Why Trump gets reelected

I wrote this in August of 2020, on my heyheyrenee.com blog

Trump didn’t win. But it took a pandemic to beat him. To do this day, his supporters don’t believe he lost.

Boebert won. I was exactly right about her and then some. Now she’s a femme fatale shit show for the far right.

I think President Biden misses it, is making a mistake to raise taxes. Or, he should raise the ceiling. Maybe earners making $10+ million a year pay higher taxes.

###
I posted a version of this with minor changes on Anand Giridharadas' substack page today. And I sent a copy to Joe Biden's team.

If you agree with what I've wrote, please do all you can to get Biden's team your message. Copy my text. Here's the link: https://go.joebiden.com/page/s/contact-us

Howdy brothers and sisters,

Look no further than where I live, Eagle CO, for why Trump will be re-elected.

According to today's Denver Post poll, Boebert is tied with Diane Mitsch Bush for the 3rd Congressional District seat: https://www.denverpost.com/2020/08/13/3rd-congressional-district-colorado-boebert-mitsch-bush/

Mitsch Bush is basically a Reagan Democrat. Boebert, is a QAnon believer.
Boebert will do nothing for the rural towns she represents, but she'll promise them the world - "drill, baby, drill". While Mitsch Bush won't instantly turn the economy around in rural CO either, her policies will at least get things moving in the right direction.

This race shouldn't be close. Mitsch Bush is a rancher, a pragmatic. She should win easily. But it is. I think Boebert will win.

What Democrats and party leadership misses is that they've lost connection to rural America, the working person, and people on the lowest rung of the socio economic ladder. Thomas Frank nails it in Listen Liberal and his latest book, The People NO.

Democrats entire message should be based on farming, rural America, made in America, and rebuilding the most broken down cities/towns in our country. Instead, they're talking about policies that the people they left behind years ago have just about no connection to.

Folks in Craig, CO, would love to own an electric car. But they can't afford one. Renewable energy? All they hear is "ban fracking". When fracking was booming, that was just about the only time when they made enough money to take a vacation, or even dream about sending their kids to college.

You, me, and millions know that renewable energy is where it's at. It's better, cheaper, faster, and safer. But what the Democrats haven't done, what they're still not doing, is telling people in Craig how that adds up to a paycheck. Not just a paycheck, a good paycheck. A better paycheck than they got in the fracking boom.
It's great to talk about Universal Healthcare. But what Democrats miss is that these people mostly don't like to take government handouts. They'd rather die. Government handouts is what their parents were against, and their parents parents were against.

The Democrats biggest mistake with Universal Healthcare is messaging. Because while these folks are against handouts, they do want to live a long and healthy life, so they can see their grandkids grow up. All they hear is government run healthcare. A handout.

The protests were a huge setback for the Democrats. Because what came out was the wrong message - defund the police, take down the statues, BLM, etc.
My neighbors aren't racists. But they do believe in law and order. They don't believe that slavery was a good thing. But it's part of our history and history shouldn't be erased. Black Lives Matter? They're all for it. But what about their lives? They're struggling too.

And then there's the Trump tax cuts. What Democrats fail to realize, is that anyone who files a Schedule-C saved a bunch of money from the Trump tax cuts. This includes yours truly. Anyone who has an LLC, who filed a separate tax return for their business, saved a bunch of money from the Trump tax cuts. That includes someone who does nails, picks up dog poop, mows lawns, a carpenter, plumber, consultant, or any small business. Now the Democrats want to take away the one thing that has kept mine and their families afloat?

Instead, Biden's message should be "we're keeping the Trump tax cuts. We know they've saved millions money, we're not going to change that".

The people at the top of the Democratic party don't get it, they haven't for years. Their messaging and focus is all wrong. They don't understand me, most of us, they have no boots on the ground.Anand Giridharadas' book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing The World was right on. When I've talked about it with my neighbors they agree. They don't like, that a few companies are in control. But they like that Amazon Prime saves them money.

They voted for Trump because they believed him. Now, I think they're skeptical of him. But still. Democrats haven't built a connection to them. Instead, all they did was bitch about how Russia got Trump elected.

A lot of my neighbors voted for Obama. But then they saw more of the same - he lined his cabinet with Harvard grads, bailouts to the banks, rich people getting richer. Now Obama has a phat pad in the Hamptons and they're no better, or worse off. Biden/Harris, for them, is Obama 2.0. It didn't work for them then, the Democrats have done nothing to show them it'll work now.

You can go on and on about how bad Trump is. You're right. But that's not going to change anything.

You wanna change things? Have lunch and talk with folks at Lauren Boebert's restaurant - The Shooters Grill, in Rifle, CO. Go visit Craig, CO and talk with locals. Go spend some time in rural America. Find the most rundown town or city in America, hang out there a few days and talk with people.

Then go back and make plans that focus on them. The rest of us will be fine.

Until you do, expect more of the same.