TELLING NORMAL PEOPLE THEY SUCK ISN'T A WINNING STRATEGY.

The continued house arrests, economic stagnation, and wilding in cities and states dictated to by Democrat governors is leading people to relocate, sometimes despite great capital losses.  That's got some libertarian and Republican strategists worried that these refugees will bring their bigger-government policy preferences with them.  Maybe not, suggests Don Surber, after a review of coverage of the Republican convention, which is welcoming the yeomanry, irrespective of creed or color.  "Those people fleeing the Democrat Chaos are not going to vote Democrat in their new environs, any more than someone fleeing Cuba registers as a communist."  The messaging seems to be working, it's troubling Never Trump social director S. E. Cupp.  "And while we’ve been hammering away at Trump’s obvious racism and fomenting of white supremacist rage to gin up his base, we may forget that some of his voters really do just care about the fate of their small businesses, the burden of unfair trade deals on their manufacturing industry, the ravages of an opioid crisis in their community."  It's possible to be put off by the rage of black nationalists or whatever description you want to apply to the woke mob without looking for extra large sheets or Sam Browne belts, young lady.

New York's Times has not established a Kenosha County bureau (something Chuck Todd hinted at) but they're discovering a discontent that, shall we say, isn't turning out to the Acela Insiders' favor.  "As residents see fires and looting, some worry that local Democratic leaders are failing to keep control of the situation."  (Listen when they tell you who they are.)  Here's how Team Times spins the home team's problem.  "Democrats, nervous about condemning the looting because they said they understood the rage behind it, worried that what was happening in their town might backfire and aid the president’s re-election prospects."

When you've lost the tractor factory, you've got a problem.

[Tractor assembler John] Geraghty said he disliked how Mr. Trump talked but said the Democratic Party’s vision for governing seemed limited to attacking him and calling him a racist, a charge being leveled so constantly that it was having the effect of alienating, instead of persuading, people. And the idea that Democrats alone were morally pure on race annoyed him.

“The Democratic agenda to me right now is America is systematically racist and evil and the only people who can fix it are Democrats,” he said. “That’s the vibe I get.”

Mr. Geraghty said he understood peaceful protesting but felt frustrated with Democratic leaders who seem afraid of confronting crowds when things turn violent. He was angry at the statement by Gov. Tony Evers [D - Public Instruction -- Ed.] on Sunday, which in his view took sides against the police in a knee-jerk way that worsened the situation. On Tuesday, Mr. Evers, a Democrat, did condemn the looting and fires, while reiterating protesters’ rights to assemble.

Then there's the curious incident of the Republicans who aren't pouncing.

With the unrest in Kenosha happening the same week as the Republican National Convention, local events were threatening to merge with national politics. James Wigderson, editor of a conservative website in Waukesha, Wis., said the chaos reinforced the message of the Republicans this week that the Democrats were not fit to govern.

“Whether it’s fair or not, they see this all as one monolith: From Biden on down to the guy throwing the brick at the cop,” said Mr. Wigderson, who has been critical of Mr. Trump. “As a result, they are more motivated not to let those people win.”

That was all the more true for committed Republicans in Kenosha. Don Biehn, 62, owner of a flooring company, was standing in line at a gun store on Tuesday afternoon. He said that he had never bought a pistol before, but that he had a business to protect. A former county board supervisor, Mr. Biehn said he had been calling county and state officials for days, trying to explain how grave the situation was.

A man who became mayor of Madison when his opponent attempted to claim the "decent people" as his base (first rule of electoral politics: insult opponents, but never the electorate!) sees it clearly.

“There’s no doubt [the rioting is] playing into Trump’s hands,” said Paul Soglin, who served as mayor of Madison, on and off, for more than two decades. “There’s a significant number of undecided voters who are not ideological, and they can move very easily from Republican to the Democratic column and back again.

They are, in effect, the people who decide elections. And they are very distraught about both the horrendous carnage created by police officers in murdering African Americans, and ... for the safety of their communities.”

The mayor also has some experience, both as student protestor and as mayor, with trashing businesses.

“The perception they have is that innocent people are the victims of the looters and the arsonists,” Soglin said. “They’re watching small business people in their communities, seeing their stores trashed. Seeing jobs lost. And people already under stress from the pandemic don’t have much patience for this politics of punishment — punishment of innocent people.”

John “Sly” Sylvester, a longtime Democrat and radio personality who has been active in the labor movement, said he feared Democrats have a "blind spot" to rioters and looters.

“I think there are some people on the left who don’t understand the concept of how important public safety is to people,” Sylvester said. “We all saw the shooting and are deeply troubled by it, but that doesn’t negate the need for public safety.”

On the left, the concept might be Norman Solomon's: the unrest will continue if Donald Trump is re-elected, and they reserve the option to continue the unrest if Joe Biden doesn't come through.  "The imperative of preventing a second Trump term is roaring at us every moment. Some progressives mistakenly believe that means we should melt into the ranks of Biden boosters and otherwise keep quiet until after the election."

No, the threat of wilding might be more effective than the execution.  "Biden is moveable. We’ve already shown that with mass pressure, we can push him to support more progressive policies. Trump, on the other hand, is immune to public persuasion or protest. With a Biden presidency, a disciplined and mobilized left could extract significant victories. With another Trump presidency, the left would have few options and could face new levels of government repression."