Cracks in the MAGA base and lessons Democrats can learn from Democratic Socialists

A bevvy of polls this past week consistently show that Trump's approval ratings are sinking to his core base of true believers and core followers. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/steve-kornacki-new-poll-shows-cracks-forming-in-trump-s-maga-base-254388805882 

 It remains to be seen how many of those left in Trump's 2024 winning coalition will suck it up like good patriots. The conclusions of a variety of pollsters are that some pretty angry and disillusioned MAGA voters feel Trump failed them to make good on the cost-of-living issues and feel he lied to them. However, there is also a word of warning for Democrats in the MAGA unrest. Democrats could also fail to deliver, as well, if they ever get both houses of Congress and the Oval Office again. The lesson is: do not make promises you know you cannot keep. The success of Democrat Socialists in the primaries contain some very good pointers for traditional Democrats as well.

The "old 'house built on sand is the first to perish ' "is as good as any old saying ever devised. That sand is what Trump promised to do what he did not have the power to do in 2024. He then doubled down on the inevitable failure by shoveling more sand into a developing sinkhole of quicksand while blaming Biden for it. (Given Biden left the economy with 3 percent inflation, now creeping up, and under $4 a gallon gas seems to have been conveniently forgotten by MAGA. )Wth Trump, the buck never stops at the Oval Office desk.  

The issues that poll the worst are the management of the economy (the poor get poorer, and the oligarchs and the Trump family get richer). Even foreign policy, launching the Iran war, is hitting the part of the economy l already left in the dust, and most of them get the connection. In the price of oil per barrel raising costs to farmers). The tax cuts to benefit the rich obviously did not trickle down to the rest of us.  Subverting Obamacare and cutting health insurance coverage do not lower, but raise the cost of insurance. (Clever of the GOP to implement it after the midterms, but a warning will be mailed just before Nov. 3.) Launching foreign war ads to the cost of groceries, as well.  

Bitten once, voters are not inclined to be bitten again soon. They rightly should be sceptical of anyone of any political stripe promising what they cannot deliver. The Democrats need to be specific about solutions that also sound plausible and limited to the doable.   A vague insinuation that voting for Democrats, instead,  will simply reverse the trend and punish the person causing it may sound appealing, but those who are specific about exactly what they plan to do and have the power and ability to do it will have the most credibility. The most disillusioned are the younger voters who have the sword of Damocles of student debt hanging over their ability to buy a home or even make day-to-day ends meet. It would be wise for Democrats to address these problems, too, if they fear the disillusioned younger generation flees our form of democracy and the wake of a run-amok capitalism that they feel failed them.

A reader responded that at least Trump is transparent when it comes to potential charges: what he is doing is criminal or in violation of the Constitution. Careful there: Transparency with Trump is not because he is honest. With him, it is a strategy to make you think that since it is in the open, it is not a crime. 1) We do not know what or if, anything else is not disclosed or if he is hiding it; especially any tit-for-tat, quid pro quo, and bribery. 2) he has immunity from prosecution thanks to SCOTUS. 3) He knows his immunity ends when he leaves office so he is trying to get immunity from IRS audits and other potential prosecutions.

There is much handwringing and fear permeating moderates in the Democratic Party, and all in MAGAland. Instead of quaking, there are some lessons for all to learn from these upstarts of Democratic Socialists (DA). Democratic Socialists have had some success in primaries, and here is what Democrats should take a page from their playbook. They are plainspoken, ID the winning issues, and give specific achievable solutions. Democratic Socialists have not promised blue sky, but they have been very specific in what they promise, while sounding feasible, too. (Yes, that current DSA message eclipses some of their very unpopular platform planks). They proposed Medicare for all, an easy-to-understand solution to the cost of health care, for example.  They propose building more low-income housing and flooding the market with availability and competition to lower rent costs or the ability to buy the American dream of homeownership., They propose fighting greedy corporations who try to buy up all of the housing they can to control the market, both purchase price and rental. That is another concept voters can grasp.   Getting the heck out of futile wars of choice in the Middle East may be a tough one, given the predicted Iranian chokehold on Hormuz. Simply declaring victory and withdrawing will leave Iran having the Western world slung over the high price per barrel for years is not a good outcome. 

Update 8/31/26  Some on the right are trying to brand all Democrats as "communists". While the planks of the Democratic Socialists of America are closer to Marx than to FDR, their embrace of the GAZA issue, their impact has been limited, mostly in local or district races. Even many who look or talk like them on some issues are quick to say they do not agree with all of DSA's specific planks. However, their success has given MAGA a talking point and a scare tactic.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/democratic-socialist-candidates-show-gains-but-limited-reach-in-2026/.

Before falling into the trap of swallowing the MAGA line hook, line, and sinker, understand that the DSA appeal centers on affordability, which cuts across ideological and practical concerns for many voters. Consider and accept or reject each candidate's solutions to affordability concerns, Part of DSA's success is that they have been specific in their proposals, limited to popular legislation like Medicare for All and building more low-income housing. Both moderate Democrats and Republicans have failed to provide their plans to tackle the affordability issue, relying instead on anti-this or anti-that.

