I just still am having a hard time processing this.
I really think the vast majority of americans are good and caring people, I just don't know how they can't see how crazy the GOP has become.
I have no problem and can think divided government can work but the GOP and its modern form just is so unappealing I really fear for a lot of people, even if I'll be fine.
Things like their attacks on health care, labor, and minority rights mean the most to me and the American People just seem to agree with the GOP on most of those issues even in blue areas.
I just really wonder if we'll ever be able to once again expain our social safety net or establish free college education or if being a dem is now just about not making it worse. Will I ever be able to enjoy a era of progressive policy making?
What, precisely, is making you so worried? Progressive policies are only getting more popular. How else does minimum wage increases basically make a clean sweep even in places like South Dakota in a republican election year?
I know Republicans are always saying "its not the policies it's the packaging", but they're wrong. Republicans may have people liking the word "conservative", and they may have people picking republicans as being better at generalized issues like the economy, but every time you put an actual bill in front of peoples faces. Every time you list out a real tangible change you're proposing to the government, people tend to be for the liberal versions, and not the conservative ones.
The problem really is with the Democrat party, which I actually find encouraging because that can be fixed. In my mind, I think it's largely because they lack focus on a national level. Presidential years gives a party a focus by default, but midterms don't and in today's climate where everything is a nationalized issue, you can't just send out every individual out there to fend for themselves anymore. A big reason Udall had little to campaign on is the national party largely didn't have anything concrete to campaign on, for instance.
It does no good if the only time you ever hear about liberal issues is in campaign promises. Obama at least identified the problem himself at the press conference saying he and others were out there talking about minimum wage on the campaign trail, but it didn't penetrate. I think it's because people just believe politicians will say anything on the campaign trail to get elected, and honestly for good reason too.
Black Mamba is also completely right that people aren't that dumb, but they just can't follow politics as closely as we do. And it's unreasonable to ever expect that of people. But that means you can't just take one half-hearted swing at passing a minimum wage increase, and expect everyone to pick up on your efforts. You just need to push that sort of thing with better focus and more frequency, and constantly explain the tangible acts you've taken to get it to the point where you need the other sides cooperation (though currently hard with no chamber of congress to do it through now). That's how you get issues like that to penetrate people that don't follow politics super closely.
These things aren't hard to figure out, and should they do, I think you'll see a lot more progress in the near future.
