Latest news with #progressives
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
According to our research, 11% of Trump voters can be won back. Here's how
To win in 2028, Democrats need to win back a lot of working-class voters, including a lot of blue-collar Donald Trump voters. Doing so requires dispensing with some long-held myths that have captured the minds of Democratic party strategists. The first is that persuading working-class Trump supporters is a waste of time. They are – so the story goes – so totally absorbed in Magaland that there is no winning them back. Why bother? On the flip side, some liberals insist that some of these voters are winnable, if only Democrats can make themselves more like Trump by embracing tax cuts and tough talk. A third notion, favored by progressives, says that if liberals just crank the progressive economic message up to eleven, blue-collar voters will come running home. The truth is, none of these strategies are particularly useful. Because none of them take working-class interests, values and attitudes seriously enough. Fortunately, new research from the Center for Working-Class Politics (CWCP) can help shed light on what working-class voters actually want. And it can offer the Democrats a path out of the wilderness. In a report published by Jacobin magazine, we analyzed working-class responses to 128 survey questions from academic surveys stretching back to 1960. We looked at class attitudes toward major topics like immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights, social norms and economic policies. The result is the most sophisticated, comprehensive, and up-to-date portrait of American working-class social and economic attitudes available. And it provides the best evidence yet for the potential of a certain kind of populist politics. Our work shows that working-class voters are, and have always been, decidedly less progressive than their middle- and upper-class counterparts when it comes to social and cultural issues. But the story is more complicated than it seems. It's not the case, for instance, that blue-collar workers are becoming more socially conservative. Instead of a rising tide of reaction, we show that working-class attitudes have actually drifted slowly toward more socially and culturally liberal positions over decades. At the same time, however, middle- and upper-class Americans have raced toward uber-liberalism, especially in recent years, opening up a yawning class gap on social attitudes. A first step to winning back workers is closing that gap. On the economic front, the situation is different. Most working-class voters are what we call 'economic egalitarians' – they favor government interventions to level the playing field, they take inequality seriously, and they support programs that increase the economic and social power of working people. Large majorities favor raising the minimum wage, import limits to protect jobs, increasing spending on social security and Medicare, using federal power to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, expanding federal funding for public schools, making it easier to join a union, increasing infrastructure spending, implementing a millionaires' tax, and even the notion of a job guarantee. Luckily for Democrats, middle- and upper-class voters have drifted to the left on many of these economic issues, embracing a more social democratic outlook. That bodes well for developing an economic platform that can appeal to the broadest electoral coalition. Yet there is an important caveat here. While working-class voters are strongly in support of a range of progressive measures, they are wary of big new government programs, skeptical of new regulations, and broadly suspicious of welfare spending. Their economic progressivism is jobs-centered and pro-worker, not built around cash transfers and expansive social services. So working-class voters are more socially moderate than the middle- and upper-class voters that make up the Democratic party's core support. Yet they are also broadly economic egalitarians – on some questions even more so than their well-educated and well-heeled counterparts. They agree with a populist economic agenda but not an excessively liberal cultural one. The path to winning them back, and stitching together a majority, then, is clear: adopt social populism. Embrace working-class social and cultural attitudes and a worker-focused economic program that promises to raise the minimum wage, protect industrial jobs from free trade, increase infrastructure spending, expand social security, strengthen Medicare and guarantee full employment. And what about blue-collar Trump voters? After analyzing the broad working class we tried to find just how many Trump-voting workers might be won over by that kind of program. In fact, a lot of them hold progressive views across a range of economic issues. We found that 'over 20% of working-class Trump voters were in favor of an economic policy package that included increasing federal funding for public schools, increasing federal funding for social security, and increasing the minimum wage.' Of course, many of these same voters have such conservative views on social issues that they would never vote for a Democrat. But are there any working-class populists in the Trump coalition who hold socially moderate attitudes? There are. 11% of them, to be exact. We found that about 11% of Trump voters maintained socially moderate and economically