At risk of greatly oversimplifying American politics, it's truly impressive how good Democrats are at shooting themselves in the foot.

That's why I personally believe Sanders and Mamdani have found so much success with the working class; they keep themselves separate from the Culture War slugfest that mainline Democrats either voluntarily engage in or let Republicans drag them into.

IMO the vast majority of those "culture war" issues (LGBT freedoms, etc) are incredibly important, but to the average poor rural American it feels incredibly distant from their day to day. I can't put my finger on it exactly but Democrats have a tendency to message on those issues in ways that are either counter-productive or get soundbit saying something moronic. So when Fox News and whatnot say that Democrats are prioritizing other groups over them and message on it day after day, it's not hard to see why that propaganda becomes effective.

That's not to say that Sanders/Mamdani/etc don't message on social issues, they obviously do, but they are somehow effective at not alienating voters who may otherwise latch onto that in a negative way.

I don't have a good solution. Just my observations.

As a Canadian driving through Michigan/Ohio/Upstate New York and places look run down and like they peaked in the 60s-80s and its been down hill since.

When I was younger and it was a new thing it was quite a shock since American media obviously doesnt portray it that way. It is quite a contrast to even how the more run down parts of Canada look.

>Who says it hasn't already?

Great.