For Democratic and progressive men of the Baby Boom and subsequent generations, men should default to greater compassion and leniency for people defined as victims, whether black people or trans-identified people. Since Covid restrictions were framed as protecting the entire public’s health, the demands of progressives and Democrats became tyrannical, resulting in censorship, lockdowns, and snitch lines.
There is a narcissism in the “nice guy” progressive Democrats like Walz. It’s not enough for progressives like them to do the right, kind, and compassionate thing; they want to be recognized for their virtue. This attitude pervades both ordinary progressive Democratic voters as well as their elected officials. The result is that Democrats like Walz often don’t just accept radical left demands like holding back the National Guard, creating snitch lines, and medicalizing gender confusion; they demand such things. Walz, for example,
claimed his state should be a “national model” on so-called gender medicine.
Nice guyism is part of what some have called the progressive feminist “Longhouse,” which First Things
described as a “large communal hall, serving as the social focal point for many cultures and peoples throughout the world that were typically more sedentary and agrarian…. The most important feature of the Longhouse, and why it makes such a resonant (and controversial) symbol of our current circumstances, is the ubiquitous rule of the Den Mother.”
This is not a criticism of women or even feminism, some versions of which do not advocate that men uncritically adopt more feminine styles and approaches. “More than anything,” writes the author known as L0m3z for
First Things, “the Longhouse refers to the remarkable overcorrection of the last two generations toward social norms centering feminine needs and feminine methods for controlling, directing, and modeling behavior.” The author notes that this shift of norms among the professional-managerial class that runs government agencies, corporations, universities, schools, NGOs, and other societal institutions.
Why has Walz done things that have undermined the progressive, liberal, and Democratic values of caring for the vulnerable? There is smugness: Walz, like other progressives, is firmly convinced of the moral rightness of his side’s position, and thus frequently expresses contempt for people who disagree with his controversial policies. But there is also nice guyism, the self-perception among many progressive men that their first priority is to be kind and deferential to the “den mothers” in the professional-managerial longhouse rather than questioning of them and protective of the community.
For Stronger Leaders
Nice guyism is today hegemonic among Democratic and other Left leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who emphasize empathy, inclusivity, and consensus-building which in practical terms has meant giving into radical Left demands on race, censorship, and gender. Due to its emphasis on empathy and avoiding confrontation, progressive nice guyism of the kind embodied by Walz, Starmer, Newsom, and Trudeau leads to more crime, more restrictions on personal freedom, and mistreatment at the hands of predatory medical professionals.
It all creates an opening for Trump and Vance. Republicans can argue that Walz’s hesitation to deploy the National Guard in response to the BLM riots demonstrated weak leadership. They can criticize the COVID-19 snitch line as government overreach. And they can denounce his gender policies as reckless and out of step with the changing scientific consensus in Europe. The sum of these criticisms would be to define Walz as either too extreme and or too weak to stand up to the radical Left.
Consider Walz’s
statements after the riot when he supported reducing consequences for committing crimes, ostensibly as a way to be nice to communities of color. “Communities need to be heard,” Walz said. “They're demanding that these changes be made. They told us last year. Change cash bail. Change how you do traffic stops. It didn't happen and look what we got.”
And it’s not just moderates. Democrats, liberals, and progressives who have as core values protecting vulnerable populations, ensuring public safety, and maintaining personal privacy and autonomy may also be upset when they learn about Walz’s record. After all, the National Guard was needed to stop riots to protect the communities most affected by the violence and destruction, which are often marginalized and economically vulnerable neighborhoods. Avoiding COVID-19 snitch lines respects individual privacy and promotes community trust without fostering a culture of surveillance. And disallowing “gender-affirming care” for minors aligns with the precautionary principle, ensuring decisions about irreversible treatments are made with full maturity and informed consent.
In the end, Kamala Harris did not make an excellent choice in selecting Walz as her running mate. Walz doesn’t bridge the gap between the Democratic Party’s progressive base and moderates; he expands it. What’s more, he exposes the problems with nice guy progressivism and the compassion-first approach to governing.