I don't see how the democrats can appeal to working class voters. Working class people still have common sense and their God given intelligence. Did you ever see a working class dude in a double mask?
Blue collar workers may not have an economics degree, but they know that massive immigration is going to drive down wages, sooner or later. Working class kids go to public schools and their parents know that lots of immigrant children, and the all the money going to supporting migrant families is money coming out of their pockets and their school budgets. Forever wars, uncontrolled immigration, climate change, they can see that this is money that doesn't build their communities.
Climate change is not a huge worry when you have a hard time affording vacations or eating out. DEI, transgender rights, all the rest of the liberal dogma, how does this help the working class? The working class people I see are working with people of different races and getting along just fine. Its about getting the job done and not being a jerk. I doubt they want to hear more DEI blather, or about saving democracy in Ukraine, while grocery prices are rising faster than wages.
I am not a Trump supporter. But some of the working class people I know felt he spoke for their concerns when he attacked China for taking jobs, being unfair in trade. Trump talked about bringing jobs home ( not sure if much happened). But at least he talked about it. While democrats talk about.....well, you know what they talk about.
Also, inflation was low during Trumps presidency. Covid stimulus ( remember the 1000 checks? all the money to closed businesses?), supply chain disruptions due to the lockdowns , and Ukraine war which effected energy prices PLUS the on going climate change policies which probably do nothing but enrich private equity-- ALL of that contributed to inflation. Voters are not so stupid. Trump may be a vulgar childish person, but he managed to not f**k up the American economy.
So Trump "spoke to their concerns" but over 4 years, did nothing to actually improve their lives. And now they will vote for him again even though Trump's top economic priority (besides enriching himself) is to make the very wealthiest Americans and large companies even wealthier - all at the expense of the saps who like Trump because he "speaks to their concerns".
Well I guess I would have to say "yes". I agree that both parties are in the grip of big corporations.
Voters know that the biggest US companies are MORE supportive of democrats than of Trump ( that was not the case 30 years ago). For example, big Pharma.... How about making a product that the government mandates people to take and helps to pay for... Bezos owns Washington Post which pushed covid panic and lockdowns, Amazon doubled sales and share price during lockdowns. The list is endless....
RFK Jr talks about the "corrupt fusion of big government and big business."
Again, I would say, Trump didn't improve working class lives, but neither did Biden. He created the inflation we have now.
I think another issue that democrats don't get is that most working class people work hard, often at jobs that are not creative or particularly enjoyable. They proud of their effort and they want this hard work to actually serve to support their families. They dont want hand outs or help. They want the dignity of being breadwinners. So all the democrats policies to help them don't weigh that heavy, they feel that under Trump the economy was stronger.
IF the democrats truly wanted to help working class people they would limit immigration, rein in big corporations and help small local businesses, unwind globalization to some degree, etc etc. Long conversation, but I dont see it.
The Democratic Party has become the College-Educated Party, shaming people who do not have college degrees, and equating degrees with economic success and the ability to get jobs. This is really the core of the Democrat's problem. Joe Biden understands this, therefore his emphasis on infrastructure jobs and building the manufacturing economy. The college students are more interested in Gaza and college loan forgiveness. Theirs are the voices reflected on the cable news shows and the editorial pages because "opinion leaders" are predominantly college professors and exclusively college-educated. How about forgiving car notes, back rent, credit card debt, and mortgages? How about restricting immigration to people with a university degree? How about respecting plumbers, butchers, and factory workers instead of shaming and feeling sorry for them that they have to actually work for a living?
The respectful Republican National Committee says “Kamala Harris brought her cackle to Milwaukee." That's what passes now for the meme-ification of campaigning.
Harris is not a Democrat . She is the OG Progressive, whose fingerprints are all over California's decline. Kamala birthed decriminalization of theft to $950, per instance. She refused to charge SF migrants with drug felonies, because a conviction can result in deportation. The result was an endless, ever increasing, supply of dope, which drove prices down and stoked usage, as never before. Kamala did not care, tens of thousands of Californians would lose their livelihoods, families, and ultimately their lives. She was too busy cheering herself.
Harris championed defunding the police, bail reform and early prison release, before it was cool. The fact is was an abject failure, and hardest on poor, minority communities, was not a concern for the Harris family , or her Brentwood neighbors.
Kamal's proposed perpetual, free medical care for migrants, ignores not just, the unsustainable US tax payer cost, but the pull factor that sparks the world's impoverished to flee stable, but poor homes, in search of US wealth.
That migrants are treated, mostly, as beasts of burden, intended as new, permanent, lower caste of cheap labor, rather than people, was not a Harris concern, just the next election. Ditto for the tens of thousands of young migrants, sold into bondage, within US borders. The lucky ones, illegally, on factory floors. The unlucky ones, in brothels, for their short and horrendous lives.
