Interview: Scott Ferson
His new book argues that Democrats need to start listening to the electorate to heal the disconnect.
I’ve been interviewing Scott Ferson for more than 20 years; he is a political consultant who worked for Senator Ted Kennedy, runs the Liberty Square Group, founded the Blue Lab to train young people to run campaigns, and teaches political science at Stonehill College. I’m not gonna vouch that he’s always right, but he’s certainly worth listening to.
So, of course I wanted to talk with him about his new book, “How the Democrats Lost America: Making Sense of the 2024 Election and the Future of American Politics.” (Coming soon; pre-order here: https://www.amazon.com/How-Democrats-Lost-America-Election/dp/B0FBF711G7 )
Like many of us in the Trump political era, Ferson had to admit that he didn’t understand the American electorate as well as he thought; his epiphany came in Des Moines, Iowa, when he watched 2016 caucus-goers give Trump the most votes despite him not bothering to send anyone to speak on his behalf.
As I say, many of us have experienced the feeling that we must be fundamentally missing something about American voters. Most of us address this by asking our colleagues, contacts, and social media follows what the hell everybody else out there is thinking. Ferson actually decided to travel around the country, engaging people in conversation in bars, barber shops, and other gathering places.
Ferson found that Trump is not all that people talk about, nor are they overlooking his flaws. They mostly have other troubles on their minds, and don’t believe that Democrats have answers.
Below you’ll find my conversation with Ferson about his book, and his thoughts about the electorate and what Democrats should do. I hope you’ll listen. Maybe even pick up his book and give it a read.