How Democrats lost the common man.

[Edwcraig]

At almost every state and national convention the Party plays the Fanfare to the Common Man. [link:

| Since FDR and before, the "common man" was the base of the Democratic Party. The textile worker in the South, labor unions of the North, the little guy helped by the peoples Party to survive against the powerful. It was our Party's "base". Today, they are the base of the Republican Party. We need to admit it.

How did we get here?

I recall Lee Atwater and I discussing this over drink at the TallyHo in the late 70's. Democrats had just won taken the SC governor race with Dick Riley? We discussed that the old Democratic coalition in SC had held, barely, but it held. Non-white, white liberal intellectuals, and the "hard scrabble road" vote. Hard scrabble road voters in South Carolina were the white textile worker vote. The old FDR common man.

I recall Atwater saying "we are going to take these guys from you, and we are going to do it with religion". And the way we are going to use religion is abortion. He did. He was instrumental in the creation of the 'Moral Majority" and worked this with Reagan. An atheist running against the most Christian man ever to be President. All with religion and abortion. I think back today on how profound that conversation was.

From there, the growth of the evangelical movement that went from the revival tents to taking over the Southern Baptist Convention. The expansion of cable TV - enabled the mainlining of christian con artists such as Jim Bakker and Pat Robertson -all using the abortion hammer to indoctrinate the "common man"

This is not about abortion rights. No retreat from this This is about countering the ant-abortion message to either regain or marginalize the now Republican Party common man base.

Make no mistake. The Democratic Party is no longer the Party of the common man. We lost them. Face it. With the worst President in history, corrupt, racists, sexists, controlled by a foreign government, destroyer of our climate and economic policies and responsible for the death THE DEATH OF over 400,000 Americans, he would have been re-elected but for around 45,000 votes. All because of the hard scrabble road/common man vote, voted Republican. And without them the math to 51 % is difficult. It means that the non-white vote and white liberal intellectuals have to do it. The numbers do not work. So somehow, someway we have to carve out a segment of the old "common man" vote to win. We thought it was white women. It was not.

For those who want to celebrate our victory in November and listen to the fanfare to the common man over a glass of wine, go ahead. But understand the that "all glory is fleeting". Unless we solve this problem. It will be gone.

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Pure bullshit, lazy writing.

I would tell this writer to fuck themselves and their incorrect assumptions.

[FreepFryer]

2. BS. Tell Atwater to get fucked for all this duplicitous framing when u see him. (Nt)

[Turin_C3PO]

3. We may have lost the "common"

white man but we have plenty of “common” minority voters. This post acts like white people are the default.

[wryter2000]

6. Amen, amen, amen

Racist bullshit.

We lost these people because of their racism and sexism.

[Kaleva]

10. Yes. OP apparently believes only white males matter.

[frazzled]

15. Exactly, I was going to say that

the operative term here was “white.”

[uponit7771]

25. +1, white people MIGHT have been the default in 82 or 92 but that's not the case any longer

... and the democratic party needs to come to that realization.

There are another 40 million voters who didn't vote in this election, build on the 80 million and get this country going where it should be quick fast.

[Thekaspervote]

4. The common man you refer to is the NCEWM..a shrinking force in politics

[Bettie]

34. What is NCEWM?

I can usually figure those out, but this one has me confused. I know it is white men...maybe evangelical.

[Turin_C3PO]

40. I think

Non college educated white male.

[Bettie]

41. Ah....I got stuck on the E being evangelical

and the rest didn't come to me due to that bias!

Thanks!

Oh, and one answer: am radio. Many, many of those guys listen to AM radio while they work and are in their cars. The only shows on are right wing hate radio in most markets.

[edhopper]

5. They lost the common white racist

that happen when Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act.

[wryter2000]

13. And

When Ronald Reagan convinced them that all their taxes were going to feed welfare queens. He did that as governor of California.

[edhopper]

23. The Nixon

"Southern Strategy"

[asiliveandbreathe]

16. Exactly..too - Atwater was pure racist..all we have to do is look at the number of

bills NOW being legislated in RED states..making voting more difficult..

Whether or not Johnson actually said Dems have lost the southern vote with the signing of the Civil Rights Act, pure racism ..not the loss of the common man..'tis loss of racists..

[CTyankee]

17. Is that what the media call the "white housewives" vote? I scratch my head about that.

I'm old enough to remember what happened with Johnson and the Civil Rights Act. And I am a 3rd generation Texan. I went to segregated schools and rode on segregated buses. Brown v. Board was decided the year I graduated and went to college.

