The Demise of the White Democratic Voter

New York Times ^ | 11/11/2014 | Thomas B. Edsall

[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.

[rbg81]

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.

---

It does seem that Obama’s new best friends are Al Sharpton, Eric Holder, and Luis Gutierrez. In short, he is basically telegraphing to everyone else that he has given up on them.

[originalbuckeye]

‘he is basically telling everyone else he has given up on them’

Naaaah. He is telling everyone else he DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THEM OR THEIR NEEDS. He panders to the fringe to get their votes. He allowed millions more illegals in to get their votes. It is painfully obvious he doesn’t care about AMERICANS.

[ek_hornbeck]

The Democratic Party wrote off the white working class a long time ago, mainly because "the working class" is no longer the main focus of the radical Left's activities. The white working class is too patriotic, too socially conservative, too independent, and too individualistic to fit with the New Left's agenda. The trouble is, alienating the white working and middle classes doesn't give Democrats enough votes to win nationally. Their solution? Make the white middle and working class a minority, and replace them with a majority population of Third World immigrants who can be relied on to vote for special assistance programs and handouts.

Too many Republicans are too stupid to see that THIS is what's behind amnesty and "immigration reform," and are all too happy to cut their own throats by jumping on that bandwagon.

[Spirochete]

Why is the GOP courting socially liberal Democrats?

Because the GOP elites are liberals. This is a strategy to overwhelm the Tea faction of the GOP.

[dandiegirl]

Whites are watching Holder, the CBC and Obama taking sides despite the facts. It’s no wonder they are abandoning the libs. Whites are sick to death of all this racial crap because whites know that when a black kills a white, they never call it a race crime which is total bs. Who do they thing they are fooling?

[BobL]

It’s not ONLY the White voters that are giving the finger to the Democrats, it’s also the (legal) Hispanics, at least in the South, where Republicans averaged 45% of the HISPANIC vote. (full disclosure: Hispanics in California and the Northeast are still polarized and are still voting Democrat by large numbers, though)

The Dems could have gotten away with losing a lot of the White vote, but ONLY if they could have used other minorities, primarily Hispanic, to offset that loss - but they are getting NEXT TO NOTHING out of the Hispanics (i.e., 55% of the Hispanic votes negates 90% of their clout as a block vote). Apparently there is only so much of Obamacare, Gay Marriage, and Gun Control that Hispanics can stomach.

And so now Democrats are left with a still-solid block of black votes, although their abortion polices have prevented that block from growing much (at 13%, maybe will be 14% in 10 years), and a bunch of white rejects. That simply is NOT ENOUGH to keep winning.

As the Whites leave the party in DROVES, a lot more states open up as competitive, particularly in the Midwest, but also a few others, and the entire electoral maps starts looking much more friendly towards Republican presidential candidates.

[CatOwner]

Among the white Democrats there are still the LGBTs, women, union workers, most jews, and men who think they know better than the rest of the country (think professors, teachers, media personnel, etc.). There will be a limit to what the GOP can pilfer from the Democrats.

[bog trotter]

For sure!
I have a born-raised-Chicago Democrat friend who says she’s voting for Jeb Bush next time.
It’s a step in the right direction.

[dowcaet]

I’m non-White myself but I’ve always had good relationships with people of all races. When I was going through high school and college all of the teachers and instructors who helped guide and encouraged me to be the best were all White. Have I been the victim of racism. Yes, I have, but you know what I looked at that person as an ignoramus and moved on. This country has done so much to cleanse itself of its racist past. Ironically, most of it was committed by the political party that today is fanning the seeds of racial discord and dividing people based on color. Hmm. I guess things never change with the Democratic Party, do they?

[dandiegirl]

I think there are many successful people like you who don’t look at the color of one’s skin, but who they are as a person. I wish more “people of color” as they like to say, that are in leadership positions would have this attitude. Sharpton, Obama, Holder etc. look at skin color first and foremost in everything instead of looking at people as people. Ben Carson said it best when he (as a brain surgeon) said that all brains basically look the same. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. It makes people angry when our so called leaders don’t do this and try to paint white people as if were still in the 1950’s and 60’s.

[winner3000]

(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)

Those sneaky Republicans go and talk about voters’ concerns! Imagine that! They should talk of other stuff like the War on Women, or Climate Change, you know, things that nobody gives a sht about!

[trebb]

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.

I wonder how he feels about the Dims not being satisfied with 90% or more of the Black/minority vote...