I think part of it is our culture right now. It's not about policies because most electoral politics isn't. But what seems striking to me is the way politics seems to be operating at fandoms - whether it's Corbyn and Trump on the disruptive/populist end or Macron and Trudeau on the liberal/technocratic establishment end.
I think looking for views or agendas is wrong at this point. It's something we've had with Corbyn here. The policy content of Corbynism is a vacuum, but people are fans of Corbyn (and Trump) - and respond as fans. It's not a million miles away from looking at a twitter row between Messi fans and Ronaldo fans (not Barcelona fans and Juve fans).
I've said before but I think sports is ahead of politics in terms of a lot of where we are politically. But one thing stuck out recently. I read an article about football transfers and it included the anecdote of an agent who told his client, a player in the Championship, to do more tricks and flicks. They may not pay off and they may not help his team but they can snipped into a short video to share on social media - which increase his value and what he can earn if he gets a transfer.
That story came into my head when I saw the clip of McSally calling a journalist a "liberal hack". Her aides filmed it, then they were tweeting it and then it was part of a fundraising campaign. It's a bit like Corbyn at PMQs - he never asked questions or tried to build an argument which is the traditional method. He just made a little speech and then added a question at the end. It was never about PMQs it was about getting the clip of him delivering an angry speech and sharing it on social media. A lot of what's going on in politics right now feels like it's about feeding your fanbase and building your narrative for them.