egalitarian views. Now, that may not sound like a lot, but it's a significant slice of the electorate, comprising about 5% of the total. No Democrat could win all of those voters. But given that these are working-class voters, many of whom are concentrated in swing states, each single vote has tremendous electoral value. In fact, even winning half of these voters – a little more than 2% of the electorate – would be significant enough to sway a national election in our age of razor thin vote margins. Moreover, it could set the Democrats on the path to a more durable majority in the future. Given all this we can put to bed the various myths about working-class voters – that they are bigots, hardened reactionaries, hopelessly unwinnable, etc – and instead embrace a strategy that can win. With the right kind of candidate (preferably a working-class one) and the right kind of political message, Democrats can win back a working-class majority. The evidence is clear: it's social populism or bust. Dustin Guastella is director of operations for Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a research associate at the Center for Working-Class Politics
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
According to our research, 11% of Trump voters can be won back. Here's how
To win in 2028, Democrats need to win back a lot of working-class voters, including a lot of blue-collar Donald Trump voters. Doing so requires dispensing with some long-held myths that have captured the minds of Democratic party strategists. The first is that persuading working-class Trump supporters is a waste of time. They are – so the story goes – so totally absorbed in Magaland that there is no winning them back. Why bother? On the flip side, some liberals insist that some of these voters are winnable, if only Democrats can make themselves more like Trump by embracing tax cuts and tough talk. A third notion, favored by progressives, says that if liberals just crank the progressive economic message up to eleven, blue-collar voters will come running home. The truth is, none of these strategies are particularly useful. Because none of them take working-class interests, values and attitudes seriously enough. Fortunately, new research from the Center for Working-Class Politics (CWCP) can help shed light on what working-class voters actually want. And it can offer the Democrats a path out of the wilderness. In a report published by Jacobin magazine, we analyzed working-class responses to 128 survey questions from academic surveys stretching back to 1960. We looked at class attitudes toward major topics like immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights, social norms and economic policies. The result is the most sophisticated, comprehensive, and up-to-date portrait of American working-class social and economic attitudes available. And it provides the best evidence yet for the potential of a certain kind of populist politics. Our work shows that working-class voters are, and have always been, decidedly less progressive than their middle- and upper-class counterparts when it comes to social and cultural issues. But the story is more complicated than it seems. It's not the case, for instance, that blue-collar workers are becoming more socially conservative. Instead of a rising tide of reaction, we show that working-class attitudes have actually drifted slowly toward more socially and culturally liberal positions over decades. At the same time, however, middle- and upper-class Americans have raced toward uber-liberalism, especially in recent years, opening up a yawning class gap on social attitudes. A first step to winning back workers is closing that gap. On the economic front, the situation is different. Most working-class voters are what we call 'economic egalitarians' – they favor government interventions to level the playing field, they take inequality seriously, and they support programs that increase the economic and social power of working people. Large majorities favor raising the minimum wage, import limits to protect jobs, increasing spending on social security and Medicare, using federal power to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, expanding federal funding for public schools, making it easier to join a union, increasing infrastructure spending, implementing a millionaires' tax, and even the notion of a job guarantee. Luckily for Democrats, middle- and upper-class voters have drifted to the left on many of these economic issues, embracing a more social democratic outlook. That bodes well for developing an economic platform that can appeal to the broadest electoral coalition. Yet there is an important caveat here. While working-class voters are strongly in support of a range of progressive measures, they are wary of big new government programs, skeptical of new regulations, and broadly suspicious of welfare spending. Their economic progressivism is jobs-centered and pro-worker, not built around cash transfers and expansive social services. So working-class voters are more socially moderate than the middle- and upper-class voters that make up the Democratic party's core support. Yet they are also broadly economic egalitarians – on some questions even more so than their well-educated and well-heeled counterparts. They agree with a populist economic agenda but not an excessively liberal cultural one. The path to winning them back, and stitching together a majority, then, is clear: adopt social populism. Embrace