On Tuesday, I was perhaps the closest I’ll ever be to being “On the Issues with Mike Gousha.”
Gousha, host of “On the Issues” and occasional debate moderator, was the latest post-election speaker in my elections class. Since our class has exactly five people in it, it was more of a conversation between us, Herbert Lowe and Gousha.
Like with Sharif Durhams, we didn’t have a definite structure. We began on one subject and let things develop from there.
One of Gousha’s biggest points was what he called an “alternative media” that enabled the Romney campaign and supporters to be overconfident going into Nov. 6. His point was not that this is a Republican or conservative phenomenon, but that it was most obvious in that case.
I wish I’d asked if he thinks Romney’s loss will stop people from retreating to their carefully selected group of news and opinion sources that already agree with them. I’d guess not. Future campaigns might decide to run with their eyes wider open, at least in terms of the data coming out of pollsters and poll analysts like Nate Silver. But the average voter is probably going to be in as much of an echo chamber as ever.
We also discussed the 2016 elections. (Yes, already.) There are early signs of what the field for both parties might look like. But at this point, it’s entirely speculation. We have an entire mid-term election to go through, after all.
More to see and read
—My blog posts about “On the Issues” events we attended and tweeted as a class: former Sen. Russ Feingold and Sen. Ron Johnson.
—Gousha moderated the second senate debate between then-candidates Tammy Baldwin and Tommy Thomspon. You can watch it on Wisconsin Eye.
—Gousha’s next “On the Issues” guest is Danae Davis, CEO of PEARLS for Teen Girls, an organization that works with girls 10–19 throughout Milwaukee. Information about the event is here.
RSS Feed