democrats might ignore trump voters to our peril

[JHan]

62. You think these people care about those things?

You really thought that the core of republican support for Trump was because of entitlement spending?

When Trump descended on that escalator and made his announcement , he pressed on impulses that were nurtured among republicans by RW radio and Fox News etc etc for over a decade. Here was a man who was finally "telling it like it is" as far as they were concerned. It's why he beat his numerous challengers in the primary.

People don't really vote policy, they mainly vote on cultural signifiers - never was this more evident in early support for Trump. They have no problem with spending, what they want is the government to prioritize spending on them and them ALONE.

It's not a question of "maybe" - Race had a lot to do with it, and there's more than enough data out there proving this to be the case. For all the absurd claims of identity politics in the Democratic Platform, Trump played white resentment and grievance politics all year last year.

But since you wish to reach out to these people, how about you riddle me this:

How do you appeal to people who willingly vote for those who make their lives worse? Who vote for representatives whose votes facilitate the rapaciousness of predatory industrialists: who despise renewable energy initiatives, as extractive industries pollute water systems and wreak havoc on their landscape.

How do we explain voters on state disability and medicare, who complain about poor service, while voting for representatives who implement service cuts and vote against healthcare expansion? They depend on healthcare access, will complain about co-payments, while also complaining about tax-and-spend liberals - the same liberals who want to make sure they have greater access to health services. In the same breath they complain about service cuts, they'll say they LOVE the idea of Trump's wall - not thinking of the cost to the taxpayer because Mexico ain't paying for no wall. When you scratch the surface, their complaints about liberals are that people of color get the same benefits they do - not the benefits themselves, not the "Idea" itself.

Liberals lost the meme wars and this has to do with how our message is disseminated. Not the message itself. There are ways to address this, but what you don't do is throw your base under the bus in some misguided attempt to lure in voters who relish Trumpian politics.