Well your point is odd because I'm saying Bernie got washed in spite of a class-based message, not because of it. This is a direct refutation of your claim that class-based appeals are an untapped reservoir of political capital.
It's also odd because of course Joe Biden won against Trump in 2020 instead of losing like Clinton
I don't have the same read on it. I think the Dem primary electorate voted Biden in large part because they felt he was the most electable. His social connections, and Obama tie, also obviously influential.
That Sanders had any success without those ties speaks to the ideological strength of his positions, to me. Personal charisma, looks, he's not exactly all-American. You see glass half empty, I see it half full.
Harris could begin to deploy similar rhetoric tomorrow, and it'd likely seal a win. It has real persuasive power.
So what? you described it as like a "shotgun" with massive "collateral damage", which btw is pretty much insane.
A guy who tells you you'd have both in a perfect world can't be presumed to have called it bad, or it would in no form exist.
I'm also unsure if you realize it's fairly common to encounter people who think progressives get weird and destructive on identity issues. You've previously stated you think the trailer park may vote mostly Dem, which does make me question how wide-ranging your experience is.
How do you know the "Dems are currently down 2pts nationwide?" Where are you getting the crystal ball to be sure this is the correct number?
I check poll averages.
I also doubt you can coherently define the phrase "identity first thinking in the driver seat", which kinda matters because it feels like this whole argument is leading to a what I call a Zardnaar Postulate where, if the Democrats win, they must not have had the "identity first thinking in the driver seat" but if they lose then the identity first thinking was definitely in the driver seat. It's a bit like Chinese Emperors and the Mandate of Heaven
You can totally win with identity politics. Obama did. Trump did. Clinton didn't. They aided Biden, but I suspect the epidemic was more influential in his victory, and he may have lost without Trump's disastrous response to it.
It's not consistent. It's easily exploitable, particularly when it becomes the focus. If not anchored by more universal, class based policies, it creates lanes for the rich to capture identity groups and muster votes.
