The hidden Trump voters that may save him and the GOP in November
By Monica Crowley, opinion contributor — 08/29/18 10:05 AM EDT
Could blue-collar workers blunt a blue wave? A new poll suggests they just might.
For decades, blue-collar voters helped form the backbone of the Democratic Party. They were such a reliable voting bloc that whenever they defected in significant enough numbers to elect Republican presidents, they earned their own monikers: Nixon Democrats, Reagan Democrats. Those instances were largely considered aberrations, explained away by the particular persuasiveness of Richard Nixon’s and Ronald Reagan’s economic and national security messages and their powerful personal relatability.
Bill Clinton was able to bring those voters back into the Democratic fold by embracing centrist policies. Sixteen years later, Barack Obama embodied a historic candidacy, but he further alienated traditional blue-collar voters who were turned off by his radicalism.
As the Democratic party increasingly catered to the coastal elites and moved further to the left, those blue-collar voters became ever more alienated. They waited for someone — anyone — to address their economic, national security and values-based anxieties. To respect them. To “get†them.
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http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/404122-the-hidden-trump-voters-that-may-save-him-and-the-gop-in-november
