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Before all of that you had Reagan Democrats, who were complicit in the decline of worker's power and rights while supporting economic and trade policies that un
by dandersh 8y ago
Before all of that you had Reagan Democrats, who were complicit in the decline of worker's power and rights while supporting economic and trade policies that undermined blue collar jobs.
They were never "forgotten and left behind", they signaled to the elites that they were happy to vote against their economic interests for whatever the culture war issue of the day is.
- mc32 8y agoUnfortunately despite being a very nice guy, Carter was not a fighter. He just took it on the chin. People wanted someone who did something. Bringing inflation down from 20% or thereabouts and bringing price stability to fuel was important. So enter Reagan. But ultimately the demise began at the hands of GHWB and Clinton who took globalization full throttle.
- dandersh 8y agoSure, if you ignore the data around wage stagnation, income inequality, accumulated wealth, etc. When you actually look at the data it tracks with another development, one often ignored (as you yourself did here): the decline of union participation and activism. I distinctly remember a debate that occurred for a time under GWB around "values voters", with "the left" (broadly and generally speaking) asking why Americans voted against their economic interests in favor of "moral values" and "the right" (again broadly and generally speaking) arguing that for some "moral values" hold more weight than economic interests. I mention this because there is a deliberate attempt to remove responsibility of blue collar workers from their plight. All those guys you mentioned? Yea, they were elected. GHWB on the strength of being Reagan's VP, Clinton was re-elected after NAFTA and his VP Gore won the popular vote, GWB won in 2004 on the strength of "values voters", etc.