Friday, November 20, 2015

A Majority of Americans Feel Like Strangers In Their Own Country



Breibart News November 20, 2015 by Mike Flynn

A Super PAC tied to Ohio Governor John Kasich is annnouncing a new multi-million dollar effort to torpedo Donald Trump’s campaign for the Republican nomination.

Trump’s continued dominance of national and state-level polling has vexed the GOP establishment and pushed it to near-panic as voting nears.
recent survey of public attitudes by Reuters/Ispos, though, suggests caution for the GOP establishment.
Whatever failings there may be in his specific policies, Donald Trump’s campaign has tapped into a strong, visceral feeling of millions of Americans. Seeking to destroy Trump, the candidate, may further alienate the Republican party from a rapidly growing block of voters.
According to the Reuters survey, 58 percent Americans say they “don’t identify with what America has become.” While Republicans and Independents are the most likely to agree with this statement, even 45 percent of Democrats share this feeling.
More than half of Americans, 53 percent, say they “feel like a stranger” in their own country. A minority of Americans feel “comfortable as myself” in the country.

There are no doubt lots of reasons underlying this feelings. Demographically, Americans holding these views tend to be white, older, live in the South and have less than a college education. Politically, they are cordoned off as the white working class. While they rarely attract much attention from the political class, they still represent an enormous block of voters.
Their numbers may be declining relative to the entire population, but they are still the largest single block of voters. In many critical swing states like Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina, they represent a significant base of voters that can determine the outcome of elections.
The reasons for their alienation are both cultural and economic. The economic anxiety sparked by the financial crisis in 2007-8 has likely pushed them further away from the mainstream political parties. This isn’t solely a phenomenon on the right, as the resurgent popularity of explicitly socialist policies on the left attest.
Even allowing that the economy has officially been in recovery for the past six years, its benefits haven’t been felt widely. The jobs gained during the economic recovery have generally been at lower wages and benefits than before the Great Recession. The number of Americans not in the labor force, on food stamps or permanent disability have all reached historic highs. Concerns over income inequality have increased as the Federal Reserve has pumped trillions of dollars of stimulus into Wall Street and the financial markets.
There are cultural factors as well.
Several years ago, leading Democrat strategists created the “Bobby Kennedy Project,” an effort to increase the party’s appeal to white working class voters. The effort was soon abandoned, though, when it became clear that the party would have to moderate some of its more progressive social positions. The Democrat party, for now at least, has staked its future on appealing to young and minority voters.
Whether or not this is the politically smart play for the future remains to be seen. In the present, however, it means that a huge block of voters feel alienated and are up for grabs politically. Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” is perfectly attuned to those voters who feel increasingly like “strangers” in their own country.
Panic breeds actions born out of emotions rather than somber reflection. The Republican establishment is understandably panicked at the thought of Donald Trump capturing the party’s nomination for President. It is convinced, perhaps incorrectly, that a Trump candidacy will doom the party’s chances next year.
Its zeal to derail his campaign carries huge risks for the party, however. The Trump phenomenon is not simply the product of a media-savvy, hyper-personality candidate. It is drawing strength from very real sentiments of a huge block of voters. The Republican party may take out Trump, but it alienates these voters at its peril. 
(Rant: I have been saying this for years. America's working class has been getting ripped off by both parties and it time for a populist to come in and change the dynamic. To put America's workers first not illegal immigrants and affirmative action that puts people in places that they not only don't deserve on merit but at which they can not possibly perform. That is why these college "youtes" are demanding that the SAT and testing be abolished. That petty grievances and make believe discrimination has to override the fact that you need to know how to read and right. I can hear April and Bags already to jump in and say "Trump is a rich guy how the hell is he a hero of the working class." Well I admit he is a traitor. A traitor to his class. The big money crony capitalists who buy influence. Trump knows how the game is played. His ego is too big for him to tank and throw the election to Hillary. He is in it to win it. He knows how to hire tough guys who will produce or they will get fired. He doesn't know everything but who does. 
America's working class is fed up. The Rhinos don't have a clue. There is a wave coming and they are going under.)


21 comments:

chickelit said...

A Super PAC tied to Ohio Governor John Kasich...

What if Hillary Clinton had dropped out in 2008 and started a Super PAC to torpedo Barack Obama? What a sad, sad loser Kasich is. May he know ignominy the rest of his political days.

chickelit said...

They told me that if Donald Trump didn't win the nomination he'd help elect Hillary. Turns out they were talking about Kasich.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I'm sick of all the torpedoing. It's shameful and short-sighted. Why can't they be like the dems and not torpedo. All it does is hand the D-party ammunition later. Ask Romney.

bagoh20 said...

Kasich said: I'm sick and tired of hearing about Hillary's email.

Well, maybe he didn't, but are you sure?

ricpic said...

On those rare occasions I venture into the local hipster natural foods market which is called Natural Foods there's an instant vibe that attacks me. It's like a silent thrumming. Sometimes I have to ask one of the personages a question. The vibe. No, I can't. So I turn tail and GET THE HELL OUT! Defeated again by the Neptunians. Yes, I feel like a stranger in a strange land.

edutcher said...

I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs.

The area had one semi-pro soccer team called the Ukranians (because most of the guys on it were), there were street signs in Philly that were in Korean, and you could hear Scots burrs, Irish brogues, Sicilian, and French accents on the street where I grew up. I suspect nd and Troop have a similar story.

Some people who were raised where only their ethnic group lived may feel that way, but, except along the border*, the country is still what you make of it, sometimes more than you think.

