I have to admit he has stuck to the agenda he touted in his campaign. It isn’t working, he’s accomplished little, remarkably little considering his party controls both houses of congress, but he’s not forgetting about that wall and he’s still bashing immigrants and taking pot shots at Hillary and Obama.
Right. “I’m trying, but I’m being obstructed/not supported enough by losers”… his voters BUY that because they don’t hear him backing down, and their anger goes towards those who are seen as hindering him, rather than towards his failure to close the deal.
First of all, where did I ever say I did this? I’m not running for office, so the advice doesn’t even apply to me. But I think it’s good advice.
Second, are you arguing that Democrats should not sit down and talk to the so-called rubes that the OP is calling out? Once again, I’ll remind you that modesty prevents me from talking too much about myself in these threads, although it is flattering that you want me to once again. IOW, it’s not you, it’s me.
I don’t think you are quite getting what I am saying. I am saying that people who voted for Trump’s and the GOP’S economic policies out of economic stress are suckers. It isn’t that they did not run on tax cuts, they did. But the reason why, trickle down economics, is a lie. These people got scammed.
It will go further when they try to trim back Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. Trump specifically Did promise that is not what would happen, but they are already talking about it. What a bunch of chumps!
Also, gay and trans people are born into poor and/or rural communities at the same rate as they are born anywhere else. It may be the case that they are less likely to feel free to openly identify as such, and also more likely to move elsewhere if they have the economic ability to do so, but this is NOT an “urban elite” issue by any means.
The rural areas are also much more likely to be homogeneous in any definable way - ethnic, religious, educational, economic, professional, whatever. But actually it’s the cities, full of people of all different types and backgrounds and lives, that are the “bubbles” full of “elites”.
It is one way to go about it. But I think what’s found in that link I posted suggests another way
If there is a way to combat this trend, then even at nearly full employment we could see those employed people enjoying better jobs, which would serve to decrease economic anxiety.
But hey, maybe increasing economic anxiety is serving the GOP’s electoral purposes, and that’s why they seem focused on exactly that. Republicans Are Coming for Your Benefits:
If nothing else, the fuckin’ thing government could do is not make people’s economic situations worse. But, that’s what suckers vote for, and that is what we are getting. The trick is figuring out how to express “2+2=5” in the right way such that people buy into it. The GOP, gotta hand it to 'em, they’re good at it.
Trump has not actually made any effort of significance to build a giant wall on the Mexico border and have Mexico pay for it, which was his most famous campaign promise.
He has not made any effort to pass health care legislation that would actually cover all Americans at costs cheaper than the ACA, also a key campaign promise. Remember, his promise was not “I will repeal Obamacare,” which he attempted to do. He SPECIFICALLY promised that Americans would have better care at lower prices.
He promised to renegotiate the Iran deal, and has made no visible effort at all to do so.
I mean, these aren’t things buried deep in the Trump campaign pamphlet, they’re major planks.
Call 'em rubes all you want, but they weren’t stupid enough to vote for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.
To answer the OP:
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Talking about “privilege” almost never is a vote-winner. Even if privilege exists and is a thing, talking about it - and even more so, lecturing about it - is a recipe for losing votes. The Democrats can’t win the target demographic of your post if they keep hammering the privilege message.
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Don’t make people feel they are being “gaslighted.” Many voters (on the right and left) have their own perception of truth and reality. If you say something that goes against their perception of truth and reality, they will feel you are trying to “gaslight” them and that will usually lead to a strong backlash. You need to tell people what they already “know to be true.” You need to say things that make them go “Yes, yes, that’s right; he’s nailed it.”
I think if we are to stick with the brutally honest, confront suckers as suckers approach, it would be very important to stress the difference between reasoned observations and judgments. How did we get here? Suckers. But they’re only human. They are the victims of perpetrators.
Then you could casually point out the literal Jesuseyness of not judging. Cultivate a demeanor that expresses it (Pence is good at this). It would only take a little. Then, if the RS start to get preachy as they eventually do, challenge 'em to a Jesus duel. Put up your humble non-judging honesty against anything in their party. Let’s see, prolly not the child molester, um, pay no mind to the screaming orange pussy grabber, and the whole party has been bribed by the wealthy… What do they really got?
Mike Pence I guess. Do Not get into a public one-on-one Jesus duel with that guy. If you can’t escape, attack the Pence Rule as sex discrimination when applied in the workplace. But don’t judge!
I have given it a lot of thought, and I still can’t see why you say I am talking about “privledge”. I talk about a lot of things, some of them controversial, even to me, but I don’t see why you think I am referring to “priviledge”.
Were you demonstrating gaslighting me by taking my post to be about priviledge, subjecting me to the subjective experience to sort of plow the ground for compassion to sprout? I like to think that is what you were doing.
I am more comfortable with point 2. I think some things will have to be off-limits. Dems shouldn’t blame minorities as groups for social/economic problems. That’s racist (sometimes) and is a historical problem in this county. There needs to be a party with some hygiene on this issue, and I think the Dems are our only hope.
I think “no sexual harassment” is a worthy cause to stand for. If you want to make America great, how about we stop randos going around grabbing women’s tits &etc. Is this a country or a skeevy subway? Seriously, wtf? Where do some people think they are that they can just grab strange women? What do they believe to be the context?
Ok, I’m supposed to be going for “he’s nailed it”…
I am going to propose “math”. Everybody can check the validity of mathematical arguments for themselves, if only they know how. Math is pretty easy if you take it step by step, and it can be used to settle common disputes. Let’s say crazy uncle Bob says climate change is a hoax. In a universe in which it is possible to get an audience to follow the math, everyone else could be convinced about what we know about AGW, and that it isn’t some conspiracy.
But if math requires education, it raises taxes and therefore is socialism. What is the best response to this objection?