Robert Reich: Meet the Future of the Democratic Party

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Reagan's election began this trend of shoveling money UP the income scale.

Reagan enacted IRA's and a trend toward self-responsibility, but that eroded existing safety net programs public and private. Within 10 years pensions were flagging, defined benefit plans ending. The middle class was hollowed out and corporations and wealthy portfolios were the beneficiaries. Meanwhile politics became about money that resulted in Citizens United. The GOP had a plan, Democrats trudged along for the working part of the population.

We need to tap MAGA anger. MAGA loyalty to Trump is emotional and soft on context or issues.

Even if we can grab independents and some part of MAGA, how do you run a party without adequate money? We depend on corporate donations. I will say social issues were never a good bet. We didn't stand on civil rights broadly, we used specific issues and got tarred and feathered with them.