Replies to post #466559 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[newmedman]

lol, what the hell are they putting in your water ?

Now they represent the rich (back to the 9 out of 10) and take as much corporate cash they can get their hands on...

care to explain?

[blackhawks]

You still can't grasp that two or more things can be true at the same time, which drives you to make silly statements like this:

Now they represent the rich (back to the 9 out of 10) and take as much corporate cash they can get their hands on...

To the extent that the rich and the near rich also tend to be better educated, and have more progressive views on race and freedom of reproductive choice, of COURSE the Dems represent them more than does the GOP Taliban

The Dems also continue to represent the middle and lower classes through their defense of SS, the ACA, Medicare, Medicaid and through their attempts to rein in big pharma......see cap on insulin prices that Biden wants to expand throughout the healthcare industry.

The Dems are still falsely reviled as hostile to big business because they support regulation of same; SEC, FTC and an IRS adequately funded to go after tax cheats at the TOP of the food chain, big businesses and individuals at the top of the tax brackets.

Throw in the recent roll back on bank late payment fees, the infrastructure bill that IS disproportionately benefitting red states and the Chips and Science bill that is drawing in corporate investment in the hundreds of million of $; MUCH of it in red states.

In other words the Dems are more of a 'full service' Party to a wider share of the electorate than are the wannabe theocrats comprising much of the GOP.

All of the above is accurate and verifiable, and all of it makes a mockery of your simplistic review of economic history.

[fuagf]

B402, Not arguing Dems do not represent 9 of 10, that's fact. It's the reasons why, you have wrong. What i will never agree with you on is your 50-50 blame apportionment.

We covered before why Dems went for the money, because they had to to keep up with the Republican money. You do know how important money is in elections, when rules changed the Dems had no option.

Also you do know Dems are the ones who have done more for middle and low income voters than Republicans have ever considered. You know that, but will never say you know it.

Biden now: low unemployment, small business's biggest problem is finding new workers. Largest infrastructure bill in history and Medicare finally given power to negotiate drug priced. Not before time. Protection of SS and Medicare. Abortion rights. Price of insulin.

And your 'because they have turned their backs on the working class' distorts the picture. It's just plain bullshit wrong. On all the evidence. Your 50-50 blame apportionment clearly is counterfactual.

Dramatic realignment swings working-class districts toward GOP

Stef W. Kight

IMAGE - Data: Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) office and Ballotpedia; Note: Districts where there
was no opponent in the 2022 midterm election are not included; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios

Nine of the top 10 wealthiest congressional districts are represented by Democrats, while Republicans now represent most of the poorer half of the country, according to median income data provided by Rep. Marcy Kaptur's (D-Ohio) office.

Why it matters: The last several decades have ushered in a dramatic political realignment, as the GOP has broadened its appeal to a more diverse working class and Democrats have become the party of wealthier, more-educated voters.

* "Republicans were the party of the country club, and they're increasingly the party of country," lobbyist and political analyst Bruce Mehlman told Axios.

* "We have seen an inversion of Democrat and Republican shares of the highest- and lowest-income districts — and the highest and lowest college degree-holding districts," Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman told Axios.

By the numbers: 64% of congressional districts with median incomes below the national median are now represented by Republicans — a shift in historical party demographics, the data shows.

* Some of the highest-income districts have long voted Democrat, but growing inequality is widening the gap between them and working-class swing districts critical to winning majorities.

* "Increasingly, districts that make up the majority of the Democratic caucus don't really reflect the middle-income districts where the House is won and lost,” Wasserman said.

Zoom in: Democrats are still competitive and have held on to a number of swingy, middle-income districts, including Kaptur's in Ohio. She is one of only five House Democrats representing districts won by former President Trump.

* Kaptur often shows a similar chart ranking districts by median income to fellow Democrats — and has even given a version to President Biden.

* "It's one way for her to highlight ... that there are still those districts, especially in middle America away from the coasts, that are not feeling the benefit of all the policies in place," a Kaptur aide told Axios. "That there is still work to be done to uplift these communities."

* Kaptur also sees another interpretation: "The other way you could look at it is: how is it possible that Republicans are representing the majority of people who struggle?" she told Insider .. https://www.businessinsider.com/marcy-kaptur-chart-working-class-districts-top-democrats-2023-3 , which first reported on the chart.

Between the lines: The relationship between geography, education, income and politics is complex — and experts point to education as a stronger indicator of party affiliation.

[Insert: B402, I suspect, firstly, it is because you do not understand complex problems...
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174007947]

* "I suspect income is downstream of education and geography. Voters with college degrees or more earn higher salaries, live where homes cost more and increasingly skew Democratic," Mehlman said.

The big picture: Class politics has become a driving force in the past several elections, supercharged by Donald Trump's populist plea to middle-class, blue collar workers .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/09/17/why-white-blue-collar-voters-love-president-trump/ .. in 2016.

* An increase in less-educated, lower-income GOP primary voters could benefit Trump as he seeks the 2024 nomination, as CNN points out ..https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/11/politics/donald-trump-reshape-gop-fault-lines/index.html .

* Meanwhile, "the more the Democratic Party becomes defined or stereotyped by elites and coastal interests with a lot of money, the harder it is to win the middle-income districts that they need to get to 218 [seats]," Wasserman said.

* Still, Democrats are hopeful that strong and sustained messaging on some of Biden's biggest legislative wins — and House Republicans' threats to cut popular social programs — could help them shore up some working-class voters.

What they're saying: “While House Democrats expanded broadband internet, capped the cost of insulin, and cut child poverty in half, Republicans did everything they could to stop them from helping middle- and working-class families," DCCC spokesperson Tommy Garcia told Axios, criticizing Republicans aims to cut federal spending.

* On the other side, Kaptur as well as the other Trump-district Democrats are top targets for Republicans hoping to expand their House majority.

* "Marcy Kaptur is well aware that Democrats like herself no longer represent the working class," NRCC spokesman Chris Gustafson said in a statement last month.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on April 12, 2023.

https://www.axios.com/2023/04/12/house-democrats-winning-wealthier-districts-middle-class-gop