After their 2016 electoral loss, the Democratic Party huddled up to develop their "Better Deal" agenda, to explain what they would stand for, should voters return control to their party.
Do they really believe that something as abstruse as antitrust would resonate with voters? Setting aside the merits of it as policy, I find it hard to believe that a lot of voters are really clamoring for Walmart or Facebook to be broken up.
That said, perhaps a segment of their base would be more energized by attacking large corporations. Appealing to an extreme wing, and using that strength to create broad enthusiasm, worked for their opponents. I used to believe that if you were forced to appeal like that, you couldn't possibly get enough votes from the center, but my intuition appears to be in error.
Respectfully, I am not so sure that you are correct with your sentiment. I know a lot of privacy-concerned folks that are center of right who wouldn't mind FB being kneecapped. I view this as significant, as these are people who usually view government interference in business matters akin to messing with religion.
We went through a period where the Democratic Party endorsed the Reagan era Republican theory that consumer prices were the only factor that mattered when considering antitrust action and that it was no longer a goal to protect competition itself.
That said, perhaps a segment of their base would be more energized by attacking large corporations. Appealing to an extreme wing, and using that strength to create broad enthusiasm, worked for their opponents. I used to believe that if you were forced to appeal like that, you couldn't possibly get enough votes from the center, but my intuition appears to be in error.