Alan Stewart Carl reminded me of something: upscale voters vote against their economic interests all the time, but for some reason Democrats don’t seem to get out of whack about that.
Like Alan’s experience in Washington, living in Minneapolis, I see a whole bunch of liberal bumper stickers on ending the war in Iraq, abortion rights, gay rights and the like. These are all social issues and they wear their positions proudly. There is nothing wrong with that. Social issues do have a place in politics. I mean if they weren’t important, as a black man, I would still face legal segregation and as gay man, I would have to live in the closet. What I think is wrong here is that there is a bit of double standard going on. Why is someone who supports gun rights seen as deluded, but someone who wants to ban handguns seens as a hero by the same party?
The fact is, working class whites are not a simple or simplistic group. Instead of treating them as subjects to be studied, the Democrats really need to try to understand them and listen to them. More importantly they need to be empathetic to their lives. The reason the GOP has been able to woo this group is because , for better or worse, they can speak in that empathic language that connects with them.
I remember listening to a radio story on Minnesota Public Radio chatting with former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro about her 1984 campaign. She was meeting with a group of factory workers and trying to figure out why these workers were voting against their interests for Reagan. The answer was that “he makes us feel good.”
Ferraro didn’t understand that. Reagan was able to appeal to people’s emotions. He could talk about America’s greatness and link to this group’s belief in patriotism. That allowed him to have a opening with the working class.
The Democrats have never really understood that the working class are not simplistic robots, but complex beings. I should say, most Democrats because there was one who did get it and he was able to carry that to the White House, twice.
We laugh now when we think back to 1992 and Bill Clinton saying that he “felt their pain.” But the fact is, it worked. He identified with the working class, he didn’t try to talk down to them. He was able to connect his humble beginnings with autoworkers and steelworkers. He was able win several states that had been in the Republican camp.
Dan Schnur says is best:
rather than diminish these cultural beliefs as a byproduct of economic discomfort, a more experienced and open-minded candidate would recognize and respect the foundations on which these values are based.
There are some other good articles on the “bitter” gaffe. These include, Michael Lind and David Paul Kuhn.