It seems like every day someone accuses me of being “part of the establishment,” which is impressive because nobody from the establishment has sent me a parking pass, a pension, or even a decent fruit basket.

Here is my actual position: I want Democrats to win elections because I want democracy to survive. That means I am never going to advise people to hold their vote hostage over one issue while MAGA is standing outside with a gas can and a copy of the Constitution they have clearly never opened.

If the choice is between a MAGA Republican and a so-called establishment Democrat, I am voting for the Democrat. Every time. I do not need the candidate to make my heart sing. I need them not to help dismantle the republic before lunch.

And “the establishment,” as people like Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker use the term, is often little more than a mood wearing a necktie. The minute somebody wins office, gets committee assignments, hires staff, and starts voting on legislation, congratulations: they are now part of the establishment. You cannot demand political power and then act betrayed when power comes with an office.

My job is not to throw buzzwords into a blender and serve anger smoothies. My unfortunate task is to present layered arguments, weigh competing facts, and reach conclusions that occasionally require more than one villain.

That frustrates people because simple enemies are emotionally convenient. Immigrants. Black people. Billionaires. Corporate elites. “The establishment.” Pick a target, point dramatically, and suddenly nobody has to think about institutions, incentives, history, voter behavior, media systems, or the possibility that several things can be true at once.

But this is called The Thinking Class, not The Find One Boogeyman and Yell at Him Report.

I am not here to tell you who to hate. I am here to help you think clearly enough to know who is actually trying to take your rights away—and who merely disappointed you on a podcast.