Yes, and the hard part is getting the establishment to allow them to build that trust and support instead of stifling like the classic American leftist example of Bernie

Relevant xkcd

Specific to elections: provide a principled left wing candidate with a platform that people can hear

For real substantial change: by taking away power from the powerful and giving it to the people

Most people agree with most leftist ideas (at least in theory), they’ve just been misinformed about what those ideas are and their true practicality

This seems to reinforce the idea of centrism being a losing strategy

I used to feel more suicidal. Nowadays I think if I was feeling like I truly wanted to do that, I would want to take an oligarch with me

I think it’s important to note that this will kill a great many small businesses.

Larger companies have a larger supply in giant warehouses. Small businesses order smaller quantities more often. They get fucked sooner with the costs going up. If a customer wants to support that small business they sometimes would have to pay twice what they could get it for from a larger company. This is a deep consolidation of wealth.

The USA first needs a serious left wing party for that to be possible.