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Vicky & Dan's avatar

Great data! (My wife and I love data....not as much as we love each other, but that's another story)

The barrier for the Democratic Party ever being attractive to working class voters is that too many of them (within the "progressive" wing) simply don't like them as people.

Read articles in NYT and WaPo, and read comments to those articles. Our "favorite" put-down word used to describe them is "low-information." Not only do "progressives" look down on them, but they simply don't hang out with them. They don't belong to the Lion's club with them, go to the same bars, belong to the same churches, hunt with them, drive OHVs with them, etc.

We live in a blue collar area, and our families have a rich blue collar tradition, including some of our children, and including one of us having a career in law enforcement (my wife, actually, and I'll spare you pages of my bragging on her like I do by stopping total strangers on the street). We had been voters for Democrats for 50 years, but switched this year largely because we don't want to live in this type of "progressive" country.

We voted for Trump (holding our noses) to be "with" our families, friends, and neighbors.

When "progressives" get the boot from our beloved Democratic Party, and it stops being so elitist, we'll be back.

But we're not holding our breath.

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Ronda Ross's avatar

Dems can discuss worker's rights and unionization, until they are Blue in the face, but it seems unlikely, that is their road to redemption. Only 6% of the US private workforce is unionized. Moreover, Biden's "national investments in domestic energy production", refers to Green energy policy, that mainly benefits the wealthy, while driving up the cost of energy, for everyone else.

Dems lost Texas border districts, that have not voted Red in a century, mostly due to insane border polices, but the Dem war on fossil fuels, did not help. US Border residents, have limited job prospects out of high school, if they wished to continue residing, in the area. The Oil Patch, is an exception. Straight out of high school, 18 year olds, earn $80K a year. Moreover, they often enjoy the work hard, play hard schedule, that allows them to return home for long breaks. Everyone employed in the oil industry knows, oil production is at record levels, despite Dem policy, not because of it.

Dem Party powerful, still fail to grasp, the importance of inflation, immigration and crime, in the election. Mere weeks after Biden's loss, Blue Governors and Mayors were lecturing the entire US, they would impede any deportations, with their last breaths.

Violent migrant crime is now a nationwide, near daily, occurrence. Yet, these Mensa members never once, stated they would support the removal of violent criminals and gang members from their locals, while protecting, otherwise law abiding, long time, undocumented residents.

Refusing to support, the removal of violent migrant criminals, is tone deafness on a level, rarely seen in politics, prior to the last 4 years. In the past few days, a few have wisely decided, defending foreign murderers, rapists, muggers, thieves and their ilk, may no be the political hill, on which, they wish to die.

Vague family and worker friendly policies, undoubtedly poll well, but if Dems are serious about reclaiming Blue Collar workers, they must prioritize them, not 10 million new arrivals and Green schemes, that enrich the already wealthy. That begins with a sincere apology, and an actual, genuine, attempt to undo the harm, the past 4 years have caused Blue Collar workers, not defending, the indefensible.

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