Even the most devoted Climate Crusaders realize the Harris plan to ban fracking and off shore drilling, would send gas and groceries soaring, up from their current unaffordable prices. Harris would immediately cause a US economic Depression, and the loss of our Superpower status, when US became dependent on Russia, Iran and OPEC for oil.
Kamala's Progressive wishlist, would be national attempted suicide. Working people would economically perish first, and en mass. Most of them, likely, and hopefully, realize that fact .
Harris has been campaigning for FOUR WHOLE DAYS. She's received a huge number of powerful endorsements and a LOT of small dollar donations. Democrats finally have some really to hope and yet Ruy remains stuck in Debbie Downer's basement complaining about what a bunch of "radical leftists" he thinks we are.
If supporting the restoration of Roe, clean energy projects, lower drug prices, a fairer tax code, better regulations of monopolies and the "big tech" industry, standing up to Putin's aggression, supporting church state separation, defending unions and the right to organize (who was the first US president to walk a picket line, Ruy?), then call me a "radical leftist".
Ruy: Cheer up! We Democrats are in a whole lot better place now than we were a week ago. Harris has no easy path to victory, but at least she - and we - have a f***ing chance now. That's something, isn't it?
Roe will never be "restored," it's gone to the states. Why Dems keep flacking this as the main part of their plank is beyond me. Clean energy projects are subsidized give-aways to Dem billionaire donors, lower drug prices means you want to federalize pharmaceutical industry? better (more?) business regulations will drive up the cost of goods. So yes, please double down on the nanny state.
Kamala is the life raft floating aside a sinking ship...from the vantage point of those on the ship, it looks amazing...a beacon of hope. But alas, it is a listless life raft. Over the coming weeks, it will be exposed as such.
As we learn more about JD Vance, his appeal to working class voters is bewildering. His career as a venture capitalist was entirely funded by a handful of Silicon Valley billionaires. Even then, not much to show for it.
So Trump is basically holding steady. Harris, if she follows her heart, will hand Trump the Presidency, the Senate, and the House, and probably in larger numbers than presently anticipated. It's enough to break a Democrat's heart.
She needs to win the rust belt states, composed of a lot of white, working-class voters. If her campaign is smart, she’ll work to win those voters over. Hopefully the stakes are high enough that we will see some significant overtures to them in the coming weeks and months.
Josh Shapiro as a VP pick would be an excellent first start.
Shapiro is a red herring, in my opinion. The people burning flags in DC yesterday, would quickly shift to burning buildings, if Dems ran a Jewish man for VP. At a minimum, it would cost Harris Michigan, and maybe Minnesota.
Probably Kelly. He might be able to deliver Arizona, and fits Kamala's pledge, albeit, completely unconstitutional, to confiscate guns with a "mandatory buy back". That plan does not have a prayer of passing the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution. Kamala went to law school. She knows that, but it does not stop her, from promising the impossible.
We will see! Beshear would be a great option too, but he’s not from a swing state.
I think Shapiro walks the line pretty well with defending Israel while not defending everything they do.
Don’t know if the difference in Gaza defectors in Michigan would outweigh potential gains with the working class with a Shapiro pick or not. I guess it’s possible.
Yes, Kamala's ignoring the labor vote may prove as fatal a political mistake in 2024 as Hillary's slight of critical Midwest and traditionally blue states like Michigan and Wisconsin.
But lost in all this top-of-ticket jockeying, and a factor in past executive power excesses both parties have experienced, is the need for control of the separate but equal branch known as Congress, which by its own inassertiveness has become less than equal. Are both parties placing undue and constitutionally unfortunate hopes in control of the White House and an executive branch enjoying unearned influence in the direction of our republic?
I see JD is not backing down from his Cat Ladies insult. He says he it is meant to highlight his pro-family stance. Question. Does he support paid family leave?
We saw more of this rally-the-base-first mentality with a statement that bashed Israel without mentioning Hamas beyond a generic mention of terrorism. Does Harris actually think that will gain her votes on balance?
As frustrating as Netanyahu is, pairing criticism of him with something like “If Hamas cared about Palestinian lives, they would surrender” would be much savvier politically.
I don't see how the democrats can appeal to working class voters. Working class people still have common sense and their God given intelligence. Did you ever see a working class dude in a double mask?
Blue collar workers may not have an economics degree, but they know that massive immigration is going to drive down wages, sooner or later. Working class kids go to public schools and their parents know that lots of immigrant children, and the all the money going to supporting migrant families is money coming out of their pockets and their school budgets. Forever wars, uncontrolled immigration, climate change, they can see that this is money that doesn't build their communities.
