Democrats Drop the Lunch Pail (Elitist Snots of the World, Unite! Democrats, Oh So Brainy!)

The Washington Post ^ | October 14, 2003 | E.J. Dionne Jr.

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Democrats, Oh So Brainy

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne has identified one of the major problems faced by the Democratic Party. It's losing appeal to working class voters who used to be the bedrock of its support.

Democrats increasingly are becoming a party dominated by high-income, professional elites. Former Vice President Spiro Agnew, it turns out, was merely a man ahead of his time when he labeled liberals who ran the Democratic Party as "effete, impudent snobs."

Minus the pejorative overtones, that's how many Democrats increasingly view themselves: as the party of the educated, enlightened and superior.

In California's recall election last week, Arnold Schwarzenegger won a plurality of voters earning under $15,000 a year and those with a high school education or less. He broke even among union members. He did less well with people with postgraduate degrees, who voted heavily in favor of keeping Gov. Gray Davis in office.

One self-professed "intelligent" voter, Sydney Webster, spoke for many liberal Bay Area Democrats when she told the San Francisco Chronicle that her neighborhood went solidly against the recall because people there were "smarter." "I think we're more up on the issues," she added.

So it was "smart" to be in favor of a failed status quo Sacramento? Not exactly. Many voters in this class happen to work, directly or indirectly, for state government. They feared being on the receiving end of budget cuts promised by candidate Schwarzenegger.

Many of the so-called educated voters are teachers, nurses, social workers, lawyers, doctors, professors and bureaucrats who depend on a growing state government. They genuinely look down on the Terminator and his supporters, but also feel threatened by his no-taxes approach to balancing the state budget.

Mr. Dionne credits Republicans for having "shown great skill at playing the class card" against "liberal elitists." He further frets that the GOP may be about to be presented a juicy opportunity at the national level: Howard Dean, the Democratic front-runner for the presidential nomination, is the darling of the kind of upscale, social liberals who were outvoted in last week's recall election in California.

Last week, the broad middle class voted heavily against Democrats and in favor of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fear of an elitist Dean candidacy is one reason many Democratic donors have gravitated to the candidacy of General Wesley Clark, who polls much better among lower-income voters and those who've served in the military.

But Democrats outsmart themselves and underestimate the IQs of the voters they're trying to woo if they think switching from a Birkenstock-wearing Vermonter to a former wearer of army boots will fix their problem. Issues matter.

Issues certainly mattered in California, where middle-class voters saw themselves bearing the brunt of the state's mismanagement and looked for a firm hand to whip government back into shape. That's why they propelled Mr. Schwarzenegger, a multi-millionaire, to a landslide victory over Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, a man of modest means and the son of a butcher.

-- John Fund

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[Cicero]

Actually, it's common knowledge that a large number of working stiffs voted for Ronald Reagan. So this isn't entirely new.

This time around they may have voted for Arnold, but I think it was mainly because he was the chief alternative to Gray Davis. If, as I fear, Arnold actively supports such causes as gay marriage and abortion, he will turn these people off and lose this vote. They are not Libertarians, they are social conservatives, folks who stand for decency and lending a helping hand--ideas that the Democrats have virtually abandoned.

[randog]

Why don't the dems just come out of the closet and admit that they represent people, rich and poor, that subsist in whole or part on government handouts?

[GladesGuru]

"Still, the Republicans who regularly condemn "class warfare" have shown great skill at playing the class card. They have condemned "liberal elitists" on cultural and moral issues to make deep inroads into once-Democratic constituencies."

Mercy, Dear Sir! My shoes are so low, and your BS is so deep.

What has happened is simply that the public in general has looked at the poison fruit of the Tree of Liberalism and decided they can't and/or won't pay for it any longer.

It might be nice to assume the Pubbies are clever at such things as your article claims; alas, they are not. If they were, the nasty socialist premises of the Democratic Party would have made a part of public awareness long ago.

[NewRomeTacitus]

It's always a tragedy when the average working Joe has to pick from the lesser of two evils. While Jesse Ventura arrived with great fanfare he soon found himself in stasus as the weasels of both parties agreed to stymie his leadership together. California is a different animal but I believe the same tactics will be applied to Schwarzenegger as soon as the pixie dust fades.

[HHFi]

The problem with today's liberal Democrats is that they have such a high opinion of their own intellectual superiority, coupled with such a complete lack of common sense and perspective. This is exacerbated by their insularity (to use some four-dollar words they probably would assume I don't know). They preach the virtues of "diversity," while refusing to listen to or associate with anyone who doesn't think exactly like them. They call conservatives "intolerant," even if they've never actually met one, because they and all their friends agree that conservatives are, by nature, sexist-racist-Nazi-homophobes who want to poison the air, take away Granny's liver medicine and give tax breaks to Scrooge McDuck.

Where I come from (Texas), we differentiate between various types of intelligence. There are people who have plenty of what we call "book-learnin'," but are absolutely clueless when it comes to anything remotely useful. For instance, they can quote lofty praise of the U.N. by philosophers and politicians all day long, while never even noticing that the U.N. screws up almost everything it touches.

