General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: South Carolina Democrats: Better if Sanders 'got lost' (don't shoot the messanger, AP story) [View all]JHan
(10,173 posts)It's how I feel when I read about "third way". I know they don't mean the think tank - which has no real influence. What they're critiquing is triangulation, which every politician does - and I mean everyone, including every single politician in the Senate.
In any case "Reagan Democrat" is weird for several reasons. I don't even blame "boomers" for Reagan. Young boomers wouldn't have been eligible to vote for Reagan in 1980. Boomers of voting age leaned towards Carter as far as I know ( or weren't completely bowled over by Reagan). At the time, your typical Reagan voter was older, white, male and moneyed. Similar in some respects to many Trump voters today. So why even single out a "Reagan Democrat" who wouldn't typically vote Dem down the line today.
I think the concept of Reagan Democrats only works if you believe the Overton Window Theory ( I used to) where there's a single window that shifts, impacting all of politics. The fact you have two political parties with such divergent views proves this theory wrong.
"Reagan Democrat" is as much a joke as neoliberal critiques of Democrats.