Perhaps what this writer has described in the last few
postings might give the reader the impression that the typical Trump voter was,
in this last election, a member of either the southern conservatives or of the
white working class in the rustbelt states.
This is not the case. These identified groups merely represent
those voters who made the difference, especially those who would have usually
been turned off by Trump for religious reasons or because they are blue collar
workers who traditionally have voted Democratic.
The religious
crowd, especially in the South, held their collective noses and voted for the
perceived “sinner.” As for the working
class, Donald Trump just spoke to them with his promises of “draining the swamp”
and bringing back all those jobs that have been lost to cheap labor markets or
automation. These people will see
whether Trump can fulfill his promises.
But these are not the typical Trump voters. So, the question remains: who are they?
George Packer
reports on polling information that identifies them. Here is what he writes:
In March, the Washington Post reported that Trump voters were both more
economically hard-pressed and more racially biased than supporters of other
Republican candidates. But in September
a Gallup-poll economist, Jonathan T. Rothwell, released survey results that
complicated the picture. Those voters
with favorable views of Trump are not, by and large, the poorest Americans; nor
are they personally affected by trade deals or cross-border immigration. But they tend to be less educated, in poorer
health, and less confident in their children’s prospects – and they’re often
residents of nearly all-white neighborhoods.
They’re more deficient in social capital than in economic capital. The Gallup poll doesn’t indicate how many
Trump supporters are racists. Of course,
there’s no way to disentangle economic and cultural motives, to draw a clear
map of the stresses and resentments that animate the psyches of tens of
millions of people.[1]
This
description is not of a group of dyed in the wool racists or any other related
characterization. Circumstances for
these people change and right now, conditions, for them, meant they supported
Trump. Again, Hillary Clinton’s message
was not focused enough to draw their support along with all the other negative
images her opposition was able to drum up against her.
She also did
not help herself, referring to them as deplorable. Yes, she walked that back – as Romney tried
to walk back the 47% comment four years ago – but a lot of the damage was
done. These people frame their politics
nationally, if not locally. They are not
globalists even if the realities of their economic conditions are. They feel, with good reason, that their
monocultural world is disappearing and they don’t like it.
Yet, what will stop all that? Trump and his “make America great again”
language? This writer does not believe
so, but then he was wrong about the election.
As a matter of fact, there is good reason to believe that if Trump has
his way – whatever that is – these people’s conditions will worsen, the gap in
income and wealth will grow, and the political atmosphere will continue to be
more divisive.
In the meantime, the citizenry would
do well to remember these voters, as well as all of us, are partners in this
federated union.
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