Climate change is not a huge worry when you have a hard time affording vacations or eating out. DEI, transgender rights, all the rest of the liberal dogma, how does this help the working class? The working class people I see are working with people of different races and getting along just fine. Its about getting the job done and not being a jerk. I doubt they want to hear more DEI blather, or about saving democracy in Ukraine, while grocery prices are rising faster than wages.
Tell me one positive economic benefit that cult leader Donald Trump has provided to working people during his 4 years in office.
I am not a Trump supporter. But some of the working class people I know felt he spoke for their concerns when he attacked China for taking jobs, being unfair in trade. Trump talked about bringing jobs home ( not sure if much happened). But at least he talked about it. While democrats talk about.....well, you know what they talk about.
Also, inflation was low during Trumps presidency. Covid stimulus ( remember the 1000 checks? all the money to closed businesses?), supply chain disruptions due to the lockdowns , and Ukraine war which effected energy prices PLUS the on going climate change policies which probably do nothing but enrich private equity-- ALL of that contributed to inflation. Voters are not so stupid. Trump may be a vulgar childish person, but he managed to not f**k up the American economy.
So Trump "spoke to their concerns" but over 4 years, did nothing to actually improve their lives. And now they will vote for him again even though Trump's top economic priority (besides enriching himself) is to make the very wealthiest Americans and large companies even wealthier - all at the expense of the saps who like Trump because he "speaks to their concerns".
Well I guess I would have to say "yes". I agree that both parties are in the grip of big corporations.
Voters know that the biggest US companies are MORE supportive of democrats than of Trump ( that was not the case 30 years ago). For example, big Pharma.... How about making a product that the government mandates people to take and helps to pay for... Bezos owns Washington Post which pushed covid panic and lockdowns, Amazon doubled sales and share price during lockdowns. The list is endless....
RFK Jr talks about the "corrupt fusion of big government and big business."
Again, I would say, Trump didn't improve working class lives, but neither did Biden. He created the inflation we have now.
I think another issue that democrats don't get is that most working class people work hard, often at jobs that are not creative or particularly enjoyable. They proud of their effort and they want this hard work to actually serve to support their families. They dont want hand outs or help. They want the dignity of being breadwinners. So all the democrats policies to help them don't weigh that heavy, they feel that under Trump the economy was stronger.
IF the democrats truly wanted to help working class people they would limit immigration, rein in big corporations and help small local businesses, unwind globalization to some degree, etc etc. Long conversation, but I dont see it.
The Democratic Party has become the College-Educated Party, shaming people who do not have college degrees, and equating degrees with economic success and the ability to get jobs. This is really the core of the Democrat's problem. Joe Biden understands this, therefore his emphasis on infrastructure jobs and building the manufacturing economy. The college students are more interested in Gaza and college loan forgiveness. Theirs are the voices reflected on the cable news shows and the editorial pages because "opinion leaders" are predominantly college professors and exclusively college-educated. How about forgiving car notes, back rent, credit card debt, and mortgages? How about restricting immigration to people with a university degree? How about respecting plumbers, butchers, and factory workers instead of shaming and feeling sorry for them that they have to actually work for a living?
The respectful Republican National Committee says “Kamala Harris brought her cackle to Milwaukee." That's what passes now for the meme-ification of campaigning.
Harris is not a Democrat . She is the OG Progressive, whose fingerprints are all over California's decline. Kamala birthed decriminalization of theft to $950, per instance. She refused to charge SF migrants with drug felonies, because a conviction can result in deportation. The result was an endless, ever increasing, supply of dope, which drove prices down and stoked usage, as never before. Kamala did not care, tens of thousands of Californians would lose their livelihoods, families, and ultimately their lives. She was too busy cheering herself.
Harris championed defunding the police, bail reform and early prison release, before it was cool. The fact is was an abject failure, and hardest on poor, minority communities, was not a concern for the Harris family , or her Brentwood neighbors.
Kamal's proposed perpetual, free medical care for migrants, ignores not just, the unsustainable US tax payer cost, but the pull factor that sparks the world's impoverished to flee stable, but poor homes, in search of US wealth.
That migrants are treated, mostly, as beasts of burden, intended as new, permanent, lower caste of cheap labor, rather than people, was not a Harris concern, just the next election. Ditto for the tens of thousands of young migrants, sold into bondage, within US borders. The lucky ones, illegally, on factory floors. The unlucky ones, in brothels, for their short and horrendous lives.
Even the most devoted Climate Crusaders realize the Harris plan to ban fracking and off shore drilling, would send gas and groceries soaring, up from their current unaffordable prices. Harris would immediately cause a US economic Depression, and the loss of our Superpower status, when US became dependent on Russia, Iran and OPEC for oil.
