Source: Common Dreams
by Les Leopold
“Did the working class, especially its white members, elect Donald Trump again because they are basically racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic? Are they craving a strongman who can protect white supremacy from a flood of immigrants and put the woke liberals in their place? Didn’t Harris lose primarily because she’s a woman of color? More than a few progressives, as well as the New York Times, believe these are plausible explanations for Harris’s defeat. I’m not so sure. The working class started abandoning the Democrats long before Trump became a political figure, let alone a candidate. In 1976, Jimmy Carter received 52.3 percent of the working-class vote; In 1996, Clinton 50 percent; In 2012, Obama 40.6 percent; and in 2020, Biden received only 36.2 percent. This decline has little to do with illiberalism on social issues.” (11/20/24)