In a column published on June 23, 2025, veteran political analyst Michael Barone explored the profound ways in which fast-changing events are actively making, or even remaking, history. Barone’s analysis centers on how rapid societal and political shifts challenge established narratives and realities, pointing to specific contemporary examples to illustrate his thesis on the dynamic nature of historical forces.
The Chicago Case Study
A central focus of Barone’s column is the evolving political landscape of Chicago, Illinois, and specifically the tenure of Mayor Brandon Johnson. Barone utilizes the situation in Chicago as a compelling case study for how quickly political fortunes and public sentiment can shift, and how urban realities can dramatically confront ideological platforms and expectations. He posits that the city’s recent trajectory under Mayor Johnson offers potent lessons on the fluid interaction between policy, public perception, and the broader currents of history.
Barone links Mayor Johnson’s 2023 election victory to the successful mobilization of a specific constituency he identifies, based on an analysis of New York Times election graphics, as the “barista proletariat.” This framing suggests an electoral base rooted in certain urban, often younger and progressive, demographics typically associated with service sector employment and distinct political leanings. The analyst posits that this coalition was instrumental in propelling Johnson to office during that election cycle, representing a particular alignment of forces that proved decisive at the polls.
Scrutiny on Governance and Approval
However, Barone’s column shifts focus to critically examine the challenges faced by the Johnson administration since taking office. He specifically critiques what he terms the mayor’s “lax policies on crime,” a characterization that suggests a perceived failure to adequately address escalating public safety concerns and rates of criminal activity within the city. This critique is paired with an assessment of a “hugely generous contract with former teacher union colleagues,” pointing to concerns about fiscal responsibility, the sustainability of public finances, and potential political considerations related to the mayor’s background as a former educator and labor organizer.
These policy criticisms, according to Barone’s analysis published in June 2025, appear to be reflected significantly in public opinion. The column highlights that Mayor Johnson’s job approval rating has reportedly plummeted to “as low as 14%” this year, underscoring a dramatic decline in public confidence and support since his election in 2023. This figure serves, in Barone’s view, as a stark indicator of the challenges facing the administration and the public’s reaction to the fast-changing situation in the city.
Broader Implications: The Shifting Narrative
Barone extends his analysis beyond Chicago’s municipal politics to discuss broader implications for media coverage and the evolution of political discourse. He draws a contrast between the New York Times’ historical editorial stance on policing – generally seen as favoring reform efforts, emphasizing civil liberties, or being critical of traditional, more punitive law enforcement methods – with a potential, observable shift in its narrative or focus, one he suggests is heavily influenced by the stark and often challenging realities unfolding in cities like Chicago.
The analyst suggests that the events and their palpable consequences in urban centers such as Chicago may be forcing a re-evaluation of previously held positions or perspectives within influential media outlets. Barone encapsulates this potential confrontation with difficult, undeniable realities using the vivid phrase that perhaps the Times has been “mugged by reality, too,” implying a necessary, albeit possibly reluctant, recalibration of viewpoint in the face of undeniable, fast-changing events on the ground. This observation highlights Barone’s larger point about how concrete circumstances can override established ideological frameworks or media narratives.
Conclusion: History in Motion
Michael Barone’s column of June 23, 2025, ultimately positions the situation in Chicago under Mayor Brandon Johnson as a potent contemporary example of his larger argument: that history is not a static record but a dynamic process constantly being shaped and reshaped by rapid developments and their real-world consequences. The significant challenges faced by the current administration, the intense scrutiny of its policies on crime and labor contracts, the dramatic drop in public approval ratings to “as low as 14%” this year, and the suggested impact of these urban realities on even long-standing editorial stances like that of the New York Times, all serve, in Barone’s view, as compelling evidence of how fast-changing events continue to make, and remake, history in real-time. The narrative out of Chicago thus becomes more than just a local political story; it is presented as a microcosm of the broader forces driving historical change and challenging conventional wisdom in the face of evolving realities.