[Kaleva]

7. Odd to see someone here lament the loss of the support of white, racist males.

[MineralMan]

8. Is this post something you wrote or did it come from somewhere else?

If it's yours, then I think you need to rethink what you said.

If it's from another source, you need to link to that source, please.

[ret5hd]

9. Read "Deer Hunting With Jesus (Dispatches From America's Class War)"...

by Joe Bageant.

Raised in, then left, then returned, then left again, the very rural and small towns of Virginia, Joe Bageant has an almost unparalleled understanding of the subject...coupled with a talent for writing clear-eyed about subjects that make you want to scream and cry.

Here is a short interview:

[stonecutter357]

11. trump is a racist pig ! "common man" Is that white trash racist ?

[betsuni]

12. "white liberal intellectuals" "over a glass of wine"

ELITES!!!11!!!

[cilla4progress]

14. Been hesitant to say this....

but I'm curious about the seemingly large number of newbies here?

[stillcool]

18. White supremacists are now the 'common' man..

it is sad that you see your whiteness under attack. Sad too that the 'common man' point their fingers anywhere but at themselves. They've been fighting anyone else with their misguided notions and conspiracies, but then kneel at the altar of their masters, or those who have created our current reality. Makes me sick to see this kind of bullshit posted here.

[doc03]

19. It started with Reagan and the war on unions. I remember him saying that

we have to switch to a "service economy". In other words destroy manufacturing and there goes the unions the
biggest supporter for Democrats. The Republicans came up with NAFTA but GHWB was unable to pass it because he couldn't get any Democratic support. Then comes the Bill Clinton, he was able to get enough Democratic support to pass it. Then once it
was passed the Republicans were able to beat Democrats over the head with losing manufacturing from then on. The Republicans have
politicized climate change and we get blamed for the loss of mining and drilling jobs. Then of course racism had a major roll in their plan also. This is a 40 year plan the Republicans devised to eventually install their right wing dictator.

[johnp3907]

20. GOOD!

[StarfishSaver]

21. Oh, good Lord

The Democrats didn't lose "the Common Man."

Some people just can't recognize the obvious. Or they can't admit it.

[LexVegas]

22. by common man, you mean white man. nt

[Dem4Life1102]

24. Democrats didn't lose the "common man"

Democrats lost the common white man.

[ananda]

26. That is so off, it's unreal.

The Dems lost the racists and the very wealthy
who didn't want to pay taxes.

[Aristus]

27. "Common" used to mean low-class, vulgar, crass, and squalid.

Yep. The GOP definitely poached those common men, who are now the standard-bearers for the right-wing party.

Good riddance.

[KayF]

28. "unless we solve the problem" is key

I'm seeing signs the dems know we're in danger of losing people (not "lost them" as you said)

One example, here's Schumer sounding different from what I'm used to from dems, talking about using reconciliation:

Schumer: The caucus is united with a belief that I have: we must get big, strong, bold things done. That's a bottom line. If we don't, I worry about the future of this democracy. If people continue to be disillusioned that this government can't do a thing to make their lives better at a time when so many are angry, so many are sour, so many think they don't have a chance to get ahead, I worry about the future. So we have to get things done.

[Tarc]

29. The "common man" here is the lightly-educated low-to-middle-class white

good riddance.

We have a broad coalition of PoCs plus the white people (like me, IMO) who are educated and aren't batshit insane.

[DonaldsRump]

30. This is, frankly, an absurd post

Last edited Sat Jan 30, 2021, 04:07 PM - Edit history (1)

As previously asked, did you write this? Or did someone else do so, in which case you need to give a citation.

At best, there's a rural vs. urban issue. Your "common man" theory is nonsense, and you should remove this post.

Mineral Man has written separately on this topic, and here's the link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215029101 .

I'll post your's in MM's OP, so that the issue is fully joined.

[Edwcraig]

31. Wrote it. Not nonsense. Your link is broken. Not interested in your posting anywhere else.

[DonaldsRump]

38. I've fixed it. Thank you. But the premise of your post

indicates that Ds need to move towards racism. Citing Lee Atwater does not strengthen your argument.

That's about all that's left of the Republican party, which has been brainwashed by social media, QAnon, Russia, and skewed media. They are trained that ANYTHING that goes against what they are being told is "fake news." That anarchy in defense of white power is fine. Is that what you're advocating with your "common man" theory?

Joe Biden and Stacey Abrams very recently showed us that the "common man" view is indeed nonsense. The ONLY things that Repubs excel at are stopping people from voting and smearing people regardless of the ultimate truth. President Biden and soon to be Governor Abrams showed how you can truly win the hearts, minds and souls of good people, whether common or otherwise.