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However, the price of groceries and gas at the pump was never totally in Trump's power to make good on his promises, but they were in his power to make it worse, which he has done. We do not have a centrally planned economy, so "Zap", he could not edict prices, but he could monkey with elements that would affect grocery prices a bit. Instead, what he did do was tariffs, and Hormuz caused prices to rise. Voters seem to get that. He is right now proposing to flood the market with Argentine hamburger meat to force the price of beef down. In so doing, he is really ticking off ranchers and agriculture-related MAGAs within his base. I feel their pain living in an ag community, and I feel mine at the grocery store, too. 

Update 9/4/2026: Not only did Trump tick off his rural ag supporters by intending to flood the markets with Argentine beef (and Brazilian beef that went uninspected) earlier, he had cut the program to inspect beef coming into the USA. Imported beef must meet the same standards and pass inspection for contaminants as domestic beef; they also must meet packaging requirements and disclose the country of origin. But when those inspectors are understaffed, what then? https://www.propublica.org/article/foreign-food-safety-inspections-historic-low-fda?fbclid=IwY2xjawUHk1RwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXNGODJTcnBwcjd3OHM1UDFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeIk3AgXMSJ5kDzDpmpAzEiTjQPxJIBzlyFOC0hMz9LTBVjtd1SlORYCOzW1Y_aem_ufrN43wR1F7EYkLKOmOSRg

To add insult to injury, when the EU banned Brazilian beef because of evidence of antibiotic use and contamination, Trump immediately removed tariffs on imports of Brazilian beef USA, likely per Forbes, in support of his billionaire donor. Not only did Trump tick off his rural ag supporters by intending to flood the markets with Argentine beef (and Brazilian beef that went uninspected) earlier, he had cut the program to inspect beef coming into the USA. Imported beef must meet the same standards and pass inspection for contaminants as domestic beef; they also must meet packaging requirements and disclose the country of origin. But when those inspectors are understaffed, what then? https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/09/03/how-a-brazilian-billionaire-won-a-us-tariff-exemption-for-beef-the-eu-wont-buy/

The price per barrel of oil is, and never was, in Trump'scontrol. It is a commodity that is marketed worldwide, immediately sensitive to the forces of supply and demand, and under the control of oil cartels.  One part of the world sneezes, and the rest of the world, including us in America, gets sick, too. Trump has already released oil reserves, and now our reserves are among the lowest in our post WWII history.

Parts of the following also appear in my Substack and Facebook posts and comments :

Semantics:: Democrats do have a problem in messaging. They sometimes use more than 3-syllable words or words not in common usage by "ordinary" people. Trump ridiculed "affordability". Whoever used that in a conversation, he asked.. Maybe it works (and so far it has) because the first four syllables are in plain English. (affordable, get it?). The other pet peeve I have is the use of "grift".  Even I had to run to Webster's for that one to see what it encompassed. However, "grift " for sure was never used as a common term in our family, but it covers much,  from padding one's pockets, greed, to bribery and a lot of dirt in between.  Corruption comes close enough to be nearly encompassing. (Being greedy does not always result in getting rich) . Whatever both are, affordability and corruption, they are part of the same: unfairness. ...which is very much in common usage. "Fairness" brings up another overriding issue: the rich are getting very rich, and the rest of us are seeing our standard of living decrease.  There is a growing outrage that "It just ain't fair!"

"No Kings" served for a time as a substitute for Trump's non-democratic behavior and power grabs, but that sounds quaint, even if it is a non-hackle-raising accusation. Actually, the best parallel to Trump's obsession with gathering all the wealth he can while he can, issuing his own laws, ignoring laws that stand in his way, and punishing those who disobey them or him, or do not comply,  fits the "mob boss" role model the best. Since the venue is government, the best tag is "political mobster" or "political mob boss". Dictator or autocrat he may aspire to be, but he has not beaten down the lower courts totally yet. His preoccupation with vengeance, punishment,  and greed for power and wealth, only for him and those loyal to him, qualifies him as a "mob boss" the best. His corruption is in your face and in the open. The problem with tagging him as a mob boss is he does not look like one; he just acts like one.  The failure of the GOP-dominated Congress and the 6 Trump loyal justices on the Supreme Court who have not put the brakes on him, who have approved his power grabs, are this political mobster's enablers.

GOP: Be careful what you wish as Trumpism trashes affordaiblity and regulatory enforcement

 GOP: Be careful what you wish as Trumpism trashes affordability and regulatory enforcement. Last week, I caught a panel of experts on Stephanie Ruhle's new AM show on MSNow, who concluded it was the wild, wild west on Wall Street. That is a scary potential for our future becoming a crash and trash. In the present era, that is a threatening cloud on the horizon, but now the new threat du jour the GOP sees is democratic socialism.  In the wake of Democratic socialist candidates winning so much in the Democratic primaries last week in New York,, the right wing has found a new cause and has launched a political attack with howls of glee to paint all Democrats as the equivalent of communists (an echo of red scare tactic of the 1950's termonloty not heard by most voters who were not even born in the McCarthy era; it could work with some, though.. The GOP is not without its own wings, like de facto fascists and white nationalists.  The political discourse is now as wild as Wall Street.  New York is New York, and New York has never swung like the rest of the US,  and all politics is very local there, so let's get a grip on reality.

