How to lose an election.
Trump is personally disliked by 56-60% of Americans, yet he has a clear path to re-election.
Why?
Because a majority of voters dislike or fear Democrats even more than they dislike Trump.
That can be fixed.
Democrats are communicating that they disrespect white people and men. "Don't white-splain." "Don't man-splain."
White people and men hear that message of illegitimacy, and vote accordingly.
White people and men hear that message of illegitimacy, and vote accordingly.
There are problems and grievances in America. In the winner-take-all market-empowering economy that developed over the past forty years, the rich have gotten richer. The rising tide of wealth let some people keep up: the professional classes. They have migrated politically to the Democrats. This blog has summarized the Democratic position on how young people can enter the middle class: go to graduate school and get a professional degree. The Democratic response to a closed steel factory or lumber mill is to tell workers to become a nurse or mechanical engineer. Then you will be fine.
It works for some people, but not others. There is an un-subtle message for people who find this route impossible: they are too stupid to learn or they aren't trying hard enough. "It's your fault" is an unwelcome message.
Republicans have a more palatable message: you are a victim of someone else. Under Reagan the villain was the Welfare Queen, with multiple IDs and Social Security cards, getting $150,000 a year scamming benefits. The working poor were being robbed by people who--wouldn't you know--just happened to be black.
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| Declining, but still 73% |
The Bush presidents softened the focus, being kinder and gentler, but Donald Trump returned to its southern strategy roots with clear message: the problem is with foreigners from criminal Latin America. And dishonest trading rivals like China. And cheapskate globalist sissy NATO allies. Those outsiders are the ones stealing your money, jobs, and security. Trump wasn't anti-immigrant, per se, he said. People from Norway would be OK, but we had too many of the wrong people invading America, people who, wouldn't you know, just happened to be dark skinned and from shit hole countries.
Trump won a overwhelming majority of votes from white people and men in 2016. White people are 73% of American voters. Men are 50%. Trump overcame every self-inflicted political obstacle, including the Access Hollywood tape, and still won.
Democrats have adjusted, but are doing so by making their own situation worse, not better. Trump revulsion has pushed the Democratic message to being even more hostile to white people and to men.
Democrats are talking about "reparations," which is a race conscious transfer of resources away from whites, paid for by whites. The white working class--the people Kamala Harris notes are living paycheck to paycheck and who did not have $500 available for an emergency--do not feel privileged, and certainly not flush enough to pay other people, even if they maybe deserve it. It is political disaster.
Democrats are correct to recognize that health care access insecurity is a powerful issue, but openly saying that they would offer free health care to people here in America illegally, when they themselves are struggling to afford it, sets Democrats up for the meme that Trump and Fox are already using: that Democrats put foreigners ahead of our own people. More political disaster.
The Franken defenestration and the Kavanaugh hearings sent a clear message that men do not deserve due process or benefit of doubt. Franken and Kavanaugh may well have misbehaved, but they also appear to many to have been set upon and pre judged and MeToo accusers are too quick, too judgmental, too certain. Kirsten Gillibrand faces a political headwind on that issue, even within the Democratic Party. Yet more political disaster.
Within Facebook progressive group chatter, there are two convenient put-downs that de-legitimize heretical opinion, when expressed someone presumed to be white or male, "man-splain" and "white-splain." It is the identity-conscious version of "Shut-up."
A third of Latinos voted for Trump, notwithstanding his Latino-bashing. A majority of white women voted for Trump, notwithstanding their having heard Trump brag he just grabbed women's pussies. White people feel anxious about their own problems paying for health care. There is a message here, if Democrats will listen.
Financially insecure men and white people--and there are a great many of them--would rather vote for Trump than be told to shut-up.
6 comments:
"It's your fault" is an unwelcome message..
You have hit on a fundamental Regressive hypocrisy. "Personal responsibility" is the supposed cornerstone of their value system, yet we see a significant percentage embracing victimhood, with the rest conveniently ignoring the duplicity.
I'm not happy to have to be continually pointing this out, but there's only one reason these folks wouldn't welcome the help being offered by Progressive policies.
...""just happened to be black." Indeed.
It was interesting to watch a Republican pundit comment on Trump's Baltimore tweet saying "Republicans being called racist has lost its punch". He didn't rebuke of deny. They are now self describing.
Reading thru a few of your recent posts, from your report of the Mayor Pete fundraiser:
" I guess/presume that many members of the group identify as male and homosexual. "
In years past, you would have said "I guess/presume that many members of the group are gay men."
This 'identity' stuff is alienating to many regular Americans. Definitely falls into the category of PC BS.
Charlotte Clymer, a transwoman darling of the left, PR face of the Human Rights Campaign, has gotten a Lyft driver fired and a restaurant rebuked for failing to pretend Clymer is a woman. This makes working class people nervous, the coastal leftie Dems creating another pitfall that can get them fired from their jobs.
Trump won because Russia. That is an increasingly obvious fact.
Thomas Frank covered the failure of the "meritocracy" in 2016 in "Listen Liberal."
The Democratic Party continues to fail to acknowledge the many ways they alienate
what was formally their working class base while putting all their eggs in the basket of identity politics. The reason is simple: class. Given the choice, democratic elites
would rather lose elections than have their wealth and status threatened.
They disparage the "extreme Left" in their party while refusing to acknowledge their own Right wing which they intentionally mislabel as "centrist." Last time I checked a Left can only be understood in contrast with a Right.
Andy Seles
IDppol Dems continue to kill off voters and potential allies, victims of PC police. Examples:
1. White woman walks into a local bank, sees Hawaiian tiki decorations, demands to speak to the Manager. Manager explains: oh, those are for Mary, who is Hawaiian and is moving back to Hawaii. She likes them. Woman continues to claim to be offended that the bank is 'appropriating' Native Hawaiian culture.
2. Friend is expelled from 'Ashland Peeps' FB page. Their crime? Disagreeing with moderators' firm belief that only East Indians can use the term 'yogi' and only Native Americans can use the term 'shaman.' No free speech is allowed in Ashland, the PC police will excommunicate you if you dare to disagree.
3. Friend offers Diversity and Inclusion Workshop on white, heterosexual, male privilege.
I get that that there are advantages to being part of the dominant culture, and that one should be aware of those advantages and the struggles that result from not being in the 'inside' group. But when white people shame other white people for being white, having opinions, or using the 'wrong' words, a circular firing squad results in intolerance being practiced in the name of tolerance and inclusion. I can't be ashamed that I was born white. That can't be what inclusion is about ...
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-democrats-are-shorting-white-voters-for-2020/
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