Originally Posted by GirlySports
I'll start with a debrief, please discuss.
The Democrats have generally presented themselves as the party of common interest (equal rights for all, pay a fair share of taxes, etc.).
The Republicans have been a party of self interest (right to defend yourself, don't take my money for taxes, what's mine is mine, etc.)
As our society has become both more diverse and more individualized/less interactive, people are voting less with a mindset of common interest. More now than ever, it's easier to move and work wherever you want. You can surround yourself with people like you. Your online experience, your music experience, your shopping experience, your entertainment experience, these are all becoming increasingly curated and individualized.
When you are trying to get everyone to agree on things, and the country is more diverse and divided and self-centered than ever, that's a lot harder than telling people to vote for themselves.
And even though many people voted for Trump when it is NOT in their self-interest, he convinced them that it is.
Dems try to sell a common good agenda. People don't believe them. Nor do they believe the Democrats can make it happen even if they do believe them.
I never really heard the case FOR Harris. She was just a fresh coat of paint on an old, sputtering car.
The Democrats run on this promise and then don't deliver when in power. Its probably that simple. We can do the "but what about the things they're good on" all day but if you have a lower income person who doesn't care about trans rights or Ukraine or whatever, then what?
If their lives aren't any better under Democrats, what's the persuasive argument for them to pick you? Its as easy as looking back at union Democrats; a bucket load of these people are spiritually and socially no different than Trump's base but they know which side protected their livelihoods. Take that approach to entirety of people making under $___ per year and watch how money and personal interests can sway people. You don't need full ideological consistency, you just need a coalition that accepts and supports enough of the larger plan.
But Democrats remain terrified of attaching themselves fully to popular policies (medicare for all) or actually fighting for ones they embrace (minimum wage) because a fight risks losing the centrist-leaning-right voter and that's who matters most to them. They celebrated an endorsement from Dick Cheney while running from immigration because, again, humanizing undocumented workers, explicitly pointing out their contributions and laying out what their absence would mean scares some of those people whose votes mean the most to the party.
So what are you? As Pepsifree puts it, what is your 'soul'?
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