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To Beat Trump, Democrats May Need to Break Out of the ‘Whole Foods’ Bubble
New York Times ^ | February 27, 2020 | David Wasserman

Posted on 02/28/2020 7:59:54 AM PST by karpov

It’s no secret that Democratic primary voters prize fall “electability.” But for all the clamor about progressive versus moderate choices, the obstacles to pulling voters toward Democrats -- particularly in the battleground states -- could prove more cultural than ideological.

Last summer, Senator Elizabeth Warren electrified huge crowds at rallies in Seattle, Austin and New York. The events had one thing in common besides her populist pitch for “big structural change.” At each stop, her trademark selfie lines were less than a mile from a Whole Foods Market, a Lululemon Athletica and an Urban Outfitters.

These high-end retailers and brands, popular with urban millennials and affluent suburbanites alike, are increasingly correlated with which neighborhoods are trending blue. The drawback for Democrats? Just 34 percent of U.S. voters — and only 29 percent of battleground state voters — live within five miles of at least one such upmarket retailer, and the Democrats’ brand is stagnant or in decline everywhere else.

Once dominant in labor halls, Democrats are more ascendant than ever near galleria malls. But the reality for Democrats is if they aren’t able to stop their slide in less elite locales, President Trump’s advantage in the Electoral College could further widen relative to the popular vote.

In fairness, Ms. Warren and the other top 2020 contenders are spending more of their time and energy seeking to woo voters in less cosmopolitan settings. They have no choice: Sixty-nine percent of U.S. voters live closer to a Cracker Barrel, Tractor Supply Company, Hobby Lobby or Bass Pro Shops location than to one of those high-end brands.

But it wasn’t always this hard for Democrats. In the 1990s, millions of less religious middle-class heartland voters opted for Democrats, in part because they viewed Republicans as the party of rich people

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: democrats
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1 posted on 02/28/2020 7:59:54 AM PST by karpov
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To: karpov

Wasserman does a very good job of accurately predicting election outcomes. I recommend his analysis for unbiased predictions. He’s more like a Las Vegas bookie than a TV pundit when it comes to his eye on voters and votes.


2 posted on 02/28/2020 8:03:05 AM PST by babble-on
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To: karpov

Yep, there just aren’t enough Urban outfitters, Whole Foods, Lululemon shoppers out there to support the Democrat party lurch to the left.

Gee, what’s a political party to do, to try to expand beyond some yuppie base of support?


3 posted on 02/28/2020 8:04:02 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: karpov

It’s crazy to see the Republicans as the party of the rich people today.

Republicans are working people. We get stuff done. We may sometimes own a business but even if we are not the owner, we make businesses run.

Democrats are rich Liberal elitists. Lawyers, Actors, Non-Profit Profiteers, Community Activists — these people add no value and they do not understand the struggles of normal people. They are all in a bubble, and they shop at Whole Foods. And they call normal people “deplorable”.


4 posted on 02/28/2020 8:05:07 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
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To: karpov

More like Whole Paycheck.


5 posted on 02/28/2020 8:07:27 AM PST by proust (Justice delayed is injustice.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Yep Hillary summed it up well, calling us racist sexist homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic.

I think that Hillarys statement may well have been a turning point in the campaign. Her comment was deeply offensive to tens of millions of Americans. The media didn’t make a big deal out if it, because they agreed with Hillary. But millions of people took it all in, and took the liberals sentiment into account when voting for Trump.


6 posted on 02/28/2020 8:10:36 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: ClearCase_guy

I mostly agree with you, but someone who acts in a movie or TV show that people enjoy is creating value.


7 posted on 02/28/2020 8:11:27 AM PST by karpov
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To: karpov

But if people stop being liberals and start being Americans — they won’t want to defeat this President.


8 posted on 02/28/2020 8:12:40 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: karpov
People who don't live near the “Whole Food” types don't know how lucky they are. They are truly awful people.
9 posted on 02/28/2020 8:18:21 AM PST by outpostinmass2
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To: All

wjlanews.com/Lululemon murder

Lululemon murder: Apple Store employees listen to slaying; do nothing
by Brad Bell, Tuesday, February 14th 2012

Surveillance video -—linked——shows Apple Store employees listening to talking and screaming next door at Lululemon.

All told, it’s an unremarkable snippet of video. On the night that Brittany Norwood murdered fellow Lululemon employee Jayna Murray in Bethesda last March 11, two Apple Store employees are seen standing next to a wall, then walk away.

However, when you factor in that the wall the employees were standing next to was shared with the Lululemon next door and that they were most likely listening to the murder in progress, the video gains a ton of context.

Ever since that night, the employees have come under fire for not calling Montgomery County Police.

“I think it’s really unforgivable that someone didn’t pick up the phone and call,” Bethesda resident Neil Smith says.

