I just think by avoiding america’s enemies, it avoids the question of how illegitimate the government is.
Consider how radical "the U.S. government is illegitimate" is. That's not an idea that's going to click with very many people who watch CNN; they're going to reject it as it's too far outside their current beliefs. You can't throw people in the deep end right away, you have to bring them along a little bit and at least get them comfortable treading in leftist waters. It's a pipeline to leftism, not an instant conversion.
Then there's the idea that most people don't care about foreign policy much anyways, and so you're not going to score points with anyone for having great foreign policy takes most of the time. There's no much to gain, but you can easily get roasted -- look at how Bernie got a crucial week's worth of bad coverage over extremely innocuous comments about Cuba's healthcare and education.
I have also never really had much push back on claiming the government is illegitimate.
Are you talking to the average CNN viewer, though? And might people be willing to entertain more radical ideas in person, from a regular guy, than they would from an elected official?
Belief in the illegitimacy of the government makes more sense in a heavily red area. I think at that point it comes down to who's just culturally conservative (and the hostility to government that comes with that) and who's an ideologically-committed right-winger. The latter isn't reachable, but the former might be.
Consider how radical "the U.S. government is illegitimate" is. That's not an idea that's going to click with very many people who watch CNN; they're going to reject it as it's too far outside their current beliefs. You can't throw people in the deep end right away, you have to bring them along a little bit and at least get them comfortable treading in leftist waters. It's a pipeline to leftism, not an instant conversion.
Then there's the idea that most people don't care about foreign policy much anyways, and so you're not going to score points with anyone for having great foreign policy takes most of the time. There's no much to gain, but you can easily get roasted -- look at how Bernie got a crucial week's worth of bad coverage over extremely innocuous comments about Cuba's healthcare and education.
deleted by creator
Are you talking to the average CNN viewer, though? And might people be willing to entertain more radical ideas in person, from a regular guy, than they would from an elected official?
deleted by creator
Belief in the illegitimacy of the government makes more sense in a heavily red area. I think at that point it comes down to who's just culturally conservative (and the hostility to government that comes with that) and who's an ideologically-committed right-winger. The latter isn't reachable, but the former might be.