Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) urged her Democratic colleagues to stop attacking the "oligarchy," arguing that the word did not resonate with most Americans.
Yes, but it worked. It got lots of people who felt very small and very threatened and who were/are envious of successful, educated “libs” to rally around populist candidates who didn’t want to make everyone’s lives better, but instead just make everyone else as miserable as the Tea Party followers.
The GOP wasn’t a party designed and built for decades around the concept of crushing progressive members into line. If they had been, they’d have been more equipt to handle it.
Astroturf?
Yes, but it worked. It got lots of people who felt very small and very threatened and who were/are envious of successful, educated “libs” to rally around populist candidates who didn’t want to make everyone’s lives better, but instead just make everyone else as miserable as the Tea Party followers.
Exactly. The current GOP looks more like the Tea Party than it does the pre-tea-party GOP. They managed to effect change within the party.
The GOP wasn’t a party designed and built for decades around the concept of crushing progressive members into line. If they had been, they’d have been more equipt to handle it.