working-class social and cultural attitudes and a worker-focused economic program that promises to raise the minimum wage, protect industrial jobs from free trade, increase infrastructure spending, expand social security, strengthen Medicare and guarantee full employment. And what about blue-collar Trump voters? After analyzing the broad working class we tried to find just how many Trump-voting workers might be won over by that kind of program. In fact, a lot of them hold progressive views across a range of economic issues. We found that 'over 20% of working-class Trump voters were in favor of an economic policy package that included increasing federal funding for public schools, increasing federal funding for social security, and increasing the minimum wage.' Of course, many of these same voters have such conservative views on social issues that they would never vote for a Democrat. But are there any working-class populists in the Trump coalition who hold socially moderate attitudes? There are. 11% of them, to be exact. We found that about 11% of Trump voters maintained socially moderate and economically egalitarian views. Now, that may not sound like a lot, but it's a significant slice of the electorate, comprising about 5% of the total. No Democrat could win all of those voters. But given that these are working-class voters, many of whom are concentrated in swing states, each single vote has tremendous electoral value. In fact, even winning half of these voters – a little more than 2% of the electorate – would be significant enough to sway a national election in our age of razor thin vote margins. Moreover, it could set the Democrats on the path to a more durable majority in the future. Given all this we can put to bed the various myths about working-class voters – that they are bigots, hardened reactionaries, hopelessly unwinnable, etc – and instead embrace a strategy that can win. With the right kind of candidate (preferably a working-class one) and the right kind of political message, Democrats can win back a working-class majority. The evidence is clear: it's social populism or bust. Dustin Guastella is director of operations for Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a research associate at the Center for Working-Class Politics
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Critics said Trump would ruin America. Six months in, he's proving them wrong.
Halfway through 2025, I can't help but recall the bevy of lies that progressives and the mainstream media told me about Donald Trump before and after he won a second term as president. I was told Trump would be the end of American democracy, the beginning of American fascism, the ruin of our economy and the best thing ever to happen to Russian President Vladimir Putin. None of that has happened, and I don't know whether to be disappointed or elated. But I must ask: What happened? And why have things gone so right when they were supposed to be so wrong? Progressives were wrong about the Trump economy Progressives have persistently forecast imminent economic doom since Trump was reelected in November. In April, the Associated Press reported: "President Donald Trump has panicked global financial markets, raised the risk of a recession and broken the political and economic alliances that made much of the world stable for business after World War II." That same month, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, declared that "Donald Trump is ruining the economy on purpose." And The American Prospect, in an article headlined, "The Great Trump Crash?," predicted that tariffs would "mean an instant, near-total halt of trade between China and the U.S." None of those dire predictions proved to be true. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recently reached record highs. Employers added more jobs than expected last month. The inflation rate ticked higher in June, but remains far below the 40-year high that Americans suffered under during the Biden administration. Hicks: Trump's tax bill will crush the rural voters who chose him Progressives' scary predictions about international affairs also have proven to be false. Trump was supposed to be the green light Putin needed to pummel Ukraine into submission. Trump's America first stance also was supposed to embolden China and splinter NATO. In reality, Trump has been a peacemaker, pushing for meaningful ceasefires in conflicts from Gaza to Pakistan, Ukraine to Iran. Trump's efforts in the Middle East alone are worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump set back Iran's development of nuclear weapons, then forged a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Diplomatic efforts to broker a lasting peace in Gaza also continue. If there is to be a World War III, it doesn't appear imminent. Once again, progressives' claims about Trump were nothing but fearmongering. Democracy remains strong with Trump in the White House Probably the biggest lie the left has told about Trump is that his election would be an "extinction-level threat" for democracy. Six months into Trump's second term, I'm happy to report that democracy is still alive and well. Just look at recent headlines: New York Democrats exercised their right to vote for a socialist to run America's largest city. Millions of Americans marched in "No Kings" protests to criticize the president. Other protestors have taken to the streets to demonstrate against enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. Opinion: Trump's deportation flip-flop reveals America's dirty economic secret Despite liberals' oft-repeated fears, the evidence overwhelmingly points to a healthy democracy, where Americans vote for the candidates of their choice and raise their voices to call out politicians and policies they don't like. Trump isn't a king; he's a duly elected president chosen by a healthy plurality of voters. His election was democracy in action. It's not just that progressives' worst fears turned out to be far from reality. The left tried to gaslight Americans into believing they'd regret voting for Trump. The fearmongering on the left was wrong, then and now. And I won't let liberals forget it. Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump critics predicted disaster. They were wrong again. | Opinion
