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Saturday, May 17, 2014

Really? Are the Democrats the party of the rich?

To add a bit to my partner's insightful post, Democrats-the party of the rich , in 2010 I did hours of leg work for a state senatorial candidate prior to the primary election. Essentially is was contacting registered Republicans, providing them a handout and asking for their vote on behalf of the candidate. I worked from a precinct list but shortly after beginning I thought it would be fun to guess the home of the Republicans without looking at the address. Remember the house full of kids with the cracked pane in the storm door and the bicycle with the flat tire in the front yard you thought was kind of trashy when you were a kid? That is the home of the Republican voter. Then there was the newly wed couple who lived in an apartment who were hard to contact because they both worked long hours. They were black Republicans. Those several days were a real eye opener.
Some months back I quoted The Economist in a post, The Tea Party has gone international!. It was about the resurgence of conservative parties in multi-party European countries.
But there are common threads linking the European insurgents and the Tea Party. They are angry people, harking back to simpler times. They worry about immigration. They spring from the squeezed middle—people who feel that the elite at the top and the scroungers at the bottom are prospering at the expense of ordinary working people. And they believe the centre of power—Washington or Brussels—is bulging with bureaucrats hatching schemes to run people’s lives.
Does that sound like someone you might know?
It is not just wealthy individual with whom the Democrats have forged alliances. They are the party of the multinationals. Google, FaceBook, General Electric, Comcast, Bank of America, General Motors, Apple are loyal Democrats. Where does support for the senate Gang of 8 immigration bill come from? The US Chamber of Commerce. Which party seems intent on driving wages down through increased immigration and driving prices up with regulation on the energy sector, with mindless and costly energy efficiency mandates on appliance and automobiles and health insurance.
I hope it does all come apart and soon.

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