I think we can’t stress the story of Caesar enough in our era of demagoguery. A look into Rome at the time paints a picture of Caesar, like a lot of populists we’ve seen since 2015, wasn’t actually wrong about a lot of his complaints. The senate was a corrupt, spoiled, bunch who only cared so much for the Republican because it provided them a ton of power within a very powerful polity; and it was there’s the way a child thinks his parents back yard is theirs.
They believed themselves entitled to enrichment on the backs of plebs and to top that off it was still a very real political idea (and movement) that Rome allowing the peasants both political power bringing them into the legions was a grave mistake that desperately needed undone (similar, but to a much greater extent, than the ultraconservatives who think giving the vote to women and African Americans is a grave mistake.)
So it was easy for Caesar to point at these senators and say all of these things, because they were true. It’s analogous to the way someone like Trump or Bernie Sanders used sound byte rhetoric to play up peoples emotions. The promises they made (whether or not they believe in them is irrelevant) are second to emotions running high.
That Caesar may not have cared about the plebs is irrelevant, indeed it could have all been a personal vendetta dating back to the prescriptions imposed on him and his mother after Sulla took power.
Sorry for this rant, I’ve spent the last few years thinking about this and how to better tell the story in a way that fits nicely with current times and trends. I believe when the story of Caesar is told it usually plays up the tragedy of Brutus or Caesar, both of whom were what were consider tyrants today, when there’s a very real political message that is very important we understand today.