I had a discussion with a right-winger last night about The Felon

[PatrickforB]

26. My question is always how did so many Americans get brainwashed enough to support Trump in the first place.

I am a working economist. By that I mean, I have been a member of the Professional Managerial Class for nearly 40 years.

I have a sad truth to relate here. Or perhaps a few sad truths. These are truths that have caused these people to respond to Trump as positively as they have, and in fact become part of the Fox News - Trump cult.

These things may make some who read them here feel a bit uncomfortable, because I am trying to look at life through the eyes of someone who decided to upset the apple cart and vote Trump in '16. I can't help that, because in the course of my work I sometimes speak to these people.

Trump got and kept so many followers because he once had charisma. His rise began with the election of Barack Obama in '08. He sat back from '09 - '16 and threw spitwads at Obama - the birther thing.

Okay - now this is the truly important part. I call it KITCHEN TABLE:
One of the things Trump discovered during those years that he used in his campaign was the populist message that the system is rigged.

It is. Rigged, I mean. I think of myself. I volunteered for Obama's campaign because he campaigned on HEALTH CARE. So I made calls and did other things to support his campaigns in '08 and '12. Our healthcare system in this country sucks. It is broken. Everyone knows, unless they work in the insurance, for-profit healthcare and pharma industries, that the right thing to do is universal healthcare - Medicare for everyone. But Obama took that off the table. And, no, don't tell me we didn't have the votes. I don't care. I care about me getting nickel and dimed to death in a huge Wall Street - billionaire squeeze. Because THAT is what has happened.

Cable TV costs out the nose.
Groceries cost more and you get less, not to mention lots of trans fats and stuff.
Publicly traded companies lay off people routinely to boost short term profits.
Publicly traded companies boost shareholder PROFITS by offshoring, costing Americans more jobs.

This country lost upwards of 8 million jobs through NAFTA, which decimated much of the so-called rust belt.
Healthcare costs are through the roof, and before ACA, insurance companies could just arbitrarily deny claims and leave you to go bankrupt. ACA was an improvement, but not much because it still resulted in the insurance, pharma and for-profit health care providers raising prices at rates far exceeding inflation. Because they could, and because it enhanced shareholder PROFITS at our expense. As a result of Obama and Democrats not beating the drum for Medicare for all Americans, I now have $10K in HEALTHCARE DEBT. That infuriates me every time I think about it. Because the Wall Street greed heads are systematically SCREWING me and my family.

Our kids and grandkids don't have it much better either. They have STUDENT DEBT because the government decided to get in the loan business and cut PELL grants. In addition, we have a bunch of Wall Street greedheads buying up houses driving prices through the roof to the point where my 45 year old (oldest) daughter lives with us and has for years. And yes, she has a good job.

In the meantime, the Democratic Party has tried to be all things to all people and allowed culture war wedges to be driven. We got the reputation that we care more about (and don't shoot me - I'm relating some of the things I have heard in conversations) climate change, gay rights, transgender rights and giving stuff to undocumented immigrants (that is a lie, but it is out there). We also have been painted with the brush of excessive regulation. Let me give an example. In my state, Colorado, the Democratic supermajority passed the FAMLI act requiring businesses to fund paid leave, which is not funded under the federal FMLA. Problem is, like most of these regulations that seem a good idea, they end up hurting everyday working schmucks who own small businesses. If you have a company that has maybe 12 employees, you have to pay into this FAMLI fund and run your business without a key employee who may be out 12 weeks.

I think you get the idea. One of the main reasons I now no longer donate to Dem candidates as much as I did is because THIS PARTY IS NOT ADDRESSING THE STUFF I CARE ABOUT - THE KITCHEN TABLE ISSUES.

You know what the US government could do for me? Universal healthcare. Free college. Childcare subsidies. And yeah, I know the Republicans are responsible for fighting this tooth and nail since forever, and that high powered lobbyists exist to take Wall Street's part on things like healthcare. I know that. But FOX news doesn't tell their watchers that. All most Americans know is they are getting squeezed and every month seems to have unintended expenditures that cause us to have to juggle just to pay the bills.

And I did everything right - no criminal record, graduated from college and grad school, worked in positions of progressive responsibility and all that. And right now I have LESS PURCHASING POWER THAN I DID BACK IN THE '90s. Seriously. I'm getting screwed by these reptilian Wall Street and billionaire types to the point where I have to go paycheck to paycheck sometimes. And now we are being told that SOCIAL SECURITY is at risk of not being able to pay 100% by 2032.

That is BULLSHIT. I contributed to that social insurance program check by check for 40 years and Congress has allowed this??????????

See what I mean?

The federal government DID NOT address these things. Not under Obama and under Biden we kept getting told how the economy is doing oh-so-well, but I STILL HAVE $10K IN HEALTH CARE DEBT.

That's why. Yeah, I know Trump lies through his teeth and actually represents these Wall Street reptiles. I get that. But my question then, and it is a fair question, is why don't I get some relief when the Dems are in power? I know why and so do you - that nice Rupert Murdoch at Fox. But most people who are struggling to make ends meet don't care about political nuance. They just wonder why the government has gotten so gridlocked that it literally cannot function.

That is why you get turds like Curtis Yarvin and Vance spouting this dictator bullshit. People YEARN for a leader who can actually wade in and give us some relief. Unfortunately Trump is not that person. But neither was Biden or Obama if we're being fair. The whole federal government has become a corrupt shitshow that cannot get hardly anything done and IT ISN'T HELPING ME.

Fascism is horrible and that is what we have now, but we have it because the Dems didn't pound on kitchen table issues and like it or not are perceived as the 'woke' party. What that word means in MAGAt parlance is shorthand for caring more about climate change and transgender sports and bathroom stuff than HEALTHCARE and other kitchen table issues people like me have to deal with daily.

Sorry, but that is why we have so many who spout fascism. They want a strongman who can get things done. Unfortunately we have Trumpy doing the WRONG THINGS, for sure, but this is why. Until we get some people with the charisma of an AOC, a Crockett, a Bernie, and a Newsom, we ain't getting anywhere. And look at Newsom - he is trying to end a proposed wealth tax because he wants to keep billionaire parasites in CA.

Seriously, to many younger people, the government seems so broken, and they are so frustrated with economic issues that there is a growing feeling that the whole thing needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Now, I don't think like that, but I do understand some guy who dropped out in high school, lives in Louisiana or Missippi or rural Alabama and has few options except grinding poverty. This is why racist dog whistles have worked so well for the Republicans.

Anyway, long story short, I am getting screwed to the wall at my kitchen table as are many Americans. And talking about it like Dems do is ineffective because our party has not been able to get rid of the Citizens United corruption and we just laid down for McConnell's treasonous act in holding up Obamas judicial and other appointments. That fucking lizard screwed us across the board, abetted by the new far-right Supreme Court. Wall Street gets more. Billionaires get more. The middle class gets screwed. That is how it is and until our party can field a charismatic firebrand like an FDR or JFK, we won't have that kind of credibility with voters. And if you think I'm wrong, look at the growth of unaffiliated voters at the expense of both parties.

Sorry if I pissed off some people on here but we HAVE TO get rid of these institutionalists because until our party can SUCCESSFULLY address the healthcare and affordable college issues we will continue to lose market share in terms of voting. And couple that with gerrymandering and Bannon/Miller/Noem flooding the zone with shit, we are now in chaos.

We did NOT hold the center.