 If capitalism fears democratic socialism, it has only its own excesses to blame, but the GOP is hoping most voters, their own especially, remain ignorant of what is and what is not democratic socialism. or communism, for that matter.  I'll leave that defining and name-calling to others and instead focus on what is happening, however, is reality, and who is feeling it. Unlike what Trumpists tout,  Dow is not the measure that counts if resentment grows, because 80% of the economy is driven by what consumers do and feel. Consumer confidence is now in the dumps per polls. That gets reflected in political action and votes., Politically, there is a growing resentment that the "affordability" that middle-class consumers treasure is slipping from their grasp, and they are pointing the blame at those in power. and who are becoming trillionaires. The voters' buck stops there.  Even some MAGA supporters are realizing that Trump betrayed them with his promises to lower their cost of living (AKA affordability).

 There is an old truism: action creates reaction; To put it another way, extreme action begets extreme reaction.  Capitalism is now facing a backlash of its own successes of the few,, causing the rise in political power of democratic socialism of many...  For that, capitalism has only itself to blame. Capitalism also has the ability to address the anger it has caused... to observe the reforms resulting from the 2008 crash or. Due to Trump's public policies that favor the rich and his disdain for their pain, however, the concept that business can regulate itself flies in the face of humanity's great weakness: greed. Get it while the getting is good; never mind tomorrow. The will to self-regulate, or for the government to impose constraints on their excesses, does not exist, and consumers resent the results. As investors and Wall Street love their gains, ordinary people are just feeling their own loss in living standards.

.The near-death of regulation is a ticking time bomb that has not yet been felt. Are we about to repeat the financial crash of 2008 or the scams of Bernie Madoff? Both are epic examples of a government's failure to enforce regulations. earlier in this century.  Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it is never more true than in the world of economics. The Trump regime is simply repeating what caused the 2008 crash and victims like those of Mdoff. The lack of regulatory enforcement. The result then was a strong backlash, evidenced by legislative reforms aimed at preventing a recurrence of the 2008 debacle.  Laws without enforcement are not worth the paper they are printed on.

I got this response to above from a FB friend...claiming i was against capitalism. After all, he opined, socialism has failed every place it has tried. It does not work.Ye, gads...the blanket indictment of democratic socialism that it does not work...is really divorced from reality in Europe and they hate communism. ,too. They know the difference. Get a grip on yourself: My family has been in the transatlantic business for years and intensely so now. This right-wing trope has no resemblance to reality. This is not to say that the US should ditto Europe, but half my family lives in Europe, and I even have a granddaughter who left the US to escape student debt, and frankly, really likes health care and the quality of life, and the economy of Austria. She works in tech, a data analysis program to provide marketing information to the thriving private businesses in Europe. She got her undergrad and grad degrees with no student debt hangover. There is no place like Vienna for a quality of life.  Also, within recent years, I visited Norway. Trump's invitation for immigrants from there has no takers. But it gave them a belly laugh. Why? Every poll I have seen calls countries like these (democratic and socialist) are the happiest in the world. It is all relative, of course, ... But I also know the reasons Europeans hate communism is what they have seen and experienced firsthand, that the economic system of a centrally controlled one-party failed. Instead of communism, the governments of Eastern Europe first replaced communism with something resembling fascism. until they, like Ukraine, revolted to join the EU, and western capitalism, warts and all, partially socialistic and regulated, but basically capitalistic. Taken as a whole, its economy is a rival to the US. 

.Russia and its kin run on the support of oligarchs and corruption and fear.. Trump worships Putin. He is a fascist in his heart, as one former military aide said. But as a small business person myself, and a family that includes Harvard MBAs and entrepreneurs, the current regime of Trump cares not a whit for us little guys. and entrepreneurs..and favors the millionaires,and those who contributed to them with loyalty and money... and I am surprised you do not know it. I love capitalism, but only if it is well-regulated to keep it stable, predictable, and and competitive based on performance, not fealty to some great leader.,.There must also be some force to fill the cracks that capitalism, based on profit, cannot and will not provide, such as health care, social security, and basic affordability, while balancing the ability of the spirit of innovation, risk-taking, and freedom that capitalism provides. It is a balancing act. Without that, expect democratic socialists to pick up steam because that balance has been jeopardized by Trump and his band of billionaires, his personal greed, his third finger raised against the rule of law, his amassing of federal power, and an attempted rule by fear and retribution. 

 Going back to the last century, the financial crash and poverty caused by the Great Depression led to FDR.His New Deal reforms and new government services were, in modern terms, an exercise in and implementation of what we now call democratic socialism, which is now inadequate to meet all the needs citizens demand as they struggle to keep up with even the basic economic needs of food and housing.

MAGA supporters cheer Trump's economy, but the stuff has not hit the fan yet

Trump has been touting near the same interest rates and consumer prices that he inherited from Biden, and now Trump has engineered the economy's eventual slow decline into higher living costs, hurting all but the well-off. The stuff has not hit the fan yet.  Many of Trump's policies will come to a head over the next six months, leaving a sustained bad taste in the mouths of voters in time for the 2026 midterms, when all congressional members are up for re-election or the filling of open seats..  That is just for starters, because the Medicaid cuts, which were once intended to enable individuals to access affordable healthcare, will not take effect until after the November 2026 Congressional elections, when the full impact of those cuts will be felt by the voters themselves.

