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]delisen
(7,384 posts)right after passage of The Affordable Care Act and rise of the Tea Party.
I haven't checked other states yet but I believe several have a similar history. I don't think so many seat were lost because Democratic candidate, including, Russ Feingold, were just bad candidates, and unpopular.
Unions? After the 2010 election the private industry unions went all in with the supposedly unpopular new Republican governor in Wisconsin (who is now running for his third term) and they allied with him in working to destroy public sector unions.
The Democratic Party of 2008 was strong, the Democratic Party of 2016 was a shadow of its previous self.
2010 was a reapportionment year which gave further advantage to Republicans because they got to gerrymander voting districts.
Well now Republicans are in power nationally and their popularity is waning fast-just as Democratic popularity took a nose dive in 2010. The difference? Republicans don't believe in democracy and they cheat to achieve their goals.
Personal economics is always an issue in personal political decisions but it is useful to remember that Germany's economic well-being was well ascendant in the late 1930s when Germans went all in on racism, authoritarianism, and expansionist war-mongering.
Economic well-being did not quell the thirst for fascism, it fed it.