They assume the country can't handle the truth. That they'd get too upset.
The Republicans, either though sheer stupidity or incompetence, allowed an populist outsider to take over the party. Despite being rebuked by much of the Republican "Never Trump" establishment, and the other candidates. But surprise surprise surprise....he won over the Republican base because he spoke in radical far right terminology. Including CT and lies.
We wouldn't even have to lie. The truth is so appalling already. But establishment Democrats are petrified of the younger more liberal generation because they mistakenly think America is a conservative nation from inside their Washington bubble. But poll after poll shows Americans are liberal on most issues. All they have to do is trust the people. Boldly go where no one has gone before. When your die hard base gets energized, it eventually spills over to the majority of your constituents. Republicans showed us that that works. It worked for Bush 2 as well. You'd think we would have learned from that and I wish Obama had used his bully pulpit more to promote progressive policies more and ignored those that promoted a restrained moderate/right stance.
I believe that it worked so well for Republicans that IF Trump had only been slightly more intelligent, and even if still a racist, misogynist, sexist pig, he bit his lip, cut back on Twitter and insults, and pretended to be more of a 'moderate', he'd be riding above 50% right now. My gawd just think if he had not dropped out of the Paris climate agreement as well, and used his more independent maverick status to promote bipartisanship. And also speaking up in support of the FBI, and saying publicly that Russia is a threat and he will cooperate with the investigation and that Mueller is a fine man. (He and the GOP could still be dismantling the EPA, could still have passed the tax scam bill. And much of the other destruction). And save his indignation until or if, a bad verdict comes down.
Democrats under the DLC and the Clintons started the Third Way approach. Ignore your more liberal base, and try and appeal to the moderate Republican instead. This has been a monumental failure yet some of the top establishment Dems are still clinging to this strategy. Because they lose their base, and then lose those Republican 'moderates' because meanwhile the Republicans are making extinct those moderates. There aren't any to win over left.
No, the best way to win is to start from the ground up. Shoot for the moon with promises that even you don't know how to fulfil them. Like Single Payer, or maternity leave. Get your most fervent, most activist base of voters out there ahead of the pack and that will encourage more moderate Dems to tag along....and even start believing that those seemingly impossible progressive goals may not be so impossible after all. All it takes is enough people supporting them.
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