The announcement of the "trade/tariff" deal with the EU and major Asian trading partners, which included the largest tariff increases since the Great Depression, also hit consumers' pockets. As imported inventory is sold off, the new tariffs become additional costs that are passed on to retail customers. Businesses that cannot adjust or compete by raising costs and prices to customers will likely go out of business. It is a short-term victory for Trump, but it was a bitter pill for consumers that will be felt over the next six months. Still out there, even higher than the EU tariffs of 15%, are the "deals" that have not been finalized with Canada and Mexico. That stuff has not yet hit the fan, either.  The tiff with the Federal Reserve, Trump's pressure to lower interest rates, ignores the reason given by the Fed for holding off on lowering interest rates: it is due to the fear that these tariffs will lead to higher consumer prices and inflation.  What the tariffs would actually be is now only partially resolved.

Those crowing that today the Trump policies of the Big Beautiful Bill and the dramatic increase in health care costs to those who are living on the economic margins and the disaster facing access to rural health have not hit the fan either. The impact of the mass deportations on farm,  domestic, construction,  and hospitality workers, jobs not sought by already employed Americans, has also not hit the fan.

We in Grand County, Colorado, will know who to blame.  28 to 38 percent hike in health insurance premiums and costs. That one will be felt before the November 2026 midterms when you can thank your Congressperson who voted for this....

.https://www.skyhinews.com/news/colorado-health-insurance-rates-jump-high-in-the-next-year-western-slope-increase/

For the record, inflation is creeping up, with the threat of higher tariffs looming, rising last month from 2.4 percent to 2.7 percent. In December 2024, Biden's last month in office, the unemployment rate was 2.9 percent...and we are not far from that. Gas at the pump prices are now near what Biden left them in January (per AAA.). Update 7/30/2025: As Biden left office, the economy grew by 2.4% in the last quarter of 2024.  The growth rate released today under the Trump regime rose to 3%, as the Fed meets to discuss whether to lower interest rates. As recently stated by the Fed chair, this is a heated economy, and the impact of the high tariffs on consumers is still a threat to inflation.  They will be considering this as they meet today. Google AI:and Gross Domestic Product, 4th Quarter and Year 2024 (Third Estimate), GDP by Industry, and Corporate Profits | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Conflict between presidents and the federal reserve has a history.   Politicians like to lower rates,, whether they are in a democracy or in a dictatorship.  It is good politics...but it could be a disaster to ignore economics

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump's latest attack on the Federal Reserve has a history

.reuters.com/business/fed-keeps-rates-steady-despite-trumps-pressure-with-two-governors-dissenting-2025-07-30/#:~:text=Summary,for%20the%20fifth%20consecutive%20meetingt: 

   

 The price of crude oil, the basis for gas prices, is controlled by Middle East oil cartels, not the president of the US. The announced trade deal with the EU included "investments" in US energy, and the details and impact on the price of crude to consumers are unknown. However, it is beneficial for US oil and gas producers who have been seeking markets for the glut of oil and gas in the ground they are currently experiencing.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending June 2025 : The Economics Daily: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics     "The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending June 2025, after rising 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending May. Prices for all items less food and energy rose 2.9 percent over the past 12 months, while shelter prices increased 3.8 percent over the last year. "

Keeping track of tariff impact on domestic prices. Already felt.

 Pricing data shows Trump's tariffs are making some US-made products more expensive in an extensive Business Insider report. Import goods prices have already increased 3% and domestic competitors have used this cover and lack of foreign competition to raise theirs by 2%.   In time, all of this will begin to impact inflation rate.   That Trump has made American life more affordable is one promise he is not keeping. 

How do you explain the gaining steam of Bernie Sanders and AOC's anti-oligarch tour?

 I am watching the national media trying to explain why Bernie Sanders and AOC are getting traction. Why did this not happen in 2024? Something happened between then and now. Here is my observation:

1) The rise of the billionaires Trump has empowered them to act on his behalf, fitting them into a new classification term for the US, "oligarchs". Their ignorance and understanding of what services the government provided to the non-rich has been jaw-droppingly insensitive, out of touch with how others live, and angering. This will become even more controversial in any upcoming debate over tax cuts to the rich while cutting services and benefits to the lower and middle classes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/04/01/forbes-39th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-more-than-3000-worth-16-trillion/

2) An administration that many voted for because Trump promised to make life cheaper for those struggling to cope with daily life they cannot afford. Some Trump voters had hoped for Trump, who claimed to represent them in 2024, but now ignores their priorities as he pursues his other own obsessions. This will become an even hotter issue since voters have not yet felt the full force of economic pain caused by the tariff wars and reduced access to veterans benefits, social security, Medicaid, medicare, school lunches, and consumer protections.

3) Public policies are implemented that most blue or red had not voted for...sabotaging social security, firing veterans and hurting their benefits, and removing help for students with disabilities, increasing costs of living instead of lowering them through nutty tariff wars.

4) Trump embracing a dictator like Putin as he ticks off our best foreign friends and makes us a pariah nation to the rest of the free world we used to lead by example and policies.

