Because the media won’t–and it’s not its job to do so either. Phillip Bump, summarizing some polling data (pdf) gives us this handy, if very loooong, graphic describing how many independents and Republicans don’t seem to know about convicted rapist* and fraudster Donald Trump’s ongoing legal problems.

While much of the discussion about this was how uninformed Republicans are–though I think there’s a lot of ‘motivated poll answering’ occurring–what should worry professional Democrats is how many independents don’t know about his ongoing civil and criminal prosecutions, though it is encouraging, in a way, to see how many people thought he was in trouble for violating the emoluments clause (and, yes, the refusal by professional Democrats to impeach him for emoluments clause violations was political malfeasance).

But professional Democrats need to start reminding independents and even some Democrats of all of this criming–and it can’t be a Schumer/Pelosi style two-day media event dud that then disappears into the ether. They should be constantly referring to him as “convicted** rapist and fraudster Donald Trump” and Republicans as “Republicans, who support convicted** rapist and fraudster Donald Trump.” They have to repeat this day in and day out because Americans are not a subtle people. And many Americans, especially the undecided (either about whom to support or if to show up at all) are aware of national politics in the same way many people who follow national politics are about local politics: they don’t really know very much at all.

Also, they can’t expect the base to drive this, if for no other reason that the legacy media typically ignores the base. But if Democratic officials and apparatchiks start saying this over and over, it will force the media to cover and explain this. They have to do the work here.

*Technically, he was found legally liable by a jury of his peers for actions stemming from a sexual assault, not a rape, in part because it’s not clear if he digitally penetrated his victim or used his penis to do so. Any Republican asshole who wants to have fun parsing that for the voters can spend as much time as they want to.

**To prevent any (successful) countersuit, they might want to used the word confirmed? Dunno, as IANAL.