Everywhere I go, I hear it said

I see the word "authoritarian" being thrown around a lot these days. And for good reason, of course, given the daily outrages emanating from the gilded palace of Mudface Caligula.

But it bugs me every time I see that word. To me, it typifies the incompetence of the Democratic Party when it comes to sending messages to the people who really matter.

The people who really matter are marginally educated white people in the swing states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia. To these folks, the word "authoritarian" doesn't ring a bell. Some of them don't even know what it means. You might as well be saying "vegetarian."

The word that the progressives are looking for but can hardly ever seem to find is "dictator."

Pritzker, Blumenthal, Franken, Wyden, for the love of God.  Please. Stop talking like you're in a freshman political science seminar at Yale. Talk to the voters who have made all the difference in getting this country into the deep hole in which it currently finds itself. They're at the diner, in the bar, at the bowling alley.

The word they understand is "dictator." Start using it. A lot.