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Truly North's avatar

I'm having a hard time seeing how the Democrats can apply the techniques of the Tea Party. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but all of the Tea Party protestations about the "Constitution", "personal freedom", "small government", "rule of law", "fiscal responsibility", "family values", and "patriotism" were all lies. Trump proved that. They were just thin veneers of respectability which disguised the true reason for its support: the hatred against a half-black and half-white president.

I cannot see how Democrats can use those same techniques. The technical battles against Trump in DC must be paired with some sort of demagoguery and populist messaging for the regular people on the streets who pay no attention to politics. Unfortunately, I don't think demagoguery and lies work well on the Democratic side right now.

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Kim M Murphy's avatar

The Tea Party was the trial run for MAGA.

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Dave Yell's avatar

its birth place

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Benjamin Seltzer's avatar

Lies are probably a non-starter for Democrats, I agree. (In an ideal world, they would be non-starters for everyone, but here we are.)

However, I think that some solid demagoguery could work wonders for Democrats, the folks who sat out this election, and perhaps some Independents, too. If the emotional appeals are what get people in the door, the facts and policies don't need to change; they just need to be recast in emotional terms. (Also not what I wish politics to be... and again, here we are.)

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JF's avatar

Someone in the mold of Bernie, but younger.

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HistoricalHolli's avatar

As the saying goes, you can wish in one hand and crap in the other...

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