Dearest L.A. Times ... Be afraid, be VERY afraid
Posted on 01/31/2016 3:58:11 PM PST by Elderberry
It is by now a truism that Donald Trump poses a knotty conundrum for his competitors in the Republican Party, who can attack him and his retrograde sentiments only at the cost of alienating Trump's supporters, whose votes they need to win.
Less obvious, or at least less discussed, is the parallel conundrum Trump poses for self-styled progressives. How far can they go in decrying Trump's support among white blue-collar workers without seeming to write off what was once regarded as a core progressive constituency?
It could be argued that the writing-off has already occurred. There has long been a shift in left-liberal politics away from any broad identification with "the workers" - narrowly conceived as white, male and straight - in favor of specific social and environmental issues that pose no threat to existing economic structures. In that regard, Trump's blue-collar support might be viewed as a vindication: Workers of the world, take a hike. We never liked you much anyway.
Still, there remains the vexing question of how a billionaire demagogue can win the loyalty of the very people whose class interests he opposes. What possible sense can we make of blue-collar workers of any age, gender or race supporting a man whose very existence rests on their exploitation and, increasingly, on their obsolescence? It boggles the mind, or so we like to pretend.
The usual answers - fear of terrorism, resentment of immigrants, disgust with the Washington establishment - are sound enough, but they don't go very deep. It's as if the impossibility of depth were a given.
Imperialists and vivisectionists used to argue whether their victims had souls. The argument of the 2016 presidential campaign seems to be whether white blue-collar workers do.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I am agreeing with your post! After Reagan, the
Rhinos wrote off the Reagan Democrats (possible exception
Newt with his contract with American in 1994).
Whenever I hear someone like this say that we of the poor, the middle class, the working class, are voting against our interests unless we support progressives, my middle fingers start to twitch.
Agreed. It’s very simple.
I would, however, add to the list that people are sick and tired of being told what they can and can not think. I sense a breaking free of the PC thought police.
“Imperialists and vivisectionists used to argue whether their victims had souls. The argument of the 2016 presidential campaign seems to be whether white blue-collar workers do.”.........
I did not know that progressives have acknowledged the existence of a soul. How insulting can these liberals be? Just how does such a statement differ from those of slave owners in the antebellum south?
Yes, “white male” and “blue-collar” haven’t been synonyms for decades. When our cities died in the northeast, it was because non-white factory workers watched their companies close up shop. The descendants of those non-white workers are the gibsmedats we see there today.
The contract with America lasted until the Pubbies woke up and found they had a majority at which point they ditched it to begin the tedious and difficult task of converting democratic pork into Pubbie pork. At the time I was quite excite. I thought yeah - finally, something around here is going to change and we can start doing the right things.
A slightly older, wiser and then more cynical colleague tried to dampen my enthusiasm and point out the error of my thinking. Boy did he turn out to be right and boy was I embarrassed at my naivte and stupidity. Even so, my cynicism races to keep up with the reality of the incompetence and corruption in DC. I am totally mystified that these folks can even eat and breathe.
Maybe smart people in flyover country are tired of being called “low information voters” by people like Hillary.
Dearest L.A. Times ... Be afraid, be VERY afraid
Oh I think many of us were naive and hoped that the Republicans who had taken control of both the House and Senate-both bodies had been in the hands of the Democrats since 1930 with a couple of short breaks in between-would cut spending and eliminate programs.
lol “Nuance” ....
My jaw totally dropped when I read that. Maybe I am just out of the loop or something, but that was seriously totally Marxist. Are Garrett and his ilk really so incredibly clueless that they do not realize that people want to work, that people want to be able to support their families without government aid? And that even blue-collar–workers have enough brains to figure out that without “capitalists” “exploiting” them, that they will never be able to support their families without government aid?
Sheesh!!! Maybe the workers want to exploit the capitalists!!!!
And does this writer really think that working a manufacturing job is being exploited, but working as a journalist is somehow not being exploited just as much?
He’s talking to the people most affected by the low skill immigrants competing with them for both jobs and charity, government grants/assistance in school and social preference.
All things equal, the illegal immigrant’s kid gets the school slot, scholarships, tutoring and aid over the poor family that’s paid taxes for decades - black or white. And the parents get the jobs under the table or via fake IDs while avoiding most of the taxes the Americans pay.
Valid point. If he abused household servants or people who built all those buildings, you’d have heard about it by now.
Garret Keizer - could YOU please tell me the education level and social class of Hillary’s followers?
For some reason the press isn’t covering that... any reason why?
My philosophy is that you have to keep trying though. It's kind of like the saying, "Growing old is a bitch, but it's better than the alternative." And, to sweeten the pot, buy gold, have a dog and love your kids.
Start with the idea that Voters are sick of corrupt incompetent political class who spend more time lining the pockets of the Donor Class at the expense of the voting class instead of actually getting fixing things.
Think about how they are anti a Politcal/Media/Business class so welded to their Politically Correct theories they cannot even comprehend, much less enact, real solutions to real problems.
Comprehend that they are sick of a arrogant incompetent corrupt Politcal/Media/Business class that assumes it is better then the people who actually make the country work.
Start there and you MAY be on to something. Keep screaming that they are a bunch of low IA ractist bigots reacting out of fear and you will keep totally missing the mark
Progressive is just another name for authoritarians who think they know better how to manage people’s lives, via the Government, then the individual does.
Anger and Populism.
Sounds like you are describing Cruz’s no hoper beltway theater performances. He certainly did not advance the conservative agenda strutting about the U. S. Senate.
So why, could it just be money? The donor class are all one worlders? Think about all of the super rich trying to buy a candidate, none are giving huge bucks to a candidate because they believe in the constitution. They seem (the donors and the politicians)to all be on the same bandwagon, more foreigners, more foreign workers, more aslyum seekers, more refugees and trash talk Americans.
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