General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Democrats have a working class problem - and it's by no means confined to working class whites. [View all]PETRUS
(3,678 posts)A friend of mind canvassed extensively for Hillary in black working class neighborhoods of Detroit. He reported encountering significant hostility. Not towards him personally - he said quite a few people were willing to engage and he got the sense many wanted to be heard. The main problem (among the people he encountered) was what I guess you'd call guilt by association. People had specific grievances about Bill Clinton's presidency, primarily about policies around trade, the criminal justice system, and welfare. The people he talked to were pretty unhappy about the idea of Trump, but quite a few told him they wouldn't vote for Clinton, either.
Based on my friend's experience, I'd say the article is correct that economic policy matters a great deal, but so do issues related to criminal law, policing, and the courts.