I think this also has to do with how “we” refuse to speak of left and right as actual sets of ideals as opposed to relative positions. As far as voters go they see themselves as centrist because they aren’t far right fascists so they’re to the “left” of them, but they don’t agree with “the left” so they’re to the “right” of them. Their actual beliefs though would make them conservatives and so right wingers…

As far as politicians, they just want to get elected and the Bidens of the world know they can’t win as Republicans especially today.

Right, most of these idiots don’t have a clue what the Left actually is.

Most of these idiots believe in what the left would have the chance to propose if they hadn’t been brainwashed into believing that the left is communism is evil.

Social security? Accessible healthcare? Being able to live a comfortable life? Working hard leading to an appropriate reward?

Don’t underestimate the appeal of racism. The biggest barrier to the expansion of the US social safety net is the fact that many, many white people would willingly vote to make themselves poorer, so long as they kept an income advantage over black people. Many white voters would rather vote themselves into penury rather than see one black person get any form of government assistance.

That’s all part of the brainwashing, look at what Trump sold them, the end of the elite’s hold over their lives… That’s a left side message! I’m 100% sure the vast majority of them wouldn’t care about the race of beneficiaries if they were given the chance to understand that both them and black folks wouldn’t be the ones paying for it, the actual elite would be, but media would never give them that chance.

It’s not brainwashing though. It’s a cynical, evil, but rational attempt at race- and gender-based privilege and affirmative action. White men enjoyed massive affirmative action for the entirety of the nation’s history up until very recently. All the good jobs were arbitrarily assigned to white men; they didn’t have to compete with the majority of the population. They had an artificially-high opportunity for success simply handed to them from birth.

Racism and sexism are evil, but they’re also rational. This isn’t just dumb idiots being exploited with false promises. It’s a racial and gender group coming together and saying, “we’re going to come together and vote ourselves unearned privilege and opportunities. We will use the power of our votes to raise ourselves up at the expense of everyone else.”

Racism isn’t irrational; it’s just evil. Racism and sexism are perfectly materially rational. They’re a conspiracy by one group to give themselves unearned opportunities, power, and wealth. Dismissing it as “brainwashing” just completely misses the point of racism.