And while ignoring cities, we’ve allowed progressives to develop vote farms and a talent base. Think about public pensions. Back in the 90's, local Democrats bought votes with lucrative pension packages. Those packages weren’t sustainable. We knew it. They knew it. But they promised. And they won. Few cared when the rate of investment return was high. But the rate of return collapsed, and I urban pension debt is a weight around cities necks. Now the new Dem local leaders are buying union voter loyalty by promising to keep those systems. Local Republicans look like Scrooges for stating the obvious, cities can’t tax citizens enough to cover the past debt and current services. But Dems can turn local voter turnout.