My feeling: everyone can see through the ruse, at this point. It's clear that the Democratic Party largely does not have any solutions and probably isn't even interested in having them. They just maintain the status quo. At least the Republicans believe in something. Awful things, but SOMETHING.

I say this reluctantly: Dems had solutions! Biden on domestic policy was the most progressive president of my lifetime. If Manchin had played along, they would've done even more. They're not addressing the structural flaws of capitalism, for sure, but they did a lot to make people's lives better.

Their solutions and communications just... weren't very good. Between the weird crypto shilling and stepping back on fighting price gouging when donors warned Harris away from it, and bizarre ways of framing policy like they were in a matthew lesko commercial, they just seemed nakedly out of touch.

Biden was actually trying to change course on the trickle down economics. I felt he really wanted to go big and change things. He was a true servant of the people.

I tentatively agree with you, but there's a clear mismatch between perception and reality, and between the boldness of the Democratic plank and the urgency of the moment. If "most progressive in your lifetime" still feels like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, does it matter?

The mismatch between perception & reality is the whole core of the problem! There's nothing a Dem president could do that would satisfy my policy preferences. My within the scope of the possible, Biden did a lot of things to improve on the ground life for people.

Dems have specific solutions, and the specifics matter. If they say 2000$ checks in the mail, but it turns into two checks and not quite 2000$, they become a punchline. The opposition can run on a vibe with a wink, as long as thry meet the vibe they don't lose support.