Everything makes sense when you remember what Lawrence O'Donnell said a couple of nights ago

[Bluetus]

56. A lot of them are not voting "for" Trump. I hate to break this to you,

Last edited Sat Aug 16, 2025, 06:59 PM - Edit history (1)

but many of them are voting AGAINST US, or at least what they perceive us to be.

The GOP is masterful at their use of scapegoating. They continue to reinforce that, when we say we want equity, what their people hear is Reagan's mythical welfare Cadillac cheaters. They have their people trained to believe that Dem women are only interested in abortions or other women. When we talk about safety, they hear, "they are coming for our guns."

And when it comes to the core economic issues, these are not smart people. Most of them couldn't reconcile a bank statement if their life depended on it, or plan a family budget. So when Trump says, "With my magic tariffs, the Chinese will pay for everything," they think that sounds pretty good.

That is the reality. They have a lot more money to spend on advertising, plus they don't really need to spend that because big corporations want many of the things Trump wants, and they own all the big media.

We have allowed Trump to own the populist messages. That is a big mistake. Dems have traditionally been the party of populism: workers' rights, fair wages, strong middle class, affordable health care, excellent public education, and retirement with dignity. FDR and LBJ did not fully accomplish those things, especially for minorities, but Dems were proud to talk about those things and they had real plans.

Today's Dems don't want to talk about ANYTHING, and offer no plans. The message has become "We deserve to be in power because we aren't Trump." That is good enough for about half the population. That's not enough.

And credit to Biden, in fact, he was the most progressive President in 40 years, but he refused to talk about his plans. He never sold the ideas. He had the fewest unscripted appearances of any modern President. He left the playing field wide open for Trump.

If anybody is still confused why Trump gets support, it is as simple as this. Dems have no ideas and no bold proposals, no ability to express a vision for the future. You may hate Project 2025, but it was a plan, a very bold plan. And a terrible, bold plan beats no plan any day of the week.