It was the bicoastal urban elite vs. Much has been written about why Trump got so many votes even more than in the election. But what people fail to recognize is that a large percentage of his voters are not endorsing Trump as an individual, they are making a statement of defiance. Trump is a vehicle for dissatisfaction, an emblem for people feeling unheard and left out.
Studies show that on social media, the emotions that elicit the most powerful responses are fear and anger. For many of his voters, the prospect of liberals taking over the country trumped any personal shortcomings he had sorry for the bad pun.
So where does all this leave us? The United States is increasingly becoming a country of haves and have-nots. There are both rich and poor Democrats and Republicans. The problem is the rich are partying. Nearly of the Fortune companies paid zero taxes in Most people who live in a capitalist society accept that there will be some level of wealth inequality. But what is unacceptable is the notion of no longer being able to realize the American dream.
Wealth has become more entrenched, and it is strangling opportunity and upward mobility. College has become more elitist and expensive. Surviving on low-paying jobs has become more difficult. Owning a home is for many virtually impossible.
The U. These are the concerns that drive political rhetoric and bring people to the polls. Until then, the next thing you do is call your financial advisor to inquire about tax shelters. That means the mostly conservative American Enterprise Institute and Cato were also on board with professors from Stanford and Georgetown universities when conducting this study, released this month.
Across party lines, Democrats were the ones who were most interested in a higher tax burden for the wealthy, though it is unclear if they considered themselves to be part of the income group that would be hit with higher taxation in a more progressive tax structure. Lower-income Republicans agree more with Democrats and Republicans also seem to parrot party narratives.
Democrats are also convinced that wealthy people exploit those who work for them. How was Clinton able to win more votes than Trump nationally with such low average vote shares? More on that shortly. The U-shaped relationship of county incomes and voting was equally stark in the midterms, and appears to be playing out this way as well. The relationship between lower incomes and voting Democratic has been true for decades. It is not quite as strong as it once was—in Clinton substantially underperformed Al Gore , who ran for president in , with the poor—but the relationship persists.
So how can this be? How can Republicans do better among the richest Americans but worse in the richest counties? And how do Democrats do so well in the very richest places, when their strength is among low-income Americans? The high rates of Democratic voting in the poorest counties is the only fact that, on the face of it, makes sense. The answer is that though the richest counties and states tend to go for Democrats, within those places, the rich are still more likely to vote for Republicans than Democrats.
Take Kentucky and New York: the former is a Republican stronghold and the latter is reliably Democratic. In both states, the rich are more likely to support Republicans than are the poor. So it's not surprising that Democrats are doing better and better among the most well-off. And as this has happened, Democratic politicians have done a better job of responding to the values of these wealthy elites, becoming more liberal on social issues and more neoliberal on economic issues. By contrast, Republicans have more and more been caught between the shrinking number of very wealthy and politically engaged elites who as of still disproportionately supported Republicans , and the actual Republican voters, who share neither these elites' austere vision of a minuscule welfare state nor their internationalist support for lots of trade and immigration and free markets everywhere.
Now that Trump has driven the proverbial truck through this gap, some of these Republican wealthy elites may actually find they have more in common with Clinton Democrats than Trump Republicans. As these transformations continue to play out over the next decade or two, the coalitions that make up both parties will shift , and the policies of the two parties will realign accordingly. Or, put another way, was not a blip.
It was the beginning of a phase shift. Democrats are replacing Republicans as the preferred party of the new American rich. It's unclear at this point, however, whether this is a good thing for Democrats' electoral fortunes. The big risk for Democrats is that they will worry too much about catering to their wealthiest supporters and alienate their lower-income supports into becoming populist Republicans. Some of this may depend on how the economy develops, and whether inequality continues to grow.
And some of this will depend on public policy choices. The parties' electoral fortunes will also depend on how and when the Republican Party transforms and reconciles its own internal conflicts, especially its racist elements. But whatever happens, one thing seems clear: The old alignments in American politics really are shifting.
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By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Democrats are replacing Republicans as the preferred party of the very wealthy. Share this story Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share All sharing options Share All sharing options for: Democrats are replacing Republicans as the preferred party of the very wealthy.
Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Data from ANES. The richest Americans look different now than they did before There are a few things we know have become very strong predictors of voting Democratic. And over time, the top 4 percent has become much more diverse and much more highly educated.
Lee Drutman The top 4 percent have also become much more highly educated over time, as have Americans overall. Lee Drutman One intriguing clue to the relationship between education and partisanship is that the trend data on educational attainment has a notable dip in the share of top 4 percenters with college education in The American economy is changing But we shouldn't get too distracted by these short-term reversals. Tech journalist Greg Ferenstein offers a pretty convincing explanation as to why the new information and technology industry leaders prefer Democrats: I think the more likely explanation is that the nation's new industrial titans are pro-government.
Republican wealthy elites may actually find they have more in common with Clinton Democrats than Trump Republicans Yes, Trump is bullish on the extractive energy and fossil fuel sectors, which may keep the relevant corporate titans in the GOP coalition, and his high-tariff promises could help a few manufacturing companies. Next Up In The Latest. Delivered Fridays.
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