GOP, Dems and the white working class
Although they may not want to admit it, somehow, all Republican legislation ends up favoring the rich. The new proposed health care bill is typical. Their major aim is to cut taxes on the wealthy, even if that money is needed for social programs, and especially if it is needed for social programs. Besides, any shortfall can be made up for by raising taxes on the dwindling middle class. Republicans have never done anything to help the working class.
About 30 percent of Americans are “working class.” They may be gullible, but they are not stupid. They know that Republicans want a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. Just look at the present Cabinet.
Republicans, then, cannot really appeal to workers on economic grounds, and it is ludicrous for them to try. Their track record gives them away. They can mention the usual phrases — “trickle down” and “job creation.” As for “trickle down,” workers know that money that goes to the top stays at the top. They have seen corporations and their chief executive officers amass fortunes while they have received no increase in pay. They’ve waited 40 years for a raise and are still waiting. “Job creation” is another catchphrase. It makes sense only if you don’t mention what the jobs are, how much they pay and how long they last. The term “job creation” is for public consumption; among themselves, what they really mean is wealth creation.
The only way the Republicans can appeal to the white working class is through social issues — Mexicans, Muslims terrorists, welfare cheats, abortion, gays and the like. They desperately need these votes and thus they hammer away at these issues, to camouflage their real intentions, which is to place America firmly in the hands of the rich, who, because of their “hard work,” deserve to run the country.
Democrats have a different approach. They realize that America has no real majority but is made up of a variety of minorities — blacks, Hispanics, evangelicals, gays, the white working class, immigrants — many of whom feel disenfranchised and have their own specific agendas. One cannot be everything to everyone, and the Democrats have selected several of these groups to take under their wing and forge a rainbow coalition of minorities. Unfortunately, they did not choose wisely (for electoral purposes) and left out an extremely important and large minority group — the white working class.
Ironically, the ones they did choose were the very same ones that were most hated by the white working class. If there is any class war in America today, it is between the white working class and the poor — usually racial and ethnic minorities, living in cities, earning less than $19,000 per year (for a family of four), and who are generally the recipients of federal aid. The Republicans did everything they could to increase this animosity and show that the Democrats were on the side of their enemies. It was this, and not their economic promises, that won the election for them.
It is by sharing and supporting the prejudices and fears of the white working class that the Republicans built up a strong personal relationship with members of the white working class. This makes it almost impossible for them to now repudiate a leader whom they regard almost as a family member.