A Moment of Realization
Everyone experiences a defining moment when they first grasp the possibility of Donald Trump’s return. For me, that moment occurred back in March during a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. As I stood before an old painting, I took notice of the explanatory text that accompanied it. The description characterized the westward expansion of the United States in the 19th century as “settler colonialism.” Reading this, I instantly comprehended the trajectory this nation was on.
My concern with this academic terminology was not its accuracy or the assumption that President Biden was responsible for its presence. Rather, it provided a disheartening glimpse into the corrosive state of our social class relations. A curator, at one of our nation’s most prestigious institutions, had chosen to employ a trendy, morally charged academic term to educate museum-goers — perhaps a family from the Midwest visiting national landmarks — imparting a lesson on America’s historical transgressions.
The Drift of Working-Class Voters
Two decades ago, I authored a book focused on politics in my home state of Kansas, where white, working-class voters appeared to be increasingly aligning with right-wing factions. I attributed this shift mainly to the ongoing culture wars, framed by the right as a struggle against the perceived insults to their values. Look at how these influential figures demean our principles! This sentiment resonated whether the conversation revolved around the theory of evolution or the so-called war on Christmas.
This observation was significant because, historically, working people formed the backbone of leftist political movements globally. While it may feel like a distant memory, the left was once not dominated by college professors, corporate executives, or high-ranking officials from tech giants like Uber or Amazon. It was fundamentally about the working class, the same demographic that has shown considerable support for Donald Trump in recent years.
Shifting Democratic Priorities
While my narrative in Kansas primarily spotlighted Republicans, I also discussed how the Democratic Party was gradually distancing itself from the working class and their pressing concerns. Consider the enthusiastic Democratic rhetoric of the 1990s, which celebrated trade, technology, globalization, and financial innovation. They envisioned a future filled with “wired workers” and a “learning class,” heralding a departure from the worker-centric populism that defined the 1930s. The prevailing belief at the time was that reaching out to well-educated suburbanites and tech-savvy professionals was the key to electoral success.
However, those tech-oriented Democrats achieved their goals, and now we find ourselves in this current predicament. At the Republican convention last July, JD Vance articulated the devastation inflicted upon his working-class Ohio community by NAFTA and trade with China, attributing part of the blame to Mr. Biden. He also highlighted the human cost of the Iraq War, which he similarly linked to Biden’s actions. Today, Vance stands as the vice president-elect, and it is crucial to recognize that he ascended by adopting the very language that Americans once associated with labor, liberalism, and the Democratic Party.