5) The upshot of 1-4 is happening in March 2025 . It is economic populism at the core, unlike the 2024 elections, which were dominated by cultural populism on issues of racism. It is also related to immigration, too much/ too little diversity, sexism, abortion, gender and LGBTQ issues, and book banning or not. The villains to blame now are the oligarchs who Trump empowered as personified by chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk instead of the libs or fascists.

Note: These are non-partisan issues but appeal to elements in both political parties to which AOC and Sanders appeal.

Note: none of this post is put in terms of ideology or political science concepts like democracy vs.autocracy/fascism, rule of law, constitutional crisis, populism, cultism, or Marxism, which the well-educated grasp. However, everyone else asks, what does this do for me, my family, and my daily life? If Democrats hope to reach more of those without a college education, they must re-orient their messaging terminology.

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5208363-trump-economic-vulnerability/

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/22/nx-s1-5155899/why-education-is-becoming-a-bigger-divide-in-politics

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/donald-trump-hits-historic-low-as-new-poll-shows-his-net-approval-rating-worse-than-any-modern-president-in-decades/articleshow/119344880.cms?from=mdr

Messaging again: Democrats need to have positive messages, too.

 Trump has spent the first seven weeks promoting unpopular public policies. He is "underwater" in the polls on nearly all of his initiatives.  Democrats are still floundering, with many voices attacking with less than successful messaging, diffused and uncoordinated.  Voters know what Democrats are against but not what they are for.   Repeating the Biden administration's gains and losses is fair game but not central to a message. It may fuel buyers' remorse but humans do not like to admit they were wrong. Instead, look to the future and see what you will do better than what the GOP, Trump, and Musk are doing now.The Trump negatives need to be taken and reshaped into pushbacks that are positives with a focus on themes that affect both red and blue partisans, such as cost of living, corruption, and improving government services.  The public are consumers of government services; treat them like customers. Seeking efficiency is the goal. It is not the same as replacing government with deficiencies or no service at all. Trump is promoting corruption; we should restore independent watchdogs. Fear and favor have been replaced by adhering to the rule of law; we should abide by the rule of law; Trump promised to reduce your cost of living, and instead, he wants to increase your costs..Let's get rid of tariff wars.  Corrruption must not be tolerated and the rule of law is the most fair system for all. Restore watchdogs and respect the rule of law.  On Ukraine: Democrats support rule by the people  system we call Democracy, not rule over the people by a strong  man and tyrant, at home and abroad 

 Timing is everything: The time clock has not started running on the 2026 midterms, but Trump has given Democrats the gifts of economic downturns, billionaires running amock, and more. Guardrails against corruption have been removed. The power belongs to the ones with the money.  However, the messages I have been hearing are still speculative and not yet felt by the voters.  Trump's gift to Democrats should not be wasted when voters still do not feel the pain.  The sympathy should be shifted to the voters who lose services they need for their health and financial well-being, not just for the hardships facing those who lost their government jobs. Voters will need to feel the pain of chainsaw Musk before it is truly an effective approach. The sky will be falling sounds like so much political oratory and does not mean much until shards hit them in the head.  I told you so, we warned you, is not enough of a message.

Calling out the other side for gaslighting needs more than just calling something that is obfuscating.  Gaslighting...standard procedure for many in politics, is the overuse of "gas lighting", taken from a movie where the victim is confused into inaction due to slow realization as gaslights are dimmed.

What it means in political propaganda is that a defense against an attack, more polite than just calling out, is a lie, or twisted information, or diversions, or deflections, geared to confuse the public. It is a shorthand for describing in detail..However, it is used so much that it is irritating and does not really say specifically what is being done that is so bad. It needs a descriptor added to it.I prefer the words: X is trying to fool or confuse you(lie to you, twist into, divert to another topic) with a short sentence following.

 

Fleshing out some of this:

On the cost of living, the impact of tariffs has not yet been felt, but that may be the issue that determines the 2026 midterms.  The Trump administration has not set lowering the cost of groceries and living expenses as a priority or even is it a goal anymore. On the cost of living, the impact of tariffs has not yet been felt, but that may be the issue that determines the 2026 midterms. A pushback plank: Get rid of the trade wars and tariffs. 

On corruption: restore independent watch dogs, I G's, ethics requirements and oppose conflict of interests. Restore the protection of whistle blowers. https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/when-it-comes-to-corruption-trump-is.html         https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-only-whistleblowers-left-is-free.html

Instead of ust criticizingTrump's obsession with kneecapping Zelensky and his bromance with Putin, Democrats could stand for a positive, such as a pledge to support Ukraine to remain independent of Russia, restore the mid-Atlantic alliances with our friends (we know the difference between friends and enemies)

On government efficiency: Deficiency is not efficiency, Musk. Making the government more deficient is not the same as making it deficient. The focus should be on providing improved customer service for programs that American taxpayers support and need: veterans services and making them more efficient in their delivery instead of eliminating or limiting their services, consumer and environmental protections, affordable access to health care including Medicare and Medicaid, and social security.  Merit should be rewarded and be the standard for hiring instead of loyalty to Trump and the size of political contributions.  3/13/25  Two federal judges ruled that probationary personnel fired by DOGE and OPM are to be rehired. Left are those who were fired who were not probationary. The impact on the ability of these agencies to function is yet to be determined.  Making government efficient is not the same as making government deficient.  The chainsaw massacre of government services continues.

