The Wisdom of Waging War on Woo

This is more Paul’s territory than mine, but I think that some consideration needs to be given to how the Democratic coalition is planning to handle “woo.” I am fond of saying that if you do not hold fierce, burning hatred in your heart for the other end of your political coalition, then your coalition probably isn’t big enough to consistently win elections in the United States. For me personally the objects of that hatred have been a certain set of foreign policy leftists and the “woo community,” broadly conceived. If the last sixteen months have taught us anything it is that “woo” kills; indulging woo means undertaking a set of policies that make Americans actively less healthy. RFK Jr. may or may not end up being the most murderous of Trump’s cabinet picks (the destruction of USAID will end up being worse), but he certainly doesn’t lack for effort.

What I am less certain about is how we go about doing this. Of the many stories of the 2024 election the idea that Kennedy’s defection was consequential to the outcome seems plausible to me, if not absolutely ironclad. However disappointed “MAHA Moms” may be in Trump administration policy, they have certainly demonstrated an interest in electoral influence. Even if it could be done, purging “woo” from the coalition would require some narrative about how the votes (and the not insignificant money) would be replaced, especially in context of a GOP that is giddy about courting the constituency.

But I also doubt that it can be done. To the extent that there is a “woo constituency” that can be courted or purged it is that there is a group of voters who care more about this issue than other coalitional commitments and are willing to condition their votes on it. But “woo” is a very broad concept and it is woven into a very broad set of communities than make up the Democratic coalition. To start with, it should be obvious that anti-woo can very quickly deteriorate into misogyny if conducted without care, notwithstanding the fact that much modern “woo” is associated with young men’s health and wellness. Furthermore, the coalition contains a significant number of groups that are skeptical of the modern health care industrial complex, some for better reasons and some for worse. Trying to isolate and tear out the “woo” could be… rough, and alienating.

So… I would love to punch these hippies, but I’m not sure that there’s a good way for these hippies to get punched without causing serious coalition management problems. To be clear I don’t think that the Democrats should relax sensible, science-based positions on vaccines and other health care, but I’m unclear on how much more confrontational and assertive Democrats could get on this issue.

But this should be read mainly as “thinking out load” rather than a proposal to do anything specific. I’m curious about y’all’s thoughts; how do Democrats repair the damage that RFK Jr. is inflicting while containing the electoral fallout?