[RcouF1uZ4gsC]

By turning this election into one about identity, I fear that Democrats are are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. If the election was about competence and performance, it would have been a slam dunk win with coronavirus and the economy in tatters. But if it is about identity a lot of people are going to feel that this is a good way of giving a middle finger to people who are saying bad things about their group. Tribes are often very happy to cut of their nose to spite their face. Even if they know Trump is bad for them, as long as they think he might be worse for their opponents, in the privacy of the voting booth, they might just vote for him.

[dgreensp]

It seems to me that both parties, while not equivalent, are factions of elites seeking power more than anything else. Getting or keeping power means getting votes while enriching your donors and doing favors for your friends. To get voters, there is a lot of lip service and carefully choosing issues that will get certain people to vote. The thing is, you actually have to do something that helps the bulk of the population out once in a while, or at least keep them from being flushed down the toilet economically, or all the branding and marketing in the world won’t save you, even with TV news keeping the narratives going. I think the elites live in an echo chamber and are just totally out of touch at this point. They don’t even know what to say to voters to stay in power. Trump’s success is because he’s a master salesman and entertainer, and then you have Biden hanging on by a thread with the message “Trump bad,” having successfully crushed the economic progressives (including pretty much any Democrat born in the last few decades).

People are angry because they feel disempowered, across the board. Each party is just trying to deflect the anger and put it somewhere else. It’s a silly game.