On justice: the goal is fairness for all. It is not an instrument of disciplining those not loyal to Trump or his allies.  It is not an instrument to promote one race over any other or to carry out the agenda of any one religion or ideology, or to promote fear and favor.  Restore freedom of the press and speech, free of retribution and revenge from the all-powerful president.

On budget and deficit: The standard needs to include payfors for any new programs either to raise taxes or provide offsets elsewhere to expenditures. Oppose tax cuts for the very rich. They never have paid back what they cost the treasury in loss of income. 

On mass firings of government employees, the Trump administration lost a big one and  got caught lying about the reason employees were fired: There is a process to firing workers and we should adhere to that process. Trump administration ordered to reinstate tens of thousands of fired probationary workers

Privatization of "entitlements" is not a good thing for ordinary citizens and so far no one has made much of an issue of that. The government is for the taxpayers who voted for the services and need them. Government services should not be for those who seek profit. Government services should not be private sector profit centers. Do not privatize; instead, improve their functions. Privatization just puts more money in billionaires' pockets who want to take a cut of investing your money as they invest it in the casino of Wall Street or in turning access provided by machines they supply instead of someone on the other end of the phone for those who are either too young or older computer illiterates. Those programs are for the public benefit, not for the benefit of profit-seeking businesses who only see you as a profit center. People sought these government programs because the private sector had failed them in the first place. 

Asking the right questions is also an approach. The polls of public opinion and the courts are turning against the Trump initiatives in the first 7 weeks of the administration. 3/13/25 - Voters' Ratings On Economy And Trump Dip, Trade And Russia - Ukraine War Weigh On Trump's Numbers, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Disapprove Of Trump's Handling Of Zelensky Meeting | Quinnipiac University Poll The response from Trump and his supporters is yes, it will be a little rocky for a while, but you will like what it will be when we are done. What is that? Who will benefit? Who is "you".How will we get there with the crises manufactured by Trump himself and Musk, who thinks making government services more deficient is the same as making them more efficient.

An answer: It will not be good for those who hoped grocery prices would be lowered and who benefit from continued affordable access to healthcare or who hope interest rates will fall enough they can buy a home. The only people who will like what is happening are the very rich and billionaires who want no constraints on their greed to become richer or to privatize every government service so they can get a cut of the taxpayer-funded administration. Those in need of such services as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicare to make ends meet should not be treated as a profit center for billionaires. They do not feel your pain or walk in your shoes (common definitions of empathy). In fact, some billionaires even view empathy as a weakness. Elon Musk wants to save Western civilization from empathy | CNN Politics

Tariffs, recession fears: Americans lose confidence in the economy

Poll shows strong disapproval of Musk cost-cutting as US agencies end leases | US news | The Guardian

Democrats need to shift emphasis and messaging now

Update: 3/27/2022  The crime increase is due to Democrat's soft on crime policy is a bunch of BS given a study that showed 8 out of 10 highest per capita rates occur in states voting for Donald Trump. .   Per The Red State Murder Problem – Third Way

• "In 2020, per capita murder rates were 40% higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden.
•  8 of the 10 states with the highest murder rates in 2020 voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election this century."

In contrast to stupid slogans like "defund police" and "legitimate political discourse", , Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe came up with a smart one, given current polls showing even among the Democratic base and the Republican moderates Democrats have a weakness. They are fighting past wars instead of current ones. Here is what I am sensing.

 By just focusing on racial issues, they are losing both Democrats and independents because the current concerns on the immediate burner are in particular kitchen table issues. Scarborough hit the nail on the head with the Three C's:  COVID, CRIME, COST OF LIVING.  This is critical as we come up to the midterms and so far Democrats are relying alone on "we are not Trump" and "our opponent is".  It is a question of emphasis and whether Democrats are showing "we care about you" more than the other party. Those issues are the fierce urgency of now with more voters. Democrats need now to give priority to issues shared by both Democrats and independents, urban and suburban voters of all races. Arguing over who is rightfully woke or not is unhelpful in appealing to the broader Democratic base and falls into the divisive GOP trap of CRT.  The GOP has seen it as a wedge issue that works. Democrats need to refocus their message on shared concerns. They are preaching to the choir and have already well-positioned themselves working in the interest of civil rights, but they now also need to focus on issues affecting broader constituencies given the fast-approaching midterms.  This does not mean dropping vigorous civil  and voting rights, but also adding to the message with it impacts everyone regardless of any affiliation.  Biden can rightfully tout his bi-partisan agenda success: COVID relief, infrastructure, and Ukraine and that is well worth the appeal to independents and never Trumpers.

 These 3 C's are ticklish issues because the GOP touts individual freedom on mask-wearing and anti-vax, Democrats are against the police so blame the recent crime wave on that, and there in unmistakable daily experiencing of inflation, even though jobs and income are up and it is only temporary  (not true). Just passing the BBB to offset inflation is now a no starter since that one is dead for now.   Instead of solely being defensive (Biden supports better and more police funding, and has his messaging clear). down-ballot candidates need to show what support they would give to solving that problem of inflation, especially the cost of fuel at the pump and dealing with crime in a way that is better and more effective than what the GOP is proposing. " More is not enough; better is also critical? Being defensive is not enough; Democrats should also go on the counterattack.

