I mean not just success in society, but even political success, because ultimately, if you're not offering solutions, I think you can have a hard time getting to a majority position.""
""I have tried very consciously to not fall into that trap of just wanting to be liked.""
Matt Mahan, the 42-year-old mayor of San José, criticizes one-party rule in Sacramento and the Democratic establishment as a club of insiders. He emphasizes outcomes over intentions, arguing that performative rhetoric and cathartic messaging do not build lasting success. He warns that focusing on rhetoric about helping the little guy without verifying results undermines both societal progress and political majorities. He calls hyper-online posturing a "sugar high" and stresses the need to offer solutions. Mahan traces his roots to working-class Watsonville and a lengthy high-school commute to San José.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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