Sifting through the wreckage of the 2016 election, Democratic pollsters, strategists and sympathetic academics have reached some unnerving conclusions. What the autopsy reveals is that Democratic losses among working class voters were not limited to whites; that crucial constituencies within the party see its leaders as alien; and that unity […] Read more »
It’s time to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class.
Media coverage of the 2016 election often emphasized Donald Trump’s appeal to the working class. The Atlantic said that “the billionaire developer is building a blue-collar foundation.” The Associated Press wondered what “Trump’s success in attracting white, working-class voters” would mean for his general election strategy. On Nov. 9, the […] Read more »
The Democrats’ ‘Working-Class Problem’
The road to a sustainable Democratic majority—nationally, locally, and in the states—must include much higher Democratic performance with white working-class voters (those without a four-year degree). Nearly every group in the progressive infrastructure is busy figuring out how Democrats can get back to the level of support they reached with […] Read more »
U.S. Scores Biggest Fall in World Peace Study, Asia Advances
The U.S. declined the most in an annual study of global peace that cites political turbulence, deteriorating press freedom, a public perception of increasing crime and corruption, and less acceptance of Muslims and other minorities. The U.S. dropped 11 places to the 114th most-peaceful country out of 161 in the index […] Read more »
Are Demographics Really Destiny for the GOP?
Despite President Trump’s magnetic appeal for working-class whites, those fiercely contested voters continued their long-term decline as a share of the national electorate in 2016, a new analysis of recent Census Bureau data shows. That continued erosion underscores the gamble Trump is taking by aligning the GOP ever more closely […] Read more »
Black Voters Aren’t Turning Out For The Post-Obama Democratic Party
… Lower black turnout in 2016 might be explained as a reversion to the mean after that group’s historic turnout for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. It’s possible that Clinton could never inspire black turnout the way the first African-American president could. But even if this shift is more […] Read more »