 It is fair game to attack the GOP for dragging out COVID because of catering to those defying common-sense measures, but even Democrats are removing mask mandates, and Democrats have done their part by getting their shots.  60% of Republicans have not and they are the ones in hospitals and dying. A US News study found that counties that voted strongly for Trump also had the highest death rate from COVID. Counties That Voted for Trump Have Higher COVID Death Rates | Healthiest Communities Health News | US NewsThe GOP seemed" they only hurt the ones they love". It is no longer a matter of mandates. It is a matter of personal responsibility, and the victims now are those who followed the GOP advice to be irresponsible to themselves and others.

.On crime. take the Biden approach. Police funding has not been cut, yet urban crime is indeed increased. . He gets that. It may or may not be a COVID thing.  What should be done is making it even better policing as well as putting more on the streets with the training of how to defuse violence, crafting anti-no-knock rules, and tightening bonding out "catch and release" practices that release those arrested for violent crimes back onto the streets without bonds as they. await trial. This has racial implications since the ones most hurt by imprisonment, even temporarily awaiting trial, are racial minorities, so focus on those charged with violent offenses which is where fear and safety drives opinions...    This is a local by local, by-election-district approach, more than a federal one, except for Feds setting national standards, and criteria for extra funding.  It is not much of a rural issue. It is an urban/suburban one.

These 3 C's are mostly urban problems, but that is where the Democrats are vulnerable because threat is where most of their base is..  Fuel costs are very rural issues, too. (Tread lightly on 2nd Amendment issues for the sake of rural voters but cracking down on gun-trafficking are real urban concerns) These issues in time may be old news in a year, but timing is everything and they likely will be still issues of concern in November. 

Update 4/19/22:  (parts of this posting is included in a 4/19 post: Election integrity means" "Keep your partisan hands off my ballot" Per the publication Colorado Politics, a bill is making it through the state  to senate greater election integrity and to make it harder for anyone to mess with the actual paper ballots and tabulations. It passed out of committee.  It addresses the issue on which Mesa County Clerk Tima Peters was indicted for criminal acts for giving non staff access to the room where ballots are secured.  It would require card access and more than one staffer to accompany anyone entering the secured location.  The bill  has the word " integrity" in its title. On local issues such as the election of those supervising elections, as a former Clerk and Recorder o Denver and past president of the elections board, , this one is particularly close to my heart.  Election integrity means different things to different constituencies. For Republicans, election integrity means put Republicans in control of the rules and compliance and the tabulation. For Democrats, just keep them secure, accessible, independent, with administrators directly accountable to voters and not to a partisan dominated body like a state legislation comprised of politicians who have a self-interested stake int he outcome.   Democrats have got a strong hand in appealing to their base and swing voters touting free and fair elections and accusing the GOP of rigging the vote count and ballot access in ways that are so partisan we cannot trust them.  Forget the Trumpster voters and go for the Democrats and independents on this issue.  Go on the attack. This one is fair game in taking on the likes of Trumpists who want to deprive all but their loyalists of ballot access and control of counting the vote.  This one should be:  "don't trust the GOP to play it fair" They have a track record on this in ignoring the popular vote, laws, rules, and regulations, and overturning the will of the people) Instead, trust administrators pledged to follow the rules, not to circumvent them, and demand paper ballots electronic tabulators kept secure from tampering in case there is an audit (official or "forensic". .  On voter access, a cross-racial/ideological approach would be "GOP wants to make it inconvenient to note, harder for everyone. Convenience affects everyone.   While fair and free elections are keys to a democracy, calling the GOP autocrats and anti-Democracy is just too abstract. Having fair and free elections is not just a racial issue; it is everyone's concern.  Voters should demand their will is expressed through the ballot box, not distorted, lied about, ignored, and are willing to let the chips fall where they are.  Just do not get hung up on who stole what from whom in 2020. Instead, demand proof instead of opinions. (Use "opinions" instead of "conspiracy theories" and no proof with enough evidence has been found the election was stolen. Using "opinion" is less divisive than "conspiracy theory"  when appealing to swing voters)  Conspiracy theory is a bit derisive of those who think that if there is smoke there must be fire. The opinion is more respectful of those who are on the fence. Focus on how trumpsters want to screw with the term "fairness"., making the process only fair to them and controlled by them, not to or by anyone else. This is a state by state, district by local district approach that should work in swing and blue venues.  Ruby red states and election districts have already swallowed the Trumpster cool-aid and see being unfair working to their advantage.