The Democratic Party is fast on its way to becoming the party of Frasier and Niles Crane: arrogant, prissy, over-educated fops who look down on the entire world but fall to pieces if a spider enters their room or their car breaks down. Definitely not the sort you'd want to put in charge of anything important, like national security or your bathroom plumbing. And the rest of us are becoming like their dad, Marty, rolling our eyes in disbelief at the new levels of uselessness they manage to attain with each passing week.

[Centurion2000]

Steadily, the Democratic Party is becoming the party of the educated upper middle class.

Steadily, the Democratic Party is becoming the party of the BADLY educated upper middle class.

Sorry ... had to correct that.

[lainde]

ping and thanks!

[Southack]

If Democrats are all so "educated, enlightened, and superior"...then why haven't they had any new ideas in the last 30 years?!

[okie01]

"If Democrats are all so "educated, enlightened, and superior"...then why haven't they had any new ideas in the last 30 years?!"

Because, they would say, we've already had all the ideas worth having.

[wizardoz]

arrogant, prissy, over-educated fops who look down on the entire world but fall to pieces if a spider enters their room or their car breaks down

Boy, does that sum it up. We should make that an acronym. We'll call 'em Apoefwldotewbftpiasetrotcbds.

Hm. Wonder if we can shorten that a bit.

Apoefwldotewbftpiasetrotcbds

Apoefwl dote wbft piase trot cbds

A poef wil dote wbft piase trot c bds.

A poof wil dote whft piase trot c bds.

A poofter will dote when piece of trots beds.

I think I'm onto something.

[GOPJ]

No, the democrat party is not becoming the party of the educated. The "educated" couldn't elect a dog catcher at a national level.

Democrats are the Banana Republic party -- a small group of privileged wealthy elite's and a large criminal/dependent class supporting their political escapades. If you're not an elitist democrat, you're a democrat feeding on taxpayer money. The dependent class includes teachers, civil servants, social workers, nonprofit groups that receive grants etc..

But here's the secret of the Democratic primaries: They are no longer dominated by millworkers and milkmen. Steadily, the Democratic Party is becoming the party of the educated upper middle class.

[NewRomeTacitus]

Whoa! Don't be shy, tell us how you truly feel.
I didn't realize that "Frasier" was so funny because the actors have been depicting the elitist end of the Democrat Party (if it's an ass where is it's end?)

And it's high time we stop rolling our eyes like Martin at "indiscretions" and challenge these elitists wherever they pop up from their guarded sanctuaries to criticize the working people. Some conservatives have to work for their livings. Those that DON'T are the ones who are suspect.

[MattAMiller]

Steadily, the Democratic Party is becoming the party of the BADLY educated upper middle class.

Yep. Somebody needs to tell these people that a degree in Social Sciences doesn't necessarily mean much.

[freedumb2003]

over Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, a man of modest means great ego and the a racist and elitist son of a butcher b!tch.

[DeFault User]

Quote from the article: Edwards make such a big deal about his background as the son of a millworker...

Humble beginnings, my a$$. His father was the manager of the mill.

Gephardt brags about his father's union roots to anyone who will listen. His father hated the unions.

Dean routinely proclaims, "I didn't say that." to any previous quote that doesn't fit his currendt agenda.

John Kerry claims he voted for the war only as a negotiating position (not real armed conflict).

What the Democrats have is a party of liars.

[William Terrell]

So. Get rid of the middle calss. We're seeing efforts to do that now.

[HHFi]

There actually was an episode of "Frasier" where Marty was backing a conservative, law-and-order Congressional candidate, and his sons were so horrified, Frasier offered to film a TV commercial endorsing the superior, sensitive, enlightened, intelligent liberal candidate. Just before the cameras started rolling, Frasier's candidate confided to him that he knew what it was like to feel powerless and oppressed because the space aliens kept abducting him against his will. I think it ended with him losing in a landslide, although that was obviously poetic license. In Washington state, any liberal, no matter how big a nutjob, would probably win.

This is one reason I wasn't too surprised to discover that Kelsey Grammer was one of the few admitted Republicans in Hollywood.

[Snuffington]

While Jesse Ventura arrived with great fanfare he soon found himself in stasus as the weasels of both parties agreed to stymie his leadership together.

Easy to say from Tennessee, bub. Those of us who lived here experienced Jesse filling his appointments with well known Democrats (including a Mondale for gosh sake) and fighting against tax cuts. He also stayed totally silent while the GOP pushed hard for a "must-issue" concealed carry law - something he had claimed he wanted while campaigning. But he had no trouble speaking out strongly against a bill to have public schools recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

In short, Jesse was a Democrat who pretended to be some kind of third-party maverick. But for the "third party" thing (Which was a joke - his "party" couldn't get Jesse to campaign for its candidates, or fund raisers. If it wasn't all for Jesse, he wasn't too interested in that party.), Jesse was Howard Dean with a feather boa and a steroid problem.