General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ed Schultz EXPOSES Cause Of Racism In The South [View all]hfojvt
(37,573 posts)I am having, it seems an awful week. If nothing else, it seems that allergies are kicking my a$$.
Making me even grumpier than usual, and even my usual is grumpy old man.
I do agree that churches have largely failed working class whites, pretty much abandoned them. At least the churches I associate with seem to be bastions of the upper middle class, rather than of the factory worker or retail worker. For a long time I have marvelled at the nice new - expensive - cars you see parked outside a church on a Sunday. The people who attend church are generally not poor, probably are above the median income.
And that is why (I think) a lot of those people voted for Reagan. Not so much for reasons of race, but because of the $$$$. Reagan promised these giant, across-the-board, tax cuts, and for many above the median income, that looked like easy money.
So, on the one side, you had Reagan promising free money, and on the other side you had Carter promising more sacrifices like a 55 mph speed limit and malaise and giving away the Panama Canal and not going to the Olympics and hostage crises. Reagan promised free money AND an America that would kick a$$ (again).