On edit: By the way, if this is your definition of the "common man", our big tent ain't big enough to hold these losers. Not a single one of them:

[msfiddlestix]

32. Dems may have lost the common ignorant racists man, but make huge gains in the Common Woman

and a whole lot of Men across the spectrum of economic class and race.

This is a meme that needs to gooooo.

buh bye.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

33. Please define "the common man."

[MyNameGoesHere]

35. The common white man went Batshit crazy

And became a Nazi. So we didn't lose anything.

[andym]

36. The Jacksonian "common man": white working class men

to which you refer were being lost before Atwater. The Republican Party of Nixon was already the party of the Archie Bunkers, biased working-class men, were already Republicans or about to be. That's why "All in the Family" was such a hit in the 70's. Trump is the natural progression of a Republican Party that bases its appeal on "traditional values." That said, Atwater was a political genius and the GOP he created could eventually lead to the end of the United States as a democratic republic. Abortion is a key issue that will divide the US and fuel the GOP for decades to come.

But there is another reason the white working-class male is lost. While lies and mischaracterizations have always been part of American politics (Jefferson was slandered as a Jacobin revolutionary puppet in pamphlets from 1800), the modern alignment of the GOP with baseless propaganda is unprecedented and exceeds that seen in the era of yellow journalism. The power of the communication networks and manipulative techniques is such that it's difficult to see how it can be stopped: the warning bells have rung: Roger Ailes and Rush Limbaugh may be as significant figures in the loss of the "common man" and possibly the loss of the nation itself to authoritarianism as any.

As a side note:
It is interesting that the Jacksonian common man of the late 1820's-1830's during the "Era of Good Feelings" was when "The ideal of equality among white males became a pervasive theme," and that it still refers to the same group today. https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/History/National_History/Book%3A_United_States_History_to_1877_(Locks_et_al.)/12%3A_Jacksonian_America_(1815-1840)/12.02%3A_The_Age_of_the_Common_Man

[HAB911]

37. "common man" lowest common demoinator

fuck 'em

[jcgoldie]

39. bullshit

I guess for you "common man" means white uneducated and racist?

[Dirty Socialist]

42. Then America has gone DEVO

If the Dems lost the common man, that is because Americans are de-evolving. The common America is rubes, dupes and unhinged crackpots. I’m glad we are leaving those schleps in our rear view mirror

[RANDYWILDMAN]

43. Common man non thinking voters

and yes repubs did more to divide them the democrats did.

Abortion is like a false flag insult to their religion, except it also positions women as equals and that upsets their misognyy

How reagan treated Aids bumped up their view that Gays are evil

How HW, Reagon and W used the military around the world to paint the Good and bad guys against each other. I am the great leader, we won the tiny Wars and Support the troops crap they play brilliantly unless, you UNDERSTAND what those adventures were really about. W filled the world with the Pat Tillman is a hero story and hungry patriots ate it up and it like WMD's was a total lie.

Reagan Busted unions and they have not been the same since.

HW had the saving and loans scandels and W had prime mortgages scandal of 2008. both of these made Bankers More weathy and powerful at the expense of most people and the scemes were not even known by most people.

Wars on credit led by RW

Fairness doctrine- lost control of RW radio. Rush and crew have been telling common men they are the patriots and right and getting beaten down by Demcrats for 40 years and lots of people who can't think for themselves believe them.

Lastly the fast as the world has become more complex the republicans and right wingers have lived by slogans and fear, the US vs THEM is a constant theme. Creating a Huge EMPATHY VOID in our country. We don't really have it. Trump and McConnell are proof. Too many people are too busy, or too drugged, TV, FOOD, DRUGS. If you are too busy making a living you can't understand the world that is being presented to you. Apathy if your policies for 40 year encourage apathy that is not good for the US. Lastly Voter suppression and Gerrymandering, Repubs are into it and love it. Common people don't understand how much damage these two things have done to out country and they are told by Repubs NOT TO CARE about it.

One thing or another they have taught Voters not to care or have pushed them into such a bad position they can't see straight to save their lives.

Repubs can't even explain the truth of January 6th to their voters, because it would destroy all they have built.

[SoonerPride]

44. 👎🏻

Hogwash

[Klaralven]

45. There is complete rejection that the White Christian underclass needs political representation

However, that group does not agree that the White elite establishment is working in its interests. It believes that the elites are selling out its interests in order to buy social peace.

So long as it has no legitimate representation, it will continue to organize underground efforts.

[stonecutter357]

46. FUCK Q and trump racist pigs !