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Garrett78

(10,721 posts)
Tue Dec 13, 2016, 02:34 AM Dec 2016

'Racial aversion increased greatly over the last 8 years'

Last edited Tue Dec 13, 2016, 12:03 PM - Edit history (1)

Worth reading: http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/12/13894546/obama-race-black-white-house-cornell-belcher-racism

An excerpt:

That was a tweet really to the progressive establishment — which means too often white Northeastern liberals — the idea that if we just had a better economic message, these people would all of a sudden go, “Oh, my god, what was I thinking, I should be voting Democrat!” That if we just find the right words to connect with downscale whites, they’ll say, “Oh, you know what, I am voting against my economic interests.”

It’s a disconnect that’s frustrating to me. They’re not voting against their economic interests; they are voting for their higher interests — there’s an idea that your group positioning doesn’t matter economically. The idea that you can disconnect white people from their group position and make pocketbook arguments to them void of the history of their group is folly.

That is not to say don’t target or don’t go after them. That’s absolutely not what I’m saying. What I am saying is just that the answer isn’t simply a pocketbook argument — we do have to inoculate against the increased tribalism and racialism in order to have that conversation. As long as there is a group sense of decline, we do have to calculate for that in our conversation and try to inoculate that as opposed to simply coming up with another argument about why raising the minimum wage is beneficial to you.

By the way, look at the last midterm [election] in Arkansas, which is full of the kind of blue-collar voters you’re talking about. They voted against Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor who supported a minimum wage increase. There is a disconnect here that progressives need to understand if we’re going to make a more effective economic argument for blue-collar whites, and stop telling them that they’re voting against their economic interest. That is a complete lack of understanding by progressives of the connections between economics and identity.
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'Racial aversion increased greatly over the last 8 years' (Original Post) Garrett78 Dec 2016 OP
Worth a read? He s a pollster with excellent insights Dream Girl Dec 2016 #1
Question is, what to do about it? forjusticethunders Dec 2016 #2
It's a quandry for sure. As Belcher says, the 'voting against their interests' tactic won't fly. Garrett78 Dec 2016 #4
Excellent point about the connection between group identity and economics BainsBane Dec 2016 #3
 

Dream Girl

(5,111 posts)
1. Worth a read? He s a pollster with excellent insights
Tue Dec 13, 2016, 10:47 AM
Dec 2016

Really like this guy ...author of "Black Man in The White House"

 

forjusticethunders

(1,151 posts)
2. Question is, what to do about it?
Tue Dec 13, 2016, 10:51 AM
Dec 2016

The problem is that these attitudes are unconscious - they don't even realize the reason why they "want their country back" so bad is because they feel like nonwhite people are taking it from them.

Garrett78

(10,721 posts)
4. It's a quandry for sure. As Belcher says, the 'voting against their interests' tactic won't fly.
Tue Dec 13, 2016, 02:48 PM
Dec 2016

The decimation of labor unions hasn't helped matters. Not enough white people recognize the common struggle.

Educating the young, more outreach to rural Democrats (not all of whom are white, by the way) and simply putting up a candidate who hasn't been victimized by 25+ years of slander could be key. It's a numbers game and the ongoing demographic shift should help in terms of nationwide (POTUS) and statewide (Senate and Governor) races. But voter suppression and gerrymandering must be addressed.

BainsBane

(54,806 posts)
3. Excellent point about the connection between group identity and economics
Tue Dec 13, 2016, 11:05 AM
Dec 2016

or race and economics. I believe the author is spot on.

I think evidence for that lies in the fact Trump voters are not poorer than Clinton voters but in fact more prosperous. They feel themselves declining relative to other groups--African Americans, women, Latinos, etc... They still have more than those groups, on average much more, but the disparity is not as great as it once was. Then there is the fact that ALL blacks and Latinos aren't poor, which upsets Trump voters understanding of the proper social order.

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