@leftylabourtech 'Smoke and mirrors'. What about outright lies? I guess that's simply too obvious to mention.

@CFord Did you listen to the podcast or just read the headline? Honestly, these are two of the best (genuinely) left commentators in Canada. Of course #PPBoy lies through his teeth. The question is "Why do the lies work?" If you want to combat the lies it's important to understand why they work, and Sandy & Nora examine that in this episode of their podcast.

@CFord US historian Thomas Frank (who grew up in Kansas) has been writing about this stuff for decades. Liberal/social democratic parties (depending on the country) abandoned the working class under neo-liberalism to chase more affluent/educated voters often in either the burbs or the now gentrified urban cores. Into the political vacuum the far right goes to turn (what should be) class war rage into culture war rage that benefits the ruling class.