General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBingo- It was cultural anxiety, i.e. prejudice and not econimics that drove Deplorables to Trump
A new study finds that fear of societal change, not economic pressure, motivated votes for the president among non-salaried workers without college degrees.
White Americans carried Donald Trump to the White House. He won college-educated white voters by a four-point margin over Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. But his real victory was among members of the white working class: Twice as many of these voters cast their ballots for the president as for Clinton.
In the wake of Trumps surprise win, some journalists, scholars, and political strategists argued that economic anxiety drove these Americans to Trump. But new analysis of post-election survey data conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and The Atlantic found something different: Evidence suggests financially troubled voters in the white working class actually preferred Clinton over Trump. Besides partisan affiliation, it was cultural anxietyfeeling like a stranger in America, supporting the deportation of immigrants, and hesitating about educational investmentthat best predicted support for Trump.
This data adds to the publics mosaic-like understanding of the 2016 election. It suggests Trumps most powerful message, at least among some Americans, was about defending the countrys putative culture. Because this message seems to have resonated so deeply with voters, Trumps policies, speeches, and eventual reelection may depend on their perception of how
well he fulfills it.
When these voters hear messages from their president, theyre listening with ears attuned to cultural change and anxiety about Americas multicultural future. It would be a mistake to use this insight to create yet another caricature of the Trump voter. But perhaps it will complicate the stereotypes about destitute factory landscapes and poor folks who had nowhere to turn but right.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/white-working-class-trump-cultural-anxiety/525771/
Let the lost take care of the lost. There are more of us than them. We don't have to throw women, blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Jews, and glbtq people under the bus to win.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Eight percent of African Americans voted for Trump. It seems they weren't anxious enough to vote for him, at least in substantial numbers.
The article was about the 64% of white working class voters who voted for Trump and their reasons for doing so.
nikibatts
(2,198 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Controlling for other demographic variables, three factors stood out as strong independent predictors of how white working-class people would vote. The first was anxiety about cultural change. Sixty-eight percent of white working-class voters said the American way of life needs to be protected from foreign influence. And nearly half agreed with the statement, things have changed so much that I often feel like a stranger in my own country. Together, these variables were strong indictors of support for Trump: 79 percent of white working-class voters who had these anxieties chose Trump, while only 43 percent of white working-class voters who did not share one or both of these fears cast their vote the same way.
The second factor was immigration. Contrary to popular narratives, only a small portionjust 27 percentof white working-class voters said they favor a policy of identifying and deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally. Among the people who did share this belief, Trump was wildly popular: 87 percent of them supported the president in the 2016 election.
Finally, 54 percent of white working-class Americans said investing in college education is a risky gamble, including 61 percent of white working-class men.
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)These people felt ignored.
"Make America Great Again" means "I will turn back the clock to a time when you were not ignored."
"Better together" means "I promise a future where everybody is heard and you will be drowned out by other voices."