Democrats don't have a working-class problem. America does. - WaPo Milbank
(snip)
Working people no longer vote their interests as “workers” but cast ballots for all kinds of different reasons. They shifted several points away from Democrats between 2020 and 2024 — but so did many different groups across the electorate, mostly because they were unhappy with the Biden administration’s performance on inflation. The reductive analysis of working-class voters abandoning Democrats is particularly maddening because it misses what’s actually happening to those voters, which is a crisis much bigger than the temporary fortunes of a political party. This is less a Democratic problem than an American problem — but Democrats have a fresh chance to try to fix it.
For nearly half a century, and particularly over the past two decades, corporate America has plunged workers ever deeper into job and income insecurity. Employers, benefiting from weakened labor laws and lax enforcement of those that remain on the books, have been forcing workers into erratic schedules, hiring them as contractors or temporary or gig workers and stealing their wages. It’s no coincidence that all this happened while labor union membership, which peaked at one-third of the workforce, shriveled to the current 10 percent.
(snip)
Voting patterns, not just this year’s but this century’s, reflect the discontent and instability. In nine of the past 10 federal elections, one party or the other has lost control of the White House, Senate or House. Voters, desperate for a fundamental change, punish the incumbent party and then, inevitably finding no relief, punish the other party two years later. Politics has become a depressing game of ping-pong, with no enduring wins.
(snip)
I understand the cynicism. For ages, Democratic leaders have tried to have it both ways, calling for marginal improvements to the tax code but shying away from anything that might repel the corporate interests that are also in their coalition. But, at some point, the worsening suffering of tens of millions of workers must persuade them to take the risk.
And — who knows? — maybe if Democrats take that risk, it will free them, and all of us, from the dreary cycle of the past two decades in which frustrated voters turn from one party to the other and then back again, never finding the change they are seeking. And then, for the first time in decades, maybe working people will again vote reliably Democratic, because Democrats will have restored their working-class identity.
https://wapo.st/3D2qwF2
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The phenomena it's discussing is the result of 40 + years of Reaganomics. Trickle down has not been how that has worked. Far from it! More like suck it up, because the plutocrat robber Barons have done exactly that.
Combine that with the Citizens United decision by the Extreme Court, and the fact that it costs ginormous amounts of money to run any major campaign for office, and it isn't hard to see how we got here.
Too many people want to blame the take over of our democracy by oligarchs, and let the Republicans off the hook, even though they were the ones who opened the door in the first place. 
The Pukes have been lusting for oligarchy ever since Tricky Dicky Nixon was forced to resign back in 1974. Actually, it goes back to the 1930's, when they wanted to overthrow the government via military coup.
Not trying to let Dems off the hook for taking donations from wealthy contributors, but where is our supposedly " liberal press" who could put the real cause of the problems out in the open, where it could be acknowledged and discussed? Answer: we don't have a liberal media. The wealthy have been buying them up and consolidating them for some time.
The Dems have been fighting an uphill battle, with one hand tied behind their backs, and blind folded, and people want to blame them for the continued defeats. 
We need some wealthy people who realize that the economy always does better under Democrats and who are willing to buy up some major media outlets in order to get that message across. Otherwise, uninformed voters will keep getting distracted by culture wars and not be clued in about how oligarchs are getting them to vote against their best Interests.
We also need to show how grassroots fund raising can help free our Dem politicians from needing to accept donations from Robber Barons, who always want concessions that are in conflict with the needs of our constituents. If we each gave small amounts of money, our candidates would have what they need to run campaigns and the Robber Barons could be sent packing.