How Democrats lost the working class

[David Horn]

(08-26-2017, 12:50 AM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(08-25-2017, 09:59 AM)David Horn Wrote: I agree with your comments, so I'll just respond to one small point.

(08-23-2017, 05:40 PM)Mikebert Wrote: ... Democratic elites solved this problem last 4T.  They had a more advantageous starting position since the Republicans of that time did not object to tax increases. But they had the disadvantage of not knowing what to do. I believe Democrats can still do a New Deal type policy if faced with the situation (described above) that makes it politically possible.  This is because FDR is still a Democratic hero, despite the fact that he was head of a racist party.  But I fear the social justice warriors, who may soon make this impossible by making FDR the equivalent of Robert Lee.

This is my greatest concern.  The economic elite are fully invested in neoliberalism, and the cultural elite in social justice.  The two are not completely compatible but they aren't antagonistic either, so the economic elites, caring solely about economic matters, have accepted the social justice model.  Trump has pulled that scab off the body politic, and set the SJW types in direct opposition to the white nationalists.  Note how little this impacts the economic model.

Maybe among the elites this is true, but among the voters who actually determine elections, it's not fully true. Racism and neo-liberalism are closely connected in the minds of less-educated white male voters and others who share their mindset, because their main motivation for voting Republican is their resentment against their taxes going for welfare and social programs to help "those lazy people" who are generally considered to be non-white. This sentiment is expressed by virtually every libertarian conservative or Christian/social conservative out there, including those on this site. This sentiment neatly combines neo-liberal trickle-down theory ("government is the problem") with the racist dog whistle and has elected our government today and for the last 50 years.

The excesses of a few leftist social justice warriors who think racism is behind everything that has been done, or something like that, are naturally resented and over-played by the conservatives. So antifa breaks a few windows to stop a racist speaker at Cal, or some angry SJWs tear down a confederate statue. Not a smart tactic, although I sympathize. It is a concern, since the over-play works and gains support for the conservative reactionaries and Nazis, but it doesn't reflect the actual left, because it is merely a convenient scapegoating tactic.

WHOA!  I've been reading many Op-Ed pieces in my local paper from conservatives or Trumpists that purport to tell liberals what we think, and what conservatives believe by progressives.  My experience is quite different.  Typically, both sides have blinders on that make objectivity impossible, but they have the effect of enraging the side being picture-framed.  The net result is more polarization and an easier case for "fake news".  In short, it's stupid.

Right now, we have no real leaders on either side.  We'll know we have them when the conversation changes to  policy.  For example, Nick Hanauer makes one of the best cases for changing the economy I've seen, because he's a billionaire that understands that fairness benefits him too.  We need more voices like his.