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
New York Magazine writer encourages democrats to 'cut off' MAGA relatives
A liberal writer is encouraging fellow progressives to cut off family members who support Donald Trump. New York Magazine's Sarah Jones insists that going 'no contact' is the only way to deal with right wing family members. 'Sometimes the act of knowing a person leaves you with no choice but to move on without them,' Jones wrote. 'If my parents liked Alligator Alcatraz, I'd no longer speak to them. 'If they were rude to my LGBT friends, I'd block their numbers. Though shunning won't work as a political strategy, there are still natural consequences for the way we speak and behave.' Her comments were a response to a guest essay by former Obama speech writer David Litt in The New York Times, in which he advocated for reaching across the aisle when it comes to families with opposing political views. Jones said she hails from a conservative family and suggested this has been a source of contention. 'I come from a conservative family and a conservative place, and I nurture my pain like it's a small pet,' she wrote. 'But I speak to my family and sometimes I even go home to see them.' She shared a link to her article on Friday on X with the caption: 'Should you cut off your MAGA relatives? That's up to you, in the end, but I think it's a perfectly reasonable choice to make.' In the piece she cited a study by marketing firm The Harris Poll which found that half of American adults are estranged from a relative, with one in five citing political differences as the reason why. This is a phenomenon which has been exacerbated since Trump returned to office, according to Jones. Her views are in contrast to Litt who talked about how he connected with his anti-Covid vaccine, Joe Rogan loving brother-in-law over their love of surfing after previously keeping his distance. 'Shunning plays into the hands of demagogues, making it easier for them to divide us and even, in some cases, to incite violence,' Litt wrote. However this approach was slammed by Jones as, 'so naïve it borders on malice'. Jones' stance was condemned by social media users who flooded her post to express their disagreement. 'Seriously, the only one that would be hurt over time in this situation is you,' one person wrote. 'Putting politics before family and not being able to take the high road says that you're unable to be neutral and keep the peace. Just agree to not talk politics and be civil with friends and family.' 'Dear Sarah, LMAO, how arrogant! You keep cutting people off, soon you will have no one. Good Luck! Laughing at you!' another added. 'Sounds like they are better off without you. Disregard everything they ever did for you in a snap, what a great person you must be,' a third person agreed. However, Jones is not the only progressive to advocate such drastic action. MSNBC's Joy Reid previously interviewed a Yale psychiatrist that it's fine to disown family members who voted for Trump. Dr. Amanda Calhoun, a child psychiatry fellow at the Ivy league school, made the comments during an interview on Reid's show The Reid Out last at the end of last year, while discussing coping strategies for people upset by Trump's election win. 'There is a societal norm that if somebody is your family that they are entitled to your time and I think the answer is absolutely not,' Calhoun said.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
California's Chickens Go to Court
Are California's cage-free chickens coming home to roost? The Justice Department this month filed a lawsuit challenging the state's cage-free egg mandate, which increases omelette prices in the state and scrambles interstate commerce. California's progressives complain about the state's high cost of living even as they enact policies that are the cause. A classic example is the state's farm animal-welfare regulations, which animal-rights groups deceptively sold to voters as protecting consumer health and safety even though they don't. First came a 2008 voter initiative (Prop. 2) followed by a 2010 law that taken together barred the sale of eggs from hens kept in housing that prevented them from 'fully extending his or her limbs' or 'turning around freely' for the majority of the day. In 2018 voters enacted Prop. 12, which imposed onerous minimum-floor spacing prescriptions for egg-laying hens. Farmers have either had to retrofit their facilities to comply with chickens' right to cage-free living or forgo selling eggs in California. Many have done the latter. Constricted supply and higher production costs for cage-free hens have increased egg prices in the state.