* Visiting The Blonde's nephew in Tucson, we met a Mexican family just back from the St Patrick's Day parade and, in San Antonio, on one of The Blonde's nursing conventions, we stopped at the Alamo where a young, obviously Hispanic woman with 2 little boys was explaining the display of the battle to them. When asked who the men were coming over the walls, she said, "The bad guys".

rcocean said...

First, I don't believe Trump is really the great Populist some people want to think but he's all we got. Cliche: One eyed man in the kingdom of the blind..

Second, when 53% of Americans think "they are strangers in their own land" that's not just the white working class.

Third, I believe the Republican elite doesn't care if they destroy the party as long as they can destroy Trump/Carson/Cruz. They've known since 1996 that nationalism was a winning issue, but they constantly nominate POTUS candidates who stand for globalization and open borders. Or as Dole put it "We need to win for the right reasons"

And its not just the POTUS candidates its the VP candidates. Kemp/Ryan/Cheney are all cut from the same cloth.




bagoh20 said...

This is like the "right direction / wrong direction" question. People who want exactly opposite things both answer the same way, so it's meaningless. Crazy leftists and wingnuts alike feel out of place, BECAUSE THEY SHARE THE SAME COUNTRY!

It's FRIDAYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!

rcocean said...

Kasich combines all the worst of Christie and Huckabee. The awful "Jesus and I have the same political positions", the phony 'umbleness, bellowing arrogance and RINO policies.

He was forced by the Repubs in the House to fight Clinton for a balanced budget, and now 20 years later poses as the great fiscal conservative.

rcocean said...

It should be noted that poll after poll shows the average European doesn't want Muslim or 3rd world immigration, but the elite are all for it. Same with Canada and the UK.

Sometimes democracy doesn't seem to exist.

chickelit said...

It should be noted that poll after poll shows the average European doesn't want Muslim or 3rd world immigration, but the elite are all for it. Same with Canada and the UK.

Business interest pressure. Without lax immigration, wage pressure will threaten business profits; threatened profits threaten tax bases which threaten governments. Cycle of inflation fears.

edutcher said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
edutcher said...

rcocean said...

Third, I believe the Republican elite* doesn't care if they destroy the party as long as they can destroy Trump/Carson/Cruz.

I think that's the big reason for the McConnell-Boehner swoon this year.

They cut a deal with President Pissy to take out the Tea Partiers and the Conservatives.

All they did was awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

That happened to somebody else once.

It should be noted that poll after poll shows the average European doesn't want Muslim or 3rd world immigration, but the elite are all for it. Same with Canada and the UK.

Sometimes democracy doesn't seem to exist.


It exists only if the people exercise it. You sit on your behind and keep your mouth shut because you want the checks to keep coming and eventually they own you.

Then you have to decide whether you like being a serf.

* You want to see an elite, go to Ranger School at Fort Benning or BUD/S at Coronado.
The people in DC or Lexington Ave or LA or Davos ain't it.

Chip Ahoy said...

Squirm, GOPe, squirm.

We tried the 'dance, GOPe, dance" bang, bang, bang ,bang, bang, but all that did was shoot up your non dancing feet. Jesus Christ, what is the problem with representing? So it's squirm, GOPe, squirm and go the way of the Whigs, sent to check the crazy and became part of it. We don't want to hear about your f'n service to the country either, just retire take your pension and quietly fade away.

Chip Ahoy said...

You know what this calls for? A meat pie, that's what. A big fat juicy meat pie. One that makes you go, oh man, your eyes are bigger than your stomach again. And not just regular meat, fantastic meat so you go, wtf are you using that meat in a pie for, and I'll be all, hey, that's the way we roll. Plus I can probably get three meat pasties out of the whole thing with extra filling to spare. I bet.

I bet ten dollars. *gets wallet* I only have twenties but there it is.

William said...

This world is different than the one I grew up in, but not all changes have been for the worst. The past is a third world country. High def TV, adjustable bed, remote control, the Internet, unlimited porn, shoes that don't have to be broken in, organic broccoli. Try living without those things, but that's the world I grew up in......Kasich doesn't improve with exposure. My tolerance level for Trump is improving. His election as President would definitely cause the most consternation among Democrats. That's not a reason to vote for him, but if he causes just one stroke among the ranks of MSNBC and CNN reporters it would perhaps be worth it.

rcommal said...

"While Republicans and Independents are the most likely to agree with this statement, even 45 percent of Democrats share this feeling."

Well, OK, but what about true conservatives? That's a separate group from the categories listed.

AllenS said...

It's the movers and shakers of the Republican party that are to be blamed. They fear Trump because they won't be able to control him if he wins the big prize.

Kasich is just their mouthpiece.

ndspinelli said...

I keep going back to 1968. It was the "silent majority" that elected Nixon in the wake of student unrest and big city riots. The "silent majority" were also Reagan Democrats. Blue collar people who work hard and get fed up. It's a damn shame Trump is the GO TO GUY. I mean I want someone who is not a politician leading a revolution to take back our country. I would just like him/her to not be a FUCKING BUFFOON!

ndspinelli said...

Cruz calls the supporters who come to forums and rallies, "Troopers." Just sayn'.

William said...

The silent majority is no longer silent and no longer a majority. People who work and pay taxes are a narrow self interest group. Those who have achieved any measure of success didn't build that and their success is more a testament to their greed than to their hard work. The majority feel that such wealth should be taxed away and used to build shelters for third world immigrants, especially those from Syria and Iraq.