DP analysis: Regarding yesterdays elections

Apparently, Democrats won everywhere. That's good. Exit polling data indicates that the economy was voters #1 concern. That's less good. 

The #1 concern here at DP (Dissident Politics) is the impending collapse of democracy, the rule of law and civil liberties, with an attendant transfer of vast wealth and power from the masses to chosen or compliant elite special interests, e.g., Bezos and Amazon, Zuckerberg and Facebook, CBS Broadcasting Inc., Fox News, etc. The reasoning is simple. If kleptocratic MAGA authoritarianism finishes taking full control of the federal government and the rule of law, the economy for the masses is very likely going to suck far worse compared to its current suckiness. 

Clearly, DP's main priority is out of synch with voter's main priority. Voters see economic distress as the big problem. DP sees democratic distress that will cause horrific economic distress if democracy truly collapses into a kleptocratic dictatorship or something else that is authoritarian and very corrupt.

Based on voter research, the economy being the #1 concern is no surprise. That should be expected, especially when voters perceive the economy to be bad. But there is a really interesting story here and it's quite encouraging. 

This could easily be a fascinating but TL/DR post. But I'll keep it short. For those interested, the entire long and complicated analysis is laid out at this link.

• Voter perception of a bad/inadequate economy is reasonably close to economic reality. Inflation has ticked up to 3%. Trump's tariffs have sucked ~$3,800 out of household spending power and that hurts. Based on data like that, voting for Dems makes sense because the economy is the primary driver of votes. 

• Encouragingly, voter perception of the threat to democracy, the rule of law and civil liberties is pretty good. Poll data indicates the threat of Trump/MAGA authoritarianism and corruption come in a fairly close 2nd to worries about the economy. Poll data indicates that (i) 25% of voter made defense of democracy their top priority, which is high for an off-year election, (ii) 59-67% of voters believe Trump is overreaching in his power grabs, and (iii) supermajorities oppose specific authoritarian actions, e.g., 80% oppose using the military against protesters. All in all, voters seem to get it. 

• But on the issue of the threat of deeply corrupt MAGA authoritarianism, there still is a major gap in voter perception compared to expert perception. 25% of voters prioritized concerns for democracy while ≥ 97% of experts rate the anti-democracy threats as severe. The economy still dominated voter priorities, 50%+ in most states, despite experts warning of fastest democracy collapse in modern history.

Based on that data, effective messaging in defense of democracy might do well to express a two-punch combination message. The first part of the message is how bad the economy is and will be due to MAGA policies. Link MAGA directly to the bad economy. Constantly pound on that point, and never stop pounding. Then, a follow-up punch is that the rise of authoritarian kleptocracy to replace less corrupt democracy will make the economy much worse than it should be. 

A last thought. Trump and MAGA elites are acutely aware of the election results. If a person is Trump or a MAGA elite, what to do? At least one option pops right up. It's the righteous MAGA option. Double down on rigging and subverting the Nov. 2026 mid-term elections. Make damn sure the Dems cannot take control of the House or Senate. That's what I would do if I were a MAGA elite.

Qs: Do Trump and MAGA elites need to make damn sure that the Dems cannot take control of the House or Senate in the 2026 mid-term elections? If not, then what was the point of Project 2025 and everything that MAGA has done since Jan. 2025?

Inspector Kemp telling the villagers they need 

to make damn sure they get it right