Democrats Must Become the Workers’ Party Again - eviltoast
Reconnecting the Democratic Party to the working class is an electoral and a moral imperative, and it will be my mission for the rest of my life.

Summary

Democrats must reclaim their identity as the party of the working class to regain electoral strength.

Despite pro-labor policies under Biden, working-class voters feel disconnected, seeing Democrats as defenders of a failing system.

The party’s decline traces back to NAFTA and neoliberal economic policies that favored corporations over workers.

A generational effort to prioritize labor rights, fair wages, and economic security while addressing working-class frustrations are needed.

Without serious reform, Democrats will continue losing ground to populist alternatives.

  • redwattlebird@lemmings.world
    6·
    13 hours ago

    As a non American, I’ve been told by an American colleagues that the Republicans are traditionally the worker’s party. Could someone please clarify?

    Additionally, my opinion is that the entire system needs to be abolished to allow representation from more than two parties to represent how diverse America is.

    • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
      1·
      1 hour ago

      https://newstalk1130.iheart.com/featured/common-sense-central/content/2018-05-01-the-myth-of-the-republican-democrat-switch/

      Tldr: Democrats were the party of the South until the 90s

      Alabama, for example, didn’t elect a Republican governor until 1986. Mississippi didn’t elect one until 1991. Georgia didn’t elect one until 2002.

      Claims Nixon was the Republican who came up with the idea of pandering to racists

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_United_States_presidential_election

      See Jimmy Carter’s support in the South

    • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      9·
      8 hours ago

      So a long time ago, you could argue the Republicans were the worker’s party. Abolionist-focused, was comfortable with immigrants more than other parties at the time, and Lincoln even exchanged letters with Karl Marx, but indrectly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_of_the_International_Working_Men’s_Association_to_Abraham_Lincoln

      Republicans in the 1800s stood for minimum wage, pushed for suffrage of women, and other generally good ideas like “Maybe we should listen to the unionists who are willing to die for an 8 hour work week.”

      But over the centuries since, the lines blurred. In the 1930s a Democrat pushed for expansions of the social net due to the great depression. In the 1950s, a Republican advocated for billions to spent on the interstate highway system, that has never once made a dime back over the last decades.

      Then the southern strategy happened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy Republicans marketed themselves towards the white South as a way to say “Hey we back what you stand for, whatever it is” and that’s when South started to vote for Republicans, and Nixon took advantage of this.

      But the Republicans today don’t even care about the white workers, they don’t about any workers, they only care about the rich. Have been since at least the 1980s from Ronald Reagan. Democrats lately tend to protect the workers more, but it varies from state to federal, but generally wages are up with Democrats, and we’ve had more expansions of workers rights with them.

    • frezik@midwest.social
      3·
      8 hours ago

      How far back are they talking “traditionally”? You can make an argument that they were a century ago. Not a particularly strong argument, but there’s an argument. Go back even further, and Karl Marx himself was congratulating Abraham Lincoln. After all, slaves are the most exploited workers.

      The last 50 years, though? Absolutely not, but their bleating about “coastal elites” hoodwinks a lot of people to think otherwise.

        • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          3·
          8 hours ago

          Because they’re jealous of a state that isn’t a shit hole

          Source: Californian with family in a red state: if you’re close enough to them they’ll admit it unknowingly

          • redwattlebird@lemmings.world
            3·
            8 hours ago

            I think that all makes sense. A state government that wants to improve the working class will generally be more rich, and a state that doesn’t will have more poor.

            Nice. When another debate comes up in the office, I’ll have some ammo

      • redwattlebird@lemmings.world
        1·
        8 hours ago

        Their words were something to the effect of Democrats always campaigning with celebrities and supported by rich people, while Republicans are supported by the poor and don’t campaign with rich people (I did point out Musk to them and they replied that Musk is a hard worker etc.).

        • reptar@lemmy.world
          2·
          6 hours ago

          Thanks for the follow up. The notion is totally at odds with their actions and efforts, and it’s kind of disheartening to hear their reasoning. I shouldn’t be surprised though.

    • drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world
      16·
      13 hours ago

      It’s like pro wrestling. Their gimmick is that they are working class that busts their assess working hard labor jobs to feed their families. The democratic gimmick is that of well meaning and educated individuals seeking a bright future.

      But in reality is that they are both moronic abusive assholes and one is a nazi.