The woman in the Apple Store video, which was first shown on ABC7 News on Monday, is Jana Svrzo. At Norwood’s trial, she testified that she heard women arguing next door. One yelled, “Talk to me. Don’t do this. Talk to me. What’s going on?”

Those words were followed by screams, yelps, yells and, eventually, a voice fading, saying “God help me...please help me.”

The other person in the video is Ricardo Rios, the manager of the Apple Store. He testified that he thought the noise was “just drama.” Another employee, an Apple security guard, ignored it all as he listened to music on an iPod.

These explanations are no comfort for Murray’s family and local residents, for whom the murder is still fresh in their minds. The family says they still haven’t gotten anything from the Apple corporation, not even a sympathy card.

“I still can’t understand why they didn’t do anything,” Hugh Murray, Jayna’s brother, said after Norwood was sentenced to life without parole. During that sentencing, Judge Robert Greenberg harshly criticized the Apple workers for what he called their “callous indifference.”

Though the workers did help detectives unravel Norwood’s original claim that two robbers and rapists injured her and killed Murray, the belief lingers that more could have been done.

“I think Steve Jobs would be upset about that,” Bethesda resident Jarrett Thompson says.


10 posted on 02/28/2020 8:22:14 AM PST by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
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To: karpov

They have to keep coming up with more lies, distortions and fake collusion stories and some October surprises.


11 posted on 02/28/2020 8:22:59 AM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: karpov

Well, George H.W. Bush was the ultimate ‘Republican in Name Only’ and had almost no connection to working class voters; he only won because Dukakis was so lame. OTOH Clinton in ‘92 and ‘96 was one of the best campaigners in our history. GHWB and Dole had very little to offer the working stiff; war heroes, sure, but nothing for the blue collar man from the Washington insiders we ran in the 90’s


12 posted on 02/28/2020 8:28:02 AM PST by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca. Deport all illegals. Abolish the DEA, IRS and ATF,.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Well, as if GWB wasn’t a rich, liberal elitist. The Bushes ruined the party.


13 posted on 02/28/2020 8:29:22 AM PST by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca. Deport all illegals. Abolish the DEA, IRS and ATF,.)
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To: RedStateRocker

He also won because it was assume he was a continuation of Reagan. He then went and demonstrated to his detriment that wasn’t true.


14 posted on 02/28/2020 8:32:39 AM PST by Reily
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To: karpov

About 15 to 20 years ago or so a new Whole Paycheck grocery opened... we went to see.
$8.00 pound........
not for steaks.
for carrots.

we never went back


15 posted on 02/28/2020 8:36:30 AM PST by faithhopecharity ( “Politicians are not born; they are excreted.” Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE).)
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To: outpostinmass2

People who don’t live near the “Whole Food” types don’t know how lucky they are. They are truly awful people.


Bingo. Went on a couple of dates with a woman who was just dying to show me her local Wholefoods. I’d never been to one.

Walking around the place and seeing the patrons gave me the willies. When I saw how happy she was in that environment, I knew it was our last date.

And it was.


16 posted on 02/28/2020 8:36:51 AM PST by ConservativeWarrior (Fall down 7 times, stand up 8. - Japanese proverb)
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To: ConservativeWarrior

Interesting observation. Designed for a certain personality type, my guess. The same type of people I used to like to find while making cold door to door sales. The more the price is the happier they are to pay.


17 posted on 02/28/2020 8:41:18 AM PST by mad_as_he$$
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To: karpov

I went to a Whole Paycheck once. If you want to spend a fortune for bean sprouts, kale, organic arugala and herbal tea, its just the place for you. If you’re looking for meat, pasta, soft drinks, chips, etc at a reasonable price, you won’t be interested.

I never returned.


18 posted on 02/28/2020 8:45:10 AM PST by FLT-bird
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To: mad_as_he$$

The Yuengling sales principle!

The story goes that Yuengling increased their market share by significantly upping its price to that of a snob beer.
At that price people decided it “had to be good” so its sales hot up.

Truth is, it was good before!


19 posted on 02/28/2020 8:47:04 AM PST by Reily
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To: karpov

That can’t. The other part of America isn’t communist. The other part of America is enraged at the idea of a little brainwashed 9 year old tranny picking her secretary of education. The other part of America is disgusted when she laughs at some man asking if he will be reimbursed for paying for his kids college, or if he was just a chump and should have made them take out loans to be forgiven. And she says “of course you won’t be paid back”.
Another man asked if his mortgage would be paid maybe, because he went in the military to fund his education. Again, she laughed him off.

She has nothing but contempt for people who don’t shop at Whole Foods or live in a socialist hell hole.


20 posted on 02/28/2020 8:55:32 AM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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