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betsuni

(28,109 posts)
39. Working class for populists means rural white men in swing states who used to have good union manufacturing jobs
Thu Jan 30, 2025, 02:27 AM
Jan 2025

until jobs started going overseas in the '70s and the U.S. economy shifted to a service/technology economy, and automation.

But they decided to blame Democrats for everything, claiming NAFTA trade deals started the whole thing (Bill Clinton's neoliberal plot) and the party became corrupt immoral elites beholden to Wall Street and corporations (dumbing it down to everything's about money (status quo) and everyone except the populist saviors are corrupt) with the same economic policies as Republicans, and despise and ignore the working class. They think Democrats fool voters by pandering with "identity politics" and the nice white Republican working class is mocked and made to suffer economic anxiety. Polarization with establishment vs anti-establishment, demonizing Democrats, usual Us vs Them populist style. They want people to hate Democrats as the true roadblock to progress. Zero evidence for any of these supposed Democratic crimes, of course.

Majority of Trump votes in the general and many for Sanders in the primary were voting against Hillary. Left populists confused this with support for them (why the Democratic-establishment-rigs-primaries conspiracy theories). Americans are not secretly progressives yearning for economic revolution but somehow thwarted by cartoonishly evil Democrats.

Majority of the working class are not white rural men. The working class votes Democratic, lower the income the more likely to vote Democratic. Why would anyone think the Biden administration ignores the working class (examples of policies - what's the evidence both sides are the same?), that Kamala would ignore them, that Democrats aren't from working or middle class backgrounds? Clinton, Obama, Biden, Harris were 1% elites who don't know what inequality is and have no idea what's going on in the U.S.? When they mock Democrats as elites, are they thinking FDR? The one who saved capitalism: "Roosevelt took the status quo in our economic system as much for granted as his family."

Bernie Sanders: "It's not just Kamala. It's a Democratic Party which increasingly has become a party of identity politics, rather than understanding that the vast majority of people in this country are working class."

I've never seen an explanation of this ideology.

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It appears to me gab13by13 Jan 2025 #1
I totally disagree! tableturner Jan 2025 #2
A. I did not say I think Dems aren't doing enough. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #13
you're right in a lot of what you say here. stopdiggin Jan 2025 #3
What "brawler" means in AOC's context.... tableturner Jan 2025 #7
I understand your point. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #15
Did you see my correction on my OP? yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #27
and I agree with about 95% of what you had to say stopdiggin Jan 2025 #34
The word choice is probably intended to evoke commitment. Frasier Balzov Jan 2025 #4
IMHO, you missed her point. Phoenix61 Jan 2025 #5
I agree...SCREW decorum! That's how the GOP kicks our asses! tableturner Jan 2025 #10
I think the push back regarding the EO's in the past couple of days yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #16
I needed to make a correction in my OP. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #18
I believe you might be wrongly hung up on the "middle class" thing. Think. Again. Jan 2025 #6
"Ocasio-Cortez said, we need to be a party of brawlers for the working class." yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #8
Cut and pasted from your OP above... Think. Again. Jan 2025 #11
Your OP states it differently. Sailingfish Jan 2025 #14
I have since realized that it wa indeed the phrase - "working class". yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #20
Thanks. No apologies needed at all. Sailingfish Jan 2025 #25
Thank you for your gracious reply. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #31
Cheers Sailingfish Jan 2025 #38
Thanks for clearing that up! Sorry about the confusion. Think. Again. Jan 2025 #35
My apologies. There was a typo in my OP. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #19
My take SilasSouleII Jan 2025 #9
I'll agree. The word "brawlers" means a lot of things n I'm not getting hung up on a word. Her intent is more important Deuxcents Jan 2025 #12
The phrase used by AOC was actually "working class. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #23
the middle class made this country? try again. NoRethugFriends Jan 2025 #37
The Revolutionary War ... Xoan Jan 2025 #17
Freedom riders. CoopersDad Jan 2025 #22
Here is a more full transcript of the exchange. Context matters. CoopersDad Jan 2025 #21
She used that phrase in more than one interview. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #24
and that is actually WAY more disappointing stopdiggin Jan 2025 #36
How I'm reading it Lulu KC Jan 2025 #26
Thank you for your input and thoughts. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #29
The notion that Democrats need to be brawlers is spot on, gab13by13 Jan 2025 #28
I think the push back regarding the EO's in the past couple of days yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #30
I like anyone that names themselves after a flower. Brogrizzly Jan 2025 #32
Thank you. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #33
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #47
Working class for populists means rural white men in swing states who used to have good union manufacturing jobs betsuni Jan 2025 #39
Right. The Biden/Harris administration implemented policies yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #48
I don't know. Elessar Zappa Jan 2025 #40
What if we are all of the above (or many of the above) - TBF Jan 2025 #41
I think you may not understand the purpose of my post. yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #42
So, would you prefer a polite and timid Bettie Jan 2025 #43
I never said anything about polite and timid response. And I never said yellow dahlia Jan 2025 #44
I feel like your concerns have some merit, however I wouldn't fret over attention to the working class emphasis.so long msfiddlestix Jan 2025 #45
I agree with you that Democrats shouldn't be narrowing their representation to particular groups. Paladin Jan 2025 #46
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