One example of how dumb our electorate is.

[bklyncowgirl]

27. I have a brother in law. He's in his 50s off and on unemployment for the past few years.

He and many like him consider it to be in their self-interest to vote Republican. He's in Georgia. I'd bet this month's mortgage that he voted for Perdue despite Perdue's being a "proud outsourcer".

Why? Well, his pet issue is guns, but that's not all. He is also absolutely convinced that illegal immigration is a greater threat to his job prospects than outsourcing. Any comprehensive immigration reform would include the B1B Visa which would utterly devastate his chances of finding a job. His glory days, when he was fresh out of college and a hot commodity in the tech field came during the Reagan administration. He sees the influx of women and minorities into his field after that as a threat--a threat championed by Democrats--the same Democrats that he is convinced want his guns. Like most people he despises the fact that some people are on welfare while he is, well he is trying to get and keep a job. He hates unions because on one of his early jobs the union cramped his style and he was offended that they defended other people's right to work less hard than him. As an older guy with pre-existing conditions and no steady source of income he benefitted from the ACA but compared to his one time private insurance policy provided by his employer way back in the day, of course his ACA "Bronze" plan does not even come close. My husband and I had to bail him out last month. We'll probably never see that money again but what can you do.

My point is that my brother in law, remembers better days but sees far different heroes and villains than I or my husband do. In fact, it's becoming increasingly clear to me that among our white working class peers, we are outliers, probably because both of us went into public service. I'm also out of work but I blame budget cuts and the fact that middle class incomes and thus tax revenues have stagnated.

He's probably a lost cause because of the gun issue and his strong support for Israel, but many others like him might be reachable if the Democratic party's candidates took a more populist economic stand but I don't see that happening any time soon.