Posted on 10/12/2021 6:43:13 AM PDT by Red Badger
In total, about 40% of voters live in these "factory towns," where, the report concludes, Democrats lost "major ground" that couldn't be recouped by the party's 2 to 1 gains in cities and surrounding suburbs.
Anew report concludes that Democrats lost more than 2 million votes this past decade in America's "factory towns."
The analysis, published by 21st Century Democrats, looked at 853 counties in 10 states — Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri — with small towns, removed from urban centers, built around manufacturing.
In total, about 40% of voters live in these "factory towns," where, the report concludes, Democrats lost "major ground" that couldn't be recouped by the party's 2 to 1 gains in cities and surrounding suburbs.
"This report shines a light on a huge political problem for Democrats, who have misjudged and failed to understand the needs of millions of voters," said John Pouland, spokesperson for 21st Century Democrats. "To win we must reflect on why we are failing to connect with huge parts of the country and how progressive policies can meet these families where they are to significantly improve their livelihoods."
The Center Square first reported on the political shift happening among Pennsylvania's once deep blue voting blocs — construction trade unions chief among them — in June 2020.
At the time, union officials said the Democratic Party's progressive energy policies risked alienating their members, whose livelihoods remain tied to fossil fuel production.
Donald Trump flipped the once reliably blue Keystone state in 2016 by 44,292 votes. In the three counties that pivoted Republican — Erie, Luzerne and Northampton — state data show residents work primarily in blue collar industries supported by coal and natural gas development.
Trump narrowly lost Erie and Northampton counties in 2020, and his 20 point lead in Luzerne shrank to just a 14 point spread. But, between 2012 and 2020, Republicans' 428,000 vote gain among rural communities and small and mid-size factory towns outpaced Democrats' 199,000 vote advantage in cities and suburbs, the report found.
The analysis also finds correlation between manufacturing job losses and support for Republican candidates — the more attrition a town experiences, the more voters turn away from the Democratic Party.
In Lackawanna County, where President Joe Biden's native Scranton is located, manufacturing jobs declined 38% over the past 20 years, costing the Democratic Party more than 17,000 votes between 2012 and 2020.
In nearby Luzerne County, factory jobs shrank 28%, and the party lost about 28,000 votes in the same time period.
Even in major cities with some manufacturing loss, the Republican Party made "moderate" gains. In Philadelphia, for example, the city has shed nearly half of its factory jobs since 2001. The Democratic Party picked up just under 15,000 votes compared to Republicans' 36,000 gain.
Mike Lux, founder of American Family Voices, said the party must deliver better jobs, higher wages, lower health care costs, stronger unions and more worker protections if they want to reverse this trend.
"Factory towns through the industrial heartland have been moving the wrong way for more than a decade, and this is a huge problem for the Democratic Party," he said. "It's not going to be easy to win them back — it is going to take a long-term investment in organizing."
Allentown
Billy Joel
[Verse 1]
Well, we’re living here in Allentown
And they’re closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem, they’re killing time
Filling out forms, standing in line
[Verse 2]
Well, our fathers fought the Second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
Met our mothers at the USO
Asked them to dance, danced with them slow
[Chorus]
And we’re living here in Allentown
But the restlessness was handed down
And it’s getting very hard to stay
[Verse 3]
Well, we’re waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard, if we behaved
[Verse 4]
So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke, chromium steel
[Chorus]
And we’re waiting here in Allentown
But they’ve taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled away
[Bridge]
Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got
But something happened
On the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our face
[Chorus]
Well I’m living here in Allentown
And it’s hard to keep a good man down
But I won’t be getting up today
[Outro]
And it’s getting very hard to stay
And we’re living here in Allentown
More cheating will compensate. And the assistant Democrats are all too willing to let it happen.
Democrats don’t need the blue collars anymore.
This is exactly where the Democrats will settle refugees from Afghanistan, Haitians coming by the 10's of thousands across the border and illegals of all stripes from Mexico and Central America.
Now they will lose the suburbs too, as the local Karens defend their little darlings against CRT.
Mechanization makes for fewer onsite people needed. Where
failures occur that is where the problems will be.
from Mexico and Central America.
***********
Well at least Africa isn’t the major supplier any longer.
It’s not like the Free Traitor Party aka Republican Party is doing anything pro worker to get these voters....
It is amazing to me that “Blue collars” do vote for Republican on occasion despite the GOP’s clearly anti worker Cheap Labor globalist platform.
Just how does that affect a closed factory that has been off shored or sent to Mexico?? LOL. Freepers are silly people.
Along the same lines:
https://bluetent.us/articles/campaigns-elections/how-much-should-democrats-care-what-is-popular/
You go where it is the cheapest to make your product and can
get it to market. If it is in the USA you do it here. If overseas
you do it there.
The closed factory is being relocated because the USA isn’t
the cheapest to make the product and still get it to market.
The Republicans, some of whom are the Cheap Labor party, are also the party of “get out of your face” and the party of “less laws”. Most republicans just don’t want to run other peoples lives.
Every single Democrat in the USA is a little fascist deep in their grinch size hearts and LOVES to tell other people what to do.
Maybe people are finally getting an earful and eyeful of this truth.
“Democrats don’t need the blue collars anymore.”
Correct, they are importing their new poor and victim classes by the millions across our Southern border.
You know, to replace the Americans who will no longer vote for them....
Well a really high import tariff will thwart the globalist destructive Free Traitor global Labor arbitrage.
For the party of the worker. It seems a little odd to have no care for you know workers.
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