Posted on 12/03/2014 3:00:53 PM PST by goldstategop
Republicans are not satisfied with winning 62 percent of the white vote. To counter the demographic growth of Democratic constituencies whose votes threaten Republican success in high-turnout presidential elections, Republicans have begun a concerted effort to rupture the partisan loyalty of the remaining white Democratic voters. Their main target is socially liberal, fiscally conservative suburbanites, the weakest reeds in the Democratic coalition. These middle-income white voters do not share the acute economic needs of so-called downscale Democratic voters and they are less reliant on government services.
The Republican strategy to win over these more culturally tolerant, but still financially pressed, white voters is to continue to focus on material concerns – on anxiety about rising tax burdens, for example — while downplaying the preoccupation of many of the most visible Republicans with social, moral and cultural repression.
The current effectiveness of the anti-tax strategy was demonstrated in the unexpected victory of Larry Hogan, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in deep blue Maryland, who defeated Anthony Brown, the highly favored Democratic lieutenant governor.
“The average Marylander sees a governor and legislature willing to impose record tax increases on the rest of us that we don’t need, don’t want and can’t afford,” Hogan declared at the start of his campaign and repeated relentlessly until Election Day.
Hogan won by decisively carrying all the majority white suburbs surrounding Baltimore city, including Howard County, a former bastion of suburban Democratic strength.
In Colorado, Cory Gardner, the Republican Senate nominee, joined the Republican assault on Obamacare and taxes:
The President’s healthcare law has added countless new taxes to millions of Americans, and economic growth will continue to struggle until we can accomplish real, meaningful tax reform. The future of our economy depends on it.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Republicans are not shedding conservatism so much as putting a more tolerant and relaxed face on their party:
"If Republicans are successful in toning down their candidates, it will take from Democrats a weapon that has proved highly successful in state and federal elections: demonizing Republican Party candidates as a collection of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals."
Which brings us to Hillary Clinton's challenge in reclaiming white voters who have abandoned the Democrats in droves to vote GOP. Its an uphill one:
"Clinton has her work cut out for her, especially if the Republican nominee heeds the advice of party leaders and makes a concerted effort to further erode — by whatever means necessary — white Democratic support."
In other words, without white voters, the Democrats may well go the way of the Whigs. If they can't address the problem, it probably won't matter who they nominate for the White House in 2016.
Both of them?
I expect that number to go up. Even white women will begin to see the con artists for what they are.
It’s all the GOP’s fault!
Insidious!
Trying to overthrow the status quo of parasitic government.
Decades ago the Mainline Protestant Churches (Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, UCC) watered down the Bible in hopes it would attract the liberal, well-to-do suburbanite.
Today the Mainline Protestant Churches are less than 50% of what they were in the 1960’s.
Watering down your principals does not attract anyone.
Well maybe if the Democrats would stop blaming Whites for every problem in this country they might get more of their votes. Wouldn’t be surprised if the GOP were to get 70 percent of the White vote in 2016 because of all the racial strife emanating from the whole Ferguson fiasco alone.
Why is the GOP courting socially liberal Democrats?
LOL. Only "arguably" are white Repubs not rabid racists.
When I was just 19, I was a Union dues paying democRAT. My first vote was Reagan versus Carter. However, I clearly saw the differences between the candidates and the party, and the fact I lived in a one party state which was literally ruined by the democRAT party, there was only one choice for me. It was my last vote as a democRAT too.
Meanwhile, out in Ferguson....
Thanks. Reading the NYT so I don’t have to!
The decline is actually tied to socio economics because the Democrats are losing the Blue and White collar middle class worker bee vote because they are tossing the American middle class under the bus.
It just so happens that white people make up the majority of the middle class working demographic.
Obama has created this white privilege propaganda to try turn the Obama destruction of the American working middle class s into a racial issue and distract from the fact that he is waging a war on American middle class working stiffs of all races with the major impact being on the white middle class because they are the majority, but he is also shafting all middle class Americans regardless of race.
The real issue is that Obama is intentionally growing the idle Welfare and Political Entitlement Taker Class with the intent of pitting the takers against the hard working members productive Maker class and trying to hide this by racial and class warfare politics
They’re courting upscale white voters who are fiscally conservative.
They want those Democrats to begin voting for them.
In a way, the Democrats’ success on abortion and gay marriage has removed two of their most potent social issues.
Spending and taxes come to the fore and that doesn’t play well to the Democrats’ core strength among white voters.
Immigration is the main issue they should use.
Lou Barletta, Pete Wilson and Scott Brown are examples.
The open borders extremism of Paul Ryan and Jack Kemp has been rejected by the moderate white voters.
Bill Clinton circa 1996 was better on immigration than most GOP contenders.
They want those Democrats to begin voting for them.
Fiscally conservative but socially liberal. Is that the only kind of voter the GOP wants now?
Since I'm not socially liberal am I supposed to leave the party of my ancestors and go elsewhere?
Someone should get a bunch of women with IT degrees to testify before congress and complain that the industry is using foreign men as slaves.
The way to win is to hammer home the point that Obama and the Dems seems to care more about everybody, except actual Americans. Especially American workers and taxpayers.
People have had enough—and not just Whites.
Mr. Edsall is cordially invited to go suck eggs!
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