(Only place I can find to respond to your piece on working class voters. It's not just the Democrats.)
Center-left parties throughout the developed world have been losing working class voters by the droves. In the early 2000s I was shocked - when Labour voters voter Tory or BNP, when French workers voted for the National Front, or SDP voters in Sweden voted for the Swedish Democrats. But parties of the center-left no longer advocate for policies that benefit working class people.
And what's more, when they stop voting Dem, or Labour, of SDP - they are accused of being racist. I am reminded of the online wag Titania McGrath in the U.K. After the Corbyn debacle she wrote, "The obvious conclusion is... we didn’t call them racist often enough." But McGrath's creator, Andy Doyle, is gay and left-wing, not right-wing. Similarly, Bill Maher (who I don't particularly care for) did a shtick on Cracker Jacks made of shit and popcorn. where he says that if half of the voters prefer the shit over the popcorn, shouldn't the Dems be asking "Why?"
But the Democrats have no intention of asking, "Why?" Rents are utterly unaffordable - especially in blue state urban areas. Why? Where a single working-class income could support a family in 1960, two working-class incomes in 2020 cannot. Why? Two generations ago, flagship urban public schools were some of the best in the nation, but now urban public education is collapsing. Why?
The Democrats simply refuse to address these questions. Instead, they turn on the questioner. So, not surprisingly, those who question ultimately question the Democratic Party itself. Even when the GOP is a complete clown car. Or worse.
I have little hope for the Democratic Party.
And the Republican Party is completely beyond hope.
The entire race is about Harris v any Republican. Any Republican can beat Harris and the R's will run the entire race as "Biden is too old and you're gonna end up with Harris. Do you really want Harris for president in mid-term? No of course not; so vote for.... any damn Republican." That will likely swing at least one of the battleground states. I see no way for the Democrats to win with Harris as VP with an octogenarian P.
Will be fun and interesting to see how closely elections turned out to the possibilities you offered, thanks
Seth -
(Only place I can find to respond to your piece on working class voters. It's not just the Democrats.)
Center-left parties throughout the developed world have been losing working class voters by the droves. In the early 2000s I was shocked - when Labour voters voter Tory or BNP, when French workers voted for the National Front, or SDP voters in Sweden voted for the Swedish Democrats. But parties of the center-left no longer advocate for policies that benefit working class people.
And what's more, when they stop voting Dem, or Labour, of SDP - they are accused of being racist. I am reminded of the online wag Titania McGrath in the U.K. After the Corbyn debacle she wrote, "The obvious conclusion is... we didn’t call them racist often enough." But McGrath's creator, Andy Doyle, is gay and left-wing, not right-wing. Similarly, Bill Maher (who I don't particularly care for) did a shtick on Cracker Jacks made of shit and popcorn. where he says that if half of the voters prefer the shit over the popcorn, shouldn't the Dems be asking "Why?"
But the Democrats have no intention of asking, "Why?" Rents are utterly unaffordable - especially in blue state urban areas. Why? Where a single working-class income could support a family in 1960, two working-class incomes in 2020 cannot. Why? Two generations ago, flagship urban public schools were some of the best in the nation, but now urban public education is collapsing. Why?
The Democrats simply refuse to address these questions. Instead, they turn on the questioner. So, not surprisingly, those who question ultimately question the Democratic Party itself. Even when the GOP is a complete clown car. Or worse.
I have little hope for the Democratic Party.
And the Republican Party is completely beyond hope.
Not a good situation.
John Egan
Buffalo, WY
The entire race is about Harris v any Republican. Any Republican can beat Harris and the R's will run the entire race as "Biden is too old and you're gonna end up with Harris. Do you really want Harris for president in mid-term? No of course not; so vote for.... any damn Republican." That will likely swing at least one of the battleground states. I see no way for the Democrats to win with Harris as VP with an octogenarian P.