I think that it’s pretty simple. Tl;Dr, Trump campaigns 1, 2, and 3 were each the democrats’ race to lose, and they rose to the occasion. The data shows that most Trump voters don’t sincerely believe his most insane promises, and they’re desperate for big changes (thus, the Obama-Bernie-Trump voter). Where the democrats are falling on their face is thinking that just showing up and putting a body in a seat is good enough to beat Trump. It’s obvious to them (and us) that he’s bad, and they’re betting that a policy plank of “not Trump” and a bunch of pretty meh proposals otherwise will be enough to get voters to turn out. Twice, they’ve been wrong. A lot of people feel like they/we never really emerged from the great recession, and the order of the day is big dramatic changes. Trump promises that, regardless of whether he can deliver or whether it will actually help. In this last election, I distinctly remember that the Democratic messaging was that everything is fine, actually, and the economy has really never been better. If you’re drowning, you’ll take what you can get, and someone patting you on the head and telling you everything is fine, actually, doesn’t help.
If the democrats want to start winning, and I hope they do, they need to realize that just existing as not Trump isn’t enough. They need to come out fighting like they came here to do universal healthcare and cocaine, and they’re all out of cocaine.
Here’s the secret that my boy Montesquieu knew way back in the day: government rules by the consent of the governed. The constitution is a scrap of paper and only holds the power we believe it does. Trump gets away with his blatantly unconstitutional bullshit because of the consent of the governed; he tries it, whether he knows he can get away with it or not, and often succeeds. The democrats need to get with the times. High roading is over, become difficult.
I think that it’s pretty simple. Tl;Dr, Trump campaigns 1, 2, and 3 were each the democrats’ race to lose, and they rose to the occasion. The data shows that most Trump voters don’t sincerely believe his most insane promises, and they’re desperate for big changes (thus, the Obama-Bernie-Trump voter). Where the democrats are falling on their face is thinking that just showing up and putting a body in a seat is good enough to beat Trump. It’s obvious to them (and us) that he’s bad, and they’re betting that a policy plank of “not Trump” and a bunch of pretty meh proposals otherwise will be enough to get voters to turn out. Twice, they’ve been wrong. A lot of people feel like they/we never really emerged from the great recession, and the order of the day is big dramatic changes. Trump promises that, regardless of whether he can deliver or whether it will actually help. In this last election, I distinctly remember that the Democratic messaging was that everything is fine, actually, and the economy has really never been better. If you’re drowning, you’ll take what you can get, and someone patting you on the head and telling you everything is fine, actually, doesn’t help.
If the democrats want to start winning, and I hope they do, they need to realize that just existing as not Trump isn’t enough. They need to come out fighting like they came here to do universal healthcare and cocaine, and they’re all out of cocaine.
So basically the Democrats need to lie big like Trump and promise things they can’t deliver. Sadly, you might be right.
Here’s the secret that my boy Montesquieu knew way back in the day: government rules by the consent of the governed. The constitution is a scrap of paper and only holds the power we believe it does. Trump gets away with his blatantly unconstitutional bullshit because of the consent of the governed; he tries it, whether he knows he can get away with it or not, and often succeeds. The democrats need to get with the times. High roading is over, become difficult.