Democrats knew exactly what we stood for during FDR, and in the post-WWII years, and through the turbulent 60s. And that was not without conflict from the natural authoritarians (a nice way to say "pre-fascist"
But when Reagan came in, Democrats lost their way. They forgot how hard FDR had to fight and how frequently he was out there making the case for progress. We basically lost the years 1980 to about 2020. We didn't effectively oppose anything. Indeed, we had Presidents calling themselves "A new Democrat" or "no drama", as if unilateral abandonment of our core principles was something to be proud of.
Fortunately most of the people from those lost generations are aging our or dying off, and are mostly being replaced by people who are demanding a much better deal than the fascism and economic servitude that Republicans are delivering. It took 40+ years to get to the bottom of that hole. It will take a lot of work to get out. We must rescue a million people here and a million people there, realizing that some will be back-sliders. This is a long road, but it is the only way.
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