Somewhere between 65 and 80 percent of Americans agree on almost everything, Marshall Herskovitz says, hot-button issues included. His question is why that agreement never shows up at the ballot box.
Help Me Understand with Dr. Rod Berger. In their first conversation, Emmy-winning writer, director and producer Marshall Herskovitz tells the story that pulled him into politics: a 2017 lunch with Democratic senators that was booked for 45 minutes and ran an hour and three quarters, because the senators had nothing but questions about messaging. From years of polling he builds three principles he says Democrats need to win big majorities again: leaders who lead, an economy that works for working people, and an America that feels like America again. Rod pushes back from Tennessee on thinking big, on voter apathy and on what each voter owes the country. Along the way they get to D-Day, Kennedy’s moon speech, Milton Friedman and the CEO who said what’s good for America is good for GM.
In this episode
0:00 Meet Marshall Herskovitz
1:51 The 2017 Senate lunch that pulled him into politics
5:39 65 to 80 percent of Americans agree
8:42 Rod pushes back: apathy in Tennessee
9:58 Mississippi teaches the country to read
12:29 Think big: D-Day in 15 months
17:38 People vote on emotion, not policy
19:54 Principle one: leadership
23:29 Kennedy and the moon
25:33 Neoliberalism and the common good
31:24 Principle two: the economy
34:45 What’s good for America is good for GM
38:47 Principle three: we want our America back
47:41 The dark before the light
Questions this episode answers
What is Marshall Herskovitz’s three-point plan? Three principles he drew from years of polling: leadership with the strength to name a big goal and go after it, an economy built for working Americans and not only for shareholders, and a return to core American values like common decency, honesty and the worth of the individual. He offers it as a plan for Democrats.
What does he mean by neoliberalism? The idea, which he traces to Milton Friedman, that a corporation’s only responsibility is to make a profit for its shareholders. He ties it to flat wages, mass layoffs, stock buybacks and private equity.
Why does he think Democrats lose people who agree with them? People vote on emotion more than policy, he says, and for 30 years Democrats have picked consensus builders over leaders who project strength. Rod asks whether voters have to carry some of that weight too.
Who is Marshall Herskovitz? An Emmy-winning writer, director and producer. He co-created thirtysomething, My So-Called Life and Once and Again, produced films including Traffic and Blood Diamond, and is President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America.
About the hosts
Dr. Rod Berger has conducted more than 4,000 interviews across five continents. He is Editor-at-Large at Fair Observer and the author of The Narrative Edge: Authentic Storytelling That Meets the Moment (Wiley). Marshall Herskovitz is his friend and, on some episodes, his co-host.
Visit drrodberger.com · Get The Narrative Edge in hardcover
Help Me Understand is part of The Dangerous Ones Network. Have something you’re trying to understand? Call The People’s Hotline and leave a message: 503-212-4600.
