Originally Posted by
Slybak
Warren's campaign decided to make her "The Plans Candidate" back in Spring because "I have a plan for that" got some applause at a few candidate fora, and even though it got her noticed its ultimately what's caused her to tank over the past month.
First, as you said, because plans aren't politics. Politics is dispositional, not technical. I'd only add that Republicans understand this to the extent that conservative dispositions are broadly unpopular, so by necessity are forced to aestheticize those dispositions to make them at least palatable to the public. This is also why the right-wing has become, at home and abroad, more and more fascistic.
Second because once you become "The Plans Candidate" its expected that you'll have your own unique pitch on every issue, even the one's that aren't in your wheelhouse, when there are perfectly serviceable proposals available for you to take. This is initially what she did: backed Sanders-Jayapal. It wasn't her plan and that was fine. Politicians normally take proposals from various sources; from other candidates to support instutitions of their party.
But once she became "The Plans Candidate" she had to have her own unique policy, and obviously prioritized immunizing herself from the right-wing "tax increase" canard so much so that it developed into something more convoluted and opened herself up to skepticism from her left flank. It also didn't stop that fuckin snake Pete Buttigieg from continuing to attack her from the right, so it failed in its basic purpose.
This isn't a matter of the average voter being stupid, but a matter of the average voter operating in a system where being a highly informed political agent is both actively and structurally discouraged. No one has the time to become an expert on every conceivable subject, to the extent that they can thoroughly evaluate policy papers on every issue. Because, again, politics isn't technical.