Frank's Musings

MAGA Voters won’t listen to reason. They feel that Trump shows them how to succeed by defiling the establishment’s rules.  Ramaswamy and Haley miss this point. They proudly restate Trump’s tirades in rational terms; but their arguments fall on angry ears that are deaf to what is viewed as pusillanimity. 

The MAGA movement is not based primarily on policy differences. It is a paroxysm of resentment at being left behind. Its members can be weaned away from a demagogue only by believable improvement in their economic well-being and in their sense of being valued by the “establishment.”

This is where the Democrats must focus to weaken the reliability of the MAGA base for Republicans. Deflating that electoral juggernaut means adopting a program of safety-net incentives to encourage risk-taking and determined effort by ordinary citizens in their career, budgeting, and investment decisions. That should be the centerpiece of the 2024 Democratic platform.