Demographic Games

6:10 pm EST October 17th, 2005 | Democrats | 12 Comments

There is some interest out there at reaching out to some of the ex-Perot voters in order to grow the Dems – I’d agree with that, though I think a better terminology nowadays would be Lou Dobbs voters. Essentially the white collar versions of the blue-collar labor support that used to be reliably Dem. I also think it makes sense because blue collar work is not the future of America. I don’t denigrate the folks that do it, but assembly line work is not the future of our nation. Engineering the automobile engine that works without fossil fuels is.

I plan to write more on this in the near future as well, but the group of Americans that Democrats need are suburban/exurban dwellers. Too many Democratic campaigns are focused on getting as many inner city blacks out to the polls as possible without considering how we can convert a lot of the people who are living in the outer rings into brand new Democrats. Step one is this: quit denigrating suburban life the same way Republicans denigrate urban life. Because people on the left do it all the time.

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12 Responses to “Demographic Games”

Semanticleo says:

October 17, 2005 at 7:10 pm

The Pied Piper says;

If you build it, (solid platform) they will come.
Oliver Willis says:

October 17, 2005 at 7:10 pm

Who in god’s name cares about a party platform beyond the inside baseball partisans like me? Answer: nobody.
RebaSays says:

October 17, 2005 at 7:10 pm

I also think it makes sense because blue collar work is not the future of America.

So who do you propose do all the blue collar work that keeps things running? Like construction and demolition, energy plants, food processing centers, large truck manufacturing, etc.?

Living in the cornfields has opened my eyes to just how many people make a living by actually making things. Maybe it’s not the future of the coastal areas (except, you know, seafood processing plants and boat manufacturers, etc.) but there are a LOT of people for whom blue collar is exactly the future, and as you say there’s nothing wrong with the folks who do it, you might not want to discount their entire way of life and the basis for the economy in the places they live. And here’s a heads-up, while we’re at it – the population of the midwest is diversifying very quickly, and ignoring it now is not a good idea. It’s almost as bad an idea as pandering to it.
Jadegold says:

October 17, 2005 at 8:10 pm

Huh?

Who denigrates the suburban life? It wasn’t too long ago, the wingnuts had their panties in a twist because Gore had all the ‘soccer moms.’

As for Lou Dobbs–that’s not a party I’d be part of.
Semanticleo says:

October 17, 2005 at 8:10 pm

Strong at Home-Respected in the World

2004 Platform.

Nobody cares about the platform if they don’t care about the candidate.

The Energy Independence provision in the platform never even saw the light of day. Why? Gasoline was still under 2 bucks. No emergency here. Add that to public perception of Kerry which was enabled, in great part, by his handling of the Swift Boaters, and you have a double yawn.

The right candidate and the right campaign issue would be lightning compared to the lightning bug campaign of 2004.

As gas creeps up to $4 (I predict by this time next year) the idea of alternative energy becomes more than a left-coast symptom of Bi-Polarity.

I truly believe Bush’s County Dump numbers are largely a function of gas prices. Ever heard of voting your pocketbook? Energy independence could well be the keystone topic of 2008.
Semanticleo says:

October 17, 2005 at 9:10 pm

Now here’s a platform destined for Greatness !

From Washington Post.

House Republican leaders have moved from balking at big cuts in Medicaid and other programs to embracing them, driven by pent-up anger from fiscal conservatives concerned about runaway spending and the leadership’s own weakening hold on power.

Beginning this week, the House GOP lawmakers will take steps to cut as much as $50 billion from the fiscal 2006 budget for health care for the poor, food stamps and farm supports, as well as considering across-the-board cuts in other programs. Only last month, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) and other GOP leaders quashed demands within their party for budget cuts to pay for the soaring cost of hurricane relief.
Oliver Willis says:

October 17, 2005 at 9:10 pm

Nobody said we should ignore the blue collar. I want blue + white collar folks to vote D. But no, as important as those jobs are – they aren’t America’s future.
RebaSays says:

October 17, 2005 at 9:10 pm

Engineering the automobile engine that works without fossil fuels is.

So we come up with the idea and outsource it. That’s the future? That doesn’t sound like a great way to rev up the economy. Conversely, we could perfect the idea and convert the already extant auto plants so the folks who know how to make cars here actually get work. Maybe in the world where you live academia and the service economy rule, but the problem with thinking the whole country works that way is that it doesn’t. I work in academia and I can see that. You want to appeal to the suburbs? They aren’t hurting enough yet. You want to tell working class people without investments or a safety net that they’re a lot more likely to get back to work if they vote Dem. They already see the writing on the wall. If someone would be so wise as to revoke Taft-Hartley (or at least bring it up), we could watch the ranks of democrats swell steadily.
PSU94 says:

October 18, 2005 at 9:10 am

I never thought I’d say this, but Oliver is quite correct.

A perfect example of this is Ed Rendell. There are 67 counties in PA and Ed Rendell smoked Casey Jr in the primary and Fisher in the general back in 2002 by winning only ten of them.

Most importantly, he won the three counties (Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware) surrounding Philly because he’s incredibly popular with just the people Oliver is talking about. Once you get past those three counties, there’s a huge anti-Philly bias in the rest of the state but it almost doesn’t matter if you rack up huge margins in those three (assuming the obvious, which is of course that any Democrat who hasn’t committed an ax-murder will get 75% of the Philly vote in a statewide election).
Brad W. says:

October 18, 2005 at 10:10 am

I don t denigrate the folks that do it, but assembly line work is not the future of our nation. Engineering the automobile engine that works without fossil fuels is.

Sorry. Flipping burgers, greeting shoppers at WalMart — that’s the future. Face-to-face service positions can’t be outsourced. As RebaSays says, even a fossil-fuel-free engine can be built cheaper overseas.

And to those who say minimum wage McJobs are no basis for a strong economy, I say, “No sh*t Sherlock. Now tell me what is.”
danelectro says:

October 18, 2005 at 11:10 am

a concerted national effort to enforce laws against businesses employing illegal workers would go a long long way as wedge issue.
Big Bill says:

October 18, 2005 at 12:10 pm

So this is it? Keep crapping on the blue collar folks (at least 40% of the workforce) by importing 10 million illegal Mexicans to take their black and whit blue collar jobs.

Screw ‘em, they aren’t the future of America, so who cares how many of those poverty stricken peasant f*ckers move here.

Next, abandon the ghetto and poor black folks an concentrate on the engineers (whose jobs are being taken in massive numbers by by Indians, Pakistanis and Chinese, but let’s not talk about that). But when we abandon the ghetto don’t say it is a nasty place like the Republicans do, just ignore the ghetto, and hope it will go away. Since there is no blue collar future for America,there is no future for the ghetto either.

And focus on the suburbs. After all, we are all living the Links, Boule, APA, AKA, Jack and Jill life out here in the suburbs (thank God!). We can always give lip service to the ghetto. The best part is we don’t actually have to DO anything for those dumb n*ggas like get them blue collar jobs. Blue collar jobs aren’t the future, the ghetto isn’t the future, it’s us and our kids out here in the suburbs who are!

But those nappy-headed fools in the ghetto will believe anything we say. We’ll keep telling them that affirmative action for OUR kids helps them and they won’t EVER figure it out. We’ll keep letting Detroit rot since black folks and blue collar aren’t America’s future, and they’ll keep voting Democrat because they are black.

Yup. Sounds like a plan, Willis!