Do they really believe that something as abstruse as antitrust would resonate with voters? Setting aside the merits of it as policy, I find it hard to believe that a lot of voters are really clamoring for Walmart or Facebook to be broken up.

That said, perhaps a segment of their base would be more energized by attacking large corporations. Appealing to an extreme wing, and using that strength to create broad enthusiasm, worked for their opponents. I used to believe that if you were forced to appeal like that, you couldn't possibly get enough votes from the center, but my intuition appears to be in error.

Respectfully, I am not so sure that you are correct with your sentiment. I know a lot of privacy-concerned folks that are center of right who wouldn't mind FB being kneecapped. I view this as significant, as these are people who usually view government interference in business matters akin to messing with religion.

We went through a period where the Democratic Party endorsed the Reagan era Republican theory that consumer prices were the only factor that mattered when considering antitrust action and that it was no longer a goal to protect competition itself.

That period seems to have drawn to a close.