I've never understood why so many working class white men and women vote republican.

[MicaelS]

63. Because a lot of people are Economically Liberal, but Socially Conservative.

And by Socially Conservative, I mean having deep religious faith to the point where their faith and church is the center of their spiritual and social life.

I have co-workers who are deeply religious. Some of them spend a great of time on religious forums. They spend time and money giving charity to the poor. And their religious faith outweighs any "good" that modern Liberalism can do for them.

They all say the same thing. They despise (a) Atheism and (b) Homosexuality. They see both as "evil", that's their word "evil". And they believe the modern Democratic Party has given into evil by not just accepting, but also accepting and condoning both. They go onto to say that they will never vote Democratic as long as the Party engages in its current position on both issues. But they would vote Democratic if the Party ditches both issues.

I'm not religious, and I do not go to religious forums, so I can only take what they say at face value.

And then there's this over here, which I am in total agreement:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1016&pid=33399

The Dem betrayal of the working class started in 1968. The activist faction within the party became dominated by "bourgeois" upper middle class types obsessed with cultural issues who derided the values of working class Americans. This lead to the emergence of the "Reagan Democrats" and the alignment of working class white men with the Republicans. We Democrats are seen an "elitist" party of upper-middle class yuppies by a lot of working class people.

That doesn't mean gay rights, women's rights, etc. are not important, but they should not displace economic progressiveness as the central "hub".

Every time an Upper-Middle Class Dem talks about how virtuous they are because they bought organic food at Whole Paycheck they drive more working class people into the hands of the GOP.

And there is my contribution:

The idea that the only people that mattered were those in the large urban centers, help drive away those in small town and rural areas. Trying to restrict / ban guns is just part and parcel of this. It's a urban vs non-urban issue. I know gun owners who say they will never vote Democratic as long as the Party advocates Gun Control and Gun Prohibition.