Democrats Averted Disaster, But the Working Class Did Not
The Democrats have averted disaster—for now. They might hold on to the Senate, thanks in large part to the efforts of John Fetterman. And as I write this it’s still just barely possible that they’ll hold onto the House.
But it’s hard to avoid the feeling that their current strategy is running on fumes. Even as President Joe Biden and his party describe the GOP as “semi-fascist” and never miss an opportunity to remind the nation of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, early polling shows that Republicans have continued to pick up black and Hispanic support.
Slogans like “democracy is on the ballot” play well with managers at non-profits listening to NPR in their cars, but they move the needle a lot less with working-class people who can tell perfectly well that the current version of American democracy isn’t doing much to improve their lives. And, while solid majorities of Americans have basically progressive views on social policy issues, using language so performatively inclusive that it sounds strange and synthetic to anyone who went to a state university—rather than a liberal arts college—is going to do nothing to stop the slow purpling of traditionally Democratic constituencies.