 Colorado is a generally blue state with some enclaves of Trump land.  Some county clerks, known partisans of Trump in Colorado, have been charged with giving the keys and passwords and hard drive copies of the ballots and tabulators to their partisans. They should be called out as the poster child of abuse and one now wants to run (or ruin) Colorado's gold standard system. Republican Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters announces candidacy for Colorado secretary of state (denverpost.com) They were in violation of laws designed to keep partisan hands-off.  Ballot and tabulation machine security procedure is the way to insure they and anyone else are unable to mess with them if and when there is an audit. . "We just can't trust them". Is a possible slogan.  Above all, Democrats should support the election reform laws currently put on the back burner in DC.  It is fairer for everyone.   This is particularly true for Colorado that has an exemplary system in which all ballots cast are paper ballots. How Colorado's Stellar Voting System Was Improved in 2020 (5280.com) " Possible slogan to pin on such abusive clerks : " if it ain't broke, don't break it" 

Update 4/19/22  Per publication Colorado Politics:.. "to fortify Colorado's elections against those with "inside access" to harm themSB 153 increases basic security measures, such as requiring 24/7 surveillance and key card access to rooms where election equipment is stored. In any county of more than 100,000, the bill would prohibit any elected official or candidate from having key card access to a room with voting equipment or devices without being accompanied by someone else with authorized access. For smaller counties, the bill sets up a $1 million grant to pay for the round-the-clock surveillance or key card access."

Update: February 17, 2022

There are several lines of attack by the GOP that cannot be ignored and need to be called out as Bull   Stuff. in House district races.   1) "Democrats are socialists because they use taxpayer money to support undeserving poor people. " The hypocrisy of those who scream the loudest is astounding.  They have their roots in the Southern states who get far more subsidies for their state coffers than they collect and pay back in tax money to the feds. It's the blue states who are subsidizing these red taker states.  Remind their constituents what their incumbent candidate voted against, as well. This is what the GOP calls awful socialism   child tax credit and early childhood education. and this is what your GOP represented/Senator voted against.  2)To " blame the BBB for inflation is equally amazing since the BBB was never enacted or a penny spent on it and it would have been completely funded by raising taxes on the ultra-rich.  3)  When candidates in the GOP cutting ribbons for highway and infrastructure bills take credit for getting the money to their state or districts yet they voted against it, they deserve gold medals for the best performance in hypocrisy.

 In Ukraine, the final scene has not played, but a new twist on the old Reagan cold war mantra of "Trust but Verify", is becoming "don't trust but verify"...and diplomacy backed up by economic threats in the wings   There are always the American Firsters and isolationists hovering in the background of American politics just as there were in the late 1930's in the lead up to World War II.  How did that work out? They forgot history or want us to repeat it with the denial we have economic and defense entanglements with the rest of the world to a much greater extent than the way it was 80 plus years ago. In the face of the Ukraine crisis their voices disconnected from reality are fortunately a small voice. Why is Ukraine important to the US when they are not part of mutual defense NATO.  These, by the way, who applauded Trump's attempt to defang NATO's purpose, a trans-Atlantic alliance to defend themselves against an aggressive Russia and to claim the Baltic states were not important enough to defend in spite of their access of ports to the Atlantic. (The only time Article 5 of NATO has been invoked until now was in 9-11 when Europe came to the aid of the US).  Russia is trying to pick off non-NATO neighbors and if he pays no penalty for that, he will put his sights on those protected by a hoped for weakened NATO. again, if some others like Trump get back in office.  Trump foolishly refused to support Article 5 5, an attack on one member is an attack on all. This Ukraine crisis is due to Russians' naked aggression and Putin's desire to bring back UISSR satellites into the Russian empire, whether they want to be part of it or not.  The biggest threat Ukraine is to Russia is not whether they join NATO but that they make Russia look bad with their free-market economy and freer democracy by comparison, per columnist Thomas Friedman.  NATO only expands to countries who want to join and, Ukraine had no plans to apply. It defies credibility to believe Ukraine is about to pick a war with the second largest army in the world, Russia's, which is the nonsensical line Putin is feeding his media-controlled citizens.  If Putin figured he could weaken NATO and drive a wedge between those more dependent on Russian natural gas, he miscalculated. His plans backfired. NATO has never been so unified since the fall of the Berlin wall thanks to Biden's leadership and Russia's threatened armed and unjustified invasion. Putin's aggression reminded the alliance members of NATO's purpose in the first place...defense against Russian expansion

An unanswered question:  Is Putin a rational actor or not? If threats to ruin the Russian economy if they invade seems not to affect his resolve to take over Ukraine.  On the irrational side, using his own words Putin believes he will be known by uniting all Slavs under the Russian banner, that breakup of the old USSR and satellites jointing the West, was a national tragedy that he wants to reverse.  It is as if the USA decided to march its military into Canada and take it over, divide it, annex it, put quislings in charge, on the pretext that they are culturally the same and speak the same language (Quebec notwithstanding.   It is as if he believes in the "manifest destiny" of his beliefs.  Simply marching in with overwhelming military force to grab another sovereign country or dividing it into half, separating the Russian speaking part from the Ukranian nationalism of the west half (a most likely outcome) , changing boundaries, annexing a part into Russia, went unchecked before in Georgia and Crimea. No wonder he thinks he can get away with it in Ukraine, but this time he may have miscalculated with the reaction from the NATO allied nations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/opinion/democrats-biden-voters.html?   Ouch.. A lot of truth in this Maureen Dowd column

to "fortify Colorado's elections against those with "inside access" to harm them, 

SB 153 increases basic security measures, such as requiring 24/7 surveillance and key card access to rooms where election equipment is stored. In any county of more than 100,000, the bill would prohibit any elected official or candidate from having key card access to a room with voting equipment or devices without being accompanied by someone else with authorized access. For smaller counties, the bill sets up a $1 million grant to pay for the round-the-clock surveillance or key card access.