No, You're Not Crazy: It's Brand Protection

And it's tragic.

(image credit: Philip Yabut // Getty Images)

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I've lived in D.C. for the better part of two decades. Nearly my whole adult life.

Something folks aren't talking about nearly enough—a giant elephant in the room—is the amount of "brand protection" going on right now in American politics.

I don't mean fear of Trump or political persecution, although those can overlap.

When I say "brand protection," I mean the things someone in the political arena does to preserve their career longterm. It's not even necessarily "reputation protection," which is a somewhat different thing.

"Brand protection" is more about not carrying your weight of the overall burden. It’s letting others do the hard work. It’s letting them take the risks and paying the price for doing the obvious things that need to be done to protect our democracy.

Those engaged in "brand protection" are the folks in politics who believe there's a decent chance we'll get through this (actually, some probably don’t), and they’re avoiding the expense of any personal political capital that would be required for proactively helping because they wanna come out on the other side of this thing stronger than ever, so they stay low-key.

There are a LOT of politicians, journalists, anchors, and pundits doing this right now.

Most of these folks are doing at least pretty okay financially. Some of them are doing great financially. They have solid access, they get big party invites, they're primed for book deals and speaking gigs, network slots and promotions, etc.

Some of them are politicians who want to run for higher office and believe doing what needs to be done in this moment would compromise a future campaign.

And they don't wanna mess that up. They don't want this whole fascism thing to derail their timeline or deplete their capital.

So, they've decided to wait it out. Not rock the boat. Throw a soft punch here and there but mostly keep their heads down. They want to preserve their network and their capital.

They are very consciously doing this. It's very much a choice. They're doing just enough to go along and get along and maintain their perch.

You will not see them throw haymakers. If they come across what could be a big scoop or the obvious imperative to speak out clearly on an issue, it's not enough for it to be airtight — it also has to maintain their standing.

There a lot of folks in American politics and media who aren't really trying, not primarily out of concern for their safety or triangulation in service to a more important professional priority but mostly because doing so would mean risking a slide down the pecking order a few notches.

So, this is all to say: you're not crazy.

You're wondering if it's true that much of political media and many folks in political circles are complicit and enabling, or if you're just being too critical.

And I'm here to say: you are not being too critical.

Years from now, when we get through this, god willing, there will be stories that come out about these folks covering something up or letting something slide or choosing not to do anything, and I want you to remember a lot of them didn't do it out of fear.

They did it out of selfishness.

To them, it's mostly a giant game with their own advancement being the objective.

And before Trump, it was mostly a giant game with comparatively low stakes. Who cares if you let something slide? It's not like democracy is gonna collapse.

But in the Trump era, the consequences to our democracy are very real, and they've decided to choose their selfishness anyway.

It's why I admire people like Bill Kristol and George Conway and Jen Rubin — folks with whom, historically, I have not aligned on a number of things.

It’s why I admire a number of Democratic politicians across the spectrum who are saying “to hell with that” and speaking out because it’s the right thing to do, even if there’s a fear it may hurt their careers.

I admire them because they have honor in this moment. They’re choosing democracy over their perch. They’re choosing our country over their capital. So many of their colleagues across the political spectrum and throughout media are doing the opposite.

If you look closely enough and make mental notes, you'll notice some of those who are going along to get along. It's not terribly difficult to track.

Sometimes, it's embarrassingly obvious.

So, no, you're not crazy. It's definitely happening, and it's tragic.

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