This is a really good post. Bottom line, democrats need to quit focusing on Trump and Republicans and focus on themselves and voters. All the project 2025 stuff, yeah, its scary. But they are hypothetical problems that have not yet manifested. And you are trying to get people to act on them when they have real, tangible financial problems today. It truly was the economy, stupid.
Just like covid economic impacts, inflation wasn't evenly distributed or felt. Living in a rural area, I can attest that prices went up way more in the shitty grocery store in our nearest town (population 1,006) than they did in a Safeway in Denver. There are just more logistics involved in getting goods to the shitty rural grocer in the middle of a food desert, and each hop on the way, an inflationary bump was tacked on to what the consumer ultimately paid. I still make a city salary, I didn't feel that much of a pinch. But people around here who are trying to make a living locally, it has been a time of famine.
Dems need to focus on connecting to the voting masses and communicating with them, especially those that are moving away from the party. They need to listen more than they talk. They need to be at least as educable as they want to educate. Then they need to work with those voters to form policies to make their lives better. Not theoretically better according to traditional government statistics and reports. They need different metrics that reflect the pain being felt by different demographics. They need metrics not skewed by being inclusive of people like us who aren't feeling the pain and who will ultimately be fine either way.
What was really on the ballot was traditional, mainstream governance vs radical, unknown change, and voters overwhelmingly chose radical, unknown change. Because their lives have continued to get shittier with traditional, mainstream governance. So democrats trying to sell fear of the opponent and hope through re-election didn't resonate as much as Trump just saying, "America has gone to hell." HIs message aligned more with their daily experience. So I think for many, it came down to, "Do I vote for this switcheroo preaching a feel good kumbaya message that doesn't align with the reality I am experiencing? Or do I vote for this asshole who at least accurately describes the reality I am experiencing and who says he'll fix it?"
Those are not nazis, misogynists, bigots or racists. Those are people struggling to make ends meet and afford the lifestyle they had pre-pandemic. Maybe Trump gives them all the dildo of consequences, and if he does, they will grow disillusioned with him just as they did both parties in their mainstream form. Then maybe the message of MAGA doom will resonate with them. But I think that's generally a losing proposition. I mean, there is no guarantee that Trump fucks them over, or that they are able to connect the dots to see who is fucking them and why. Dems have lost the trust and faith of the common man, and its going to take a radical change within the party to win that back.
The silver lining is actually Trump himself. If he can takeover and reimagine the Republican party in a a populist fashion, then someone can do it to the Democratic party. But it aint going to come about through the usual suspects conducting political business as usual.