Could the Dems win the white-working-class vote by getting more progressive?

[KingOrfeo]

That is the thesis of this article. It seems to go against the conventional wisdom, but:

As Thomas Edsall notes, the white working class is positively left-wing on many economic issues:

There are a few — but very few — issues on which the white working class is more liberal than the general public, all of which capture the group’s bread-and-butter concerns: expansion of family, maternity and sick leave; a belief that “Wall Street hurts the American economy more than it helps”; and support for the protection of Medicare benefits.

Most members of the white working class also support a higher minimum wage, Social Security and oppose “free trade” deals with mercantilist nations like South Korea and China that lead to the destruction or offshoring of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

The author then proceeds to tick off how little the Dems have done lately on each of those issues the WWC cares about.

What prevents Democratic candidates for the White House and Congress in 2016 from running in the primaries and the general election on a campaign to raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security, legislate universal paid family leave, and crack down on foreign nations that cheat at trade? We all know the answer: Democratic donors. Most, though not all, of the rich people who fund the Democrats tend to be economically conservative, even if they are socially liberal. A party funded by fiscally-conservative Wall Street financiers and the intellectual property rentiers of Silicon Valley is not going to pursue the interests of the working class of all races in expanding universal entitlements and substantially raising taxes on the rich, even if its successful candidates strike populist poses in campaigns. A genuinely progressive presidential candidate would never survive the fund-raising “money primary” that comes before the actual voter primaries.

But isn’t the white working class irrational to vote for Republicans who claim they want to destroy middle-class entitlements like Social Security and Medicare? Not necessarily. Paul Ryan can publish all the libertarian budget manifestos he likes, but when it comes to actually voting to cut Social Security or Medicare for the working class, Republican members of Congress inevitably flinch. Working-class white Republican voters have learned that, however much Republicans may slash spending on the poor, they will usually protect benefits for their constituents.

Well, let's assume a way can be found around the above obstacles -- if the Dems actually started dishing out some progressive red meat for the WWC, would that win their votes?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The Democrats are fucked for 2014.

 

[KingOrfeo]

The Democrats are fucked for 2014.

I'm thinking long-term here. Of course no big change in policy direction is going to happen this year.

 

[phrodeau]

The Democrats are fucked for 2014.

Really? Is the Independent Party ascending? Because it sure isn't going to be Republicans making any headway.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Really? Is the Independent Party ascending? Because it sure isn't going to be Republicans making any headway.

They don't need headway, they have positioning. Most of the Senate seats up for election this year are held by Dems, and the Pubs have gerrymandered House districts in most of the red states.

 

[unregistered]

 

[Sean Renaud]

They don't need headway, they have positioning. Most of the Senate seats up for election this year are held by Dems, and the Pubs have gerrymandered House districts in most of the red states.

Hey we could get lucky like in 2010 when the Tea Party showed up and pulled our asses out of the fire. We haven't even seen the candidates and the news on Obamacare is starting to turn around and we've got a few more months. It doesn't have to be a massacre.

Not if the Pubs have the balls to call it what it is.

An attempt to improve their lives and give them what they want?

I honestly don't think Pubs would need to do anything to battle this however. First I'm not sold the White Working Class care more about their personal finances than they do staying in step with Conservatisim as a whole.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Not if the Pubs have the balls to call it what it is.

I think a "campaign to raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security, legislate universal paid family leave, and crack down on foreign nations that cheat at trade" is gonna sell pretty well to the WWC no matter what the Pubs call it.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Hey we could get lucky like in 2010 when the Tea Party showed up and pulled our asses out of the fire. We haven't even seen the candidates and the news on Obamacare is starting to turn around and we've got a few more months. It doesn't have to be a massacre.

And it won't be, but it's better than even money that the Pubs will keep the House and take the Senate (neither by much). That's not because the Pubs are popular and it's not because the Dems are unpopular, it's just how the game is playing out this year.

 

[Liar]

Not if the Pubs have the balls to call it what it is.

They've proven time and again that they have the balls to call Dem policies what it isn't, so calling it what it is for a change should be well within their testicular fortitude.

Question is, wouldn't shrieking "populsim!" instead of the usual "communism!" really hit home with the target audience?