General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Democrats say they now know exactly why Clinton lost [View all]PatrickforO
(14,558 posts)up to the 1980s they were a very strong Democratic constituency that could be counted on. But then we started seeing wage stagnation, good jobs leaving the country with 'free trade,' watered-down healthcare where you pay out the nose for very little, deterioration of Social Security and raising the retirement age.
Safety standards on the workplace have gone down the tubes because our people have been coached to think about regulations as being 'job-killing.'
K-12 has deteriorated on two fronts, privatization (vouchers) and 'creationism.'
College costs have now reached the stratosphere.
And the new 'gig' (read powerless wage-slave) economy has created a constant sense of economic insecurity, as has the 'lay them off at the drop of a pin because shareholders have primacy' philosophy in corporate boardrooms.
Then, of course, the GOP 'fixed' the bankruptcy laws so it is harder to start over.
So, basically, in a white worker's eyes, things have gotten worse, there's a huge amount of economic stress and fear every day, and finally...
I can cite numerous instances where Democrats at the state and national level have NOT had workers' backs.
So how can we be surprised this huge group opted for a con-man who ran as an 'outsider,' a 'populist.'
The people are hungry for a populist message. Start talking about using OUR tax dollars to rebuild the infrastructure, Medicare for all Americans, expanding Social Security, and raising wages, and watch these folks stampede the polls.