Kamala's Progressive wishlist, would be national attempted suicide. Working people would economically perish first, and en mass. Most of them, likely, and hopefully, realize that fact .
Harris has been campaigning for FOUR WHOLE DAYS. She's received a huge number of powerful endorsements and a LOT of small dollar donations. Democrats finally have some really to hope and yet Ruy remains stuck in Debbie Downer's basement complaining about what a bunch of "radical leftists" he thinks we are.
If supporting the restoration of Roe, clean energy projects, lower drug prices, a fairer tax code, better regulations of monopolies and the "big tech" industry, standing up to Putin's aggression, supporting church state separation, defending unions and the right to organize (who was the first US president to walk a picket line, Ruy?), then call me a "radical leftist".
Ruy: Cheer up! We Democrats are in a whole lot better place now than we were a week ago. Harris has no easy path to victory, but at least she - and we - have a f***ing chance now. That's something, isn't it?
Roe will never be "restored," it's gone to the states. Why Dems keep flacking this as the main part of their plank is beyond me. Clean energy projects are subsidized give-aways to Dem billionaire donors, lower drug prices means you want to federalize pharmaceutical industry? better (more?) business regulations will drive up the cost of goods. So yes, please double down on the nanny state.
Wow - so much nonsense if so few words.
Like?
I don't think it will make much difference what the candidates say about what they will do. The Democrats will vote party line, and against Trump.
Kamala is the life raft floating aside a sinking ship...from the vantage point of those on the ship, it looks amazing...a beacon of hope. But alas, it is a listless life raft. Over the coming weeks, it will be exposed as such.
As we learn more about JD Vance, his appeal to working class voters is bewildering. His career as a venture capitalist was entirely funded by a handful of Silicon Valley billionaires. Even then, not much to show for it.
So Trump is basically holding steady. Harris, if she follows her heart, will hand Trump the Presidency, the Senate, and the House, and probably in larger numbers than presently anticipated. It's enough to break a Democrat's heart.
“Lyin’ Kamala Harris has absolutely terrible pole (sic) numbers against a fine and brilliant young man named DONALD J. TRUMP!” Now that's populism.
Mixed with a small amount of hyperbole. But, that to is populism.
She needs to win the rust belt states, composed of a lot of white, working-class voters. If her campaign is smart, she’ll work to win those voters over. Hopefully the stakes are high enough that we will see some significant overtures to them in the coming weeks and months.
Josh Shapiro as a VP pick would be an excellent first start.
Shapiro is a red herring, in my opinion. The people burning flags in DC yesterday, would quickly shift to burning buildings, if Dems ran a Jewish man for VP. At a minimum, it would cost Harris Michigan, and maybe Minnesota.
Probably Kelly. He might be able to deliver Arizona, and fits Kamala's pledge, albeit, completely unconstitutional, to confiscate guns with a "mandatory buy back". That plan does not have a prayer of passing the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution. Kamala went to law school. She knows that, but it does not stop her, from promising the impossible.
We will see! Beshear would be a great option too, but he’s not from a swing state.
I think Shapiro walks the line pretty well with defending Israel while not defending everything they do.
Don’t know if the difference in Gaza defectors in Michigan would outweigh potential gains with the working class with a Shapiro pick or not. I guess it’s possible.
Beshear is a nepo baby. And if you think the progressives will get behind
Shapiro, I've got a bridge to see you.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/kamala-harris-economy-policy-election-2024-333a3751?st=eg2ixn9ljvfvfeb&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Kamala’s economic plans, from WSJ, in case anyone is interested. Middle class focused, per reporting.
Do you consider this article a positive for her? More taxes, more big government.
Yes, Kamala's ignoring the labor vote may prove as fatal a political mistake in 2024 as Hillary's slight of critical Midwest and traditionally blue states like Michigan and Wisconsin.
But lost in all this top-of-ticket jockeying, and a factor in past executive power excesses both parties have experienced, is the need for control of the separate but equal branch known as Congress, which by its own inassertiveness has become less than equal. Are both parties placing undue and constitutionally unfortunate hopes in control of the White House and an executive branch enjoying unearned influence in the direction of our republic?
I see JD is not backing down from his Cat Ladies insult. He says he it is meant to highlight his pro-family stance. Question. Does he support paid family leave?
We saw more of this rally-the-base-first mentality with a statement that bashed Israel without mentioning Hamas beyond a generic mention of terrorism. Does Harris actually think that will gain her votes on balance?
As frustrating as Netanyahu is, pairing criticism of him with something like “If Hamas cared about Palestinian lives, they would surrender” would be much savvier politically.