> No one would care about DEI if it hadn't been made a major talking point by right wing propagandists.

That's a circular argument (post hoc ergo propter hoc/begging the question). It also sounds backwards.

This is how your argument sounds to me:

1. DEI is made into a major talking point by right wing propagandists

2. How do you tell if someone is a right wing propagandist? They make DEI a major talking point.

This is backwards! Politicians adjust their messaging for the most votes[1].

TBH, this whole talking-point mess was not completely made up. The politicians aren't creating talking points and then trying to convert people, they are adjusting their talking points to what matters to the voters.

If DEI didn't matter, and we weren't constantly under a barrage of "If you disagree you're a nazi", the Trump campaign would have found something else to make one of the major talking points.

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[1] Well, the Trump does, anyway. The major difference I, as an outsider, saw between the two parties in the most recent presidential election was in the adjustment and delivery of messaging.

The Left's message was "This is what we stand for. You need to fall in line in order for us to win".

Trumps message was "This matters to you? Okay, then it matters to me too".

It's not hard to see that one of those are backwards.

My arguments is not what you're making it up to be, at all. It's:

1. DEI is made into a major talking point by right wing propagandists.

2. DEI suddenly becomes a core issues for right wing voters.

Conservative politicians didn't adjust their messaging to address what matters to the voters, they made up an issue to galvanize hate against minorities and turn it into political goodwill. It's like the Jews under nazi Germany (but far, far less extreme). DEI/Jews aren't actually making that much of a difference in society, they're just a convenient scapegoat to point to and command hate from the masses.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&ge...

As for your note: yes, the democrats are severly lacking in the populism area. But don't mistake Trump's populism for any actual interest in voters' issues. After all, only a fool would think MAGA stands for equality and against discrimination.