I hear ya. And I share a lot of your concerns. But I think KB speaks a lot of truth here.

How many people does Trump have, walking door to door, knocking the doors of their neighbors, and asking them to support Trump?

Now think about progressive candidates... how many door-knockers do they have? How many people leading policy roudtables and discussions and debates?

Trump voters are like everyday Catholics: passive, icon-worshipping, do-nothings. Both of these demographics drive to their building of choice, chant their incantations, wearing the proper iconography, performing the proper ablutions and gestures, and yell "AMEN!" at all the right moments... and then leave, go home ... and do NOTHING. They have performed the assigned rights to remain members of the club, but have no intention of living that way at home.

Trumpism is performative.

Progressivism is active.

So when it comes down to it, no armies of dipshits are coming down from the hills to rape and pillage the cities.

When this DID happen - the Proud Boys ran through my part of town one night - they tore down two Pride flags. The sum total of their effect on my neighborhood was they tore down two pieces of multi-colored fabric. (Which were replaced with new - non sun faded ones! - the next day.)

Every time the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, or other dispshit cosplay militia shows up, it's 1/10th of the number of people predicted, most of them clearly basement-dwelling incels with tactical vests stretched over their chicken-tender-distended bellies, and they shout and act like dicks carrying tiki torches ... and leave, having accomplished exactly nothing.

The unfit, unwell, obese, old, and sad fucks that are Trump's base, are incapable of meaningful action.

Meanwhile, AOC and The Squad have all been re-elected in landslides, have inspired hundreds of other women and people of color to run for - and win! - public office, and they fucking DO THE WORK every single day.

Sadly, they are Democrats, so they will eventually wind up either shooting themselves in the foot (see Al Franken), or killing each other's careers over the tiniest perceived deviation from The One Pure And Righteous Path.