The Fifth Column The Memory Hole & the Rent Freeze Trap (w/ Josh Barro) - #539
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Jan 8, 2026 
In this engaging discussion, Josh Barro, a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and host of the Very Serious Substack, weighs in on pressing political and housing issues. He critiques Trump's pardons for January 6th rioters and explores how they reshape GOP dynamics. Barro also breaks down New York's complex rent regulations and warns about the pitfalls of government ownership in housing. The conversation wraps up with a humorous take on cultural malaise and encouragement for straight individuals to embrace their identity.
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Pardons Serve Ego, Hurt Electability
- Pardoning January 6 rioters and rehabilitating narratives serve Trump's ego more than his party's strategic interests.
- Those moves deepen partisan divides and cost the GOP suburban voters who value norms.
Trauma Gets Memory-Holed
- Political trauma like January 6th is memory-holed when parties find it politically inconvenient.
- That forgetting undermines national reckoning and allows norms to erode over time.
Behavior vs. Policy: Why Trump Persists
- Trump wins often despite norm-shredding behavior because he forces politically advantageous policy changes.
- Voters sometimes reward substantive shifts even while disliking the leader's conduct.
