This is a letter to the editor published in the Financial Times on August 23. The letter was slightly edited, mostly for the better, except in one case: At the end of the first sentence, instead of “the ignorant”, I would have preferred “those who sound ignorant to them” (or something like that). Such wording much better reflects my point – and, I think, the point Edward Luce was making in his column.
“I agree with Edward Luce that there is ‘electoral gold’ for the right in the contempt America’s cultural elites show towards the ignorant. (‘The truth that set Cheney free’, Opinion, August 18) However, one should not ignore the regular gold. There is money in electoral outrage, for both candidates and perhaps especially their consultants.
For example. are the profits from the sales of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘Defund the FBI’ T-shirts, going to Greene’s campaign or the consultants who design and sell them? The same question applies to the small money contributions made to such candidates. What percentage goes to the telemarketers and what percentage goes to the candidates? And even money going to the candidate is probably just going to pay political consultants for more ads and more ‘advice’.
It may be my natural cynicism, but I think it is a mistake, when looking at the ever-growing political divide in America, to not follow the money. There’s gold in outrage, and the more outrage, the more gold – especially for the grifters, the swindlers who are feeding off the ever-more bitter politics of the United States in 2022.”
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Note: I cannot link to the letter itself because it is behind the FT’s paywall.
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