How the DLC destroyed the Democratic party

[TJ in Oregon]

The reasons why some segment of working class folks vote Republican is in some ways more complex than the social conservative/fiscal lefty vs social liberal fiscal conservative dichotomies and in some ways even simpler. Some of the working class Republicans really do believe "small government" will create more economic growth and create opportunities for themselves. Others believe social issues trump all else. Yet more others, and probably the largest group, don't think about this like it's the political matrix test and vote for whomever they think best represents their interests. Right now some segment of the working class populace believes that is the Republicans for many of the reasons listed here, such as the redneck stereotype or uneducated/backwards moron stereotype. Cultural elitism is perceived as incredibly arrogant and hostile. It's not that all the working class folks are strict Christians who will oppose gay marriage on moral grounds to the ends of the earth; more likely the entire idea is somewhat foreign to them altogether and they wouldn't care about it at all if no one ever told them they needed to. All they know is that they had the same opinion vague opinion ten years ago and now all of a sudden everyone is all ticked off. Most people don't think about politics like Atlas Forumites. It's not a matter of trading one set of issues for another. It's about communicating to people that you better represent their interests than you opponents do. Content matters of course, but style matters far more.