Politico: I Watched Orban Destroy Hungary's Democracy. Here's My Advice for the Trump Era.

[Farmer-Rick]

29. This is the most important paragraph of the whole article

"Before Eastern Europe became a laboratory for illiberalism in the 2010s, Western economists used it as a laboratory for neoliberalism in the 1990s. This shock therapy experiment alienated masses of lower-middle- and working-class citizens from the parties of the center-left, who often championed these policies. Similar tectonic shifts have undermined the Democrats’ support among working-class Americans."

Neoliberal economics better known as "free" trade or trickle down economics is why the working class has abandoned mainstream Democrats. The free trade frenzy was soon followed by bail outs for banks and austerity for the working class.

If you look at neoliberal economics you would wonder why any self respecting liberal would support such a huge abandonment of working people.

As a Democrat, I always thought our party's support of "free" trade would hurt us. Clinton's NAFTA support and Obama's bailouts for the billionaires but not workers are what MAGAts member. They don't remember Raygun killing unions, stopping monopoly enforcement and the deregulation frenzy of the GOP. Which is what led to all the media being owned by the filthy-rich right wingers.

Both parties should be held responsible for the awful neoliberal policies of the last 35 years. But Clinton was the face of the end to Glass Stegall and supporting NAFTA, and Obama was the face of bailouts for banks and bankruptcy and austerity for workers. Democrats are given most of the blame because workers felt that despite supporting Dems, they weren't defended by Dems.

Though the right wing brought workers the loss of jobs, the left wing went along too. In worker's eyes Dems did nothing to really correct the continued wealth extraction caused by free trade agreements and deregulation.Though some like Bernie and Elizabeth Warren have very rarely supported neoliberal economics.

Knowing this, Dems need to go all out to end ever last neoliberal economics policy since Raygun.