Tuesday was rough. There’s no getting around that. We stand at the precipice of a presidential administration with unchecked authoritarianism, corruption, and outright hatred for the Left. After January 20th, these next four years won’t be easy- not just from a governing perspective, but from a coalition perspective as well. It is vital that we, those who are left of center, do not belittle or denigrate the working class voters who voted for Trump out of economic or societal frustration. Instead, we should recognize that the Democratic party as an institution failed to uphold its’ end of the bargain with the working class.
The problem in this election for blue collar workers was not democracy vs fascism, it’s about the fundamental nature of who our government works for. The “working class” is made up of laborers, service workers, police, military members, factory workers, drivers, dry cleaners, farmers- the blue collar workers that Trump won over and gained in the 2024 presidential election. To them, the Biden Administration and the democrats as a whole did very little for them- rampant inflation outpaced their raises, homes became unaffordable, police, transportation costs were skyrocketing, and insurance companies left their communities in the wake of natural disasters. All of this while the ultra wealthy made billions of dollars, shutting down these voters’ workplaces, schools, hospitals, and abandoning their communities. Their vote shift on Tuesday was not in favor of what Donald Trump was offering, but a rejection of the status quo.
It doesn’t matter what the Democrats, or any other party, can pass if it doesn’t impact how these voters feel. You can point to the charts and spreadsheets and explain to these people how technically their lives are improving, but it doesn’t matter if their child gets diagnosed with asthma and there is no nearby hospital, or a working mother has no preschool to drop off their kids at. It’s a position I sympathize with.
These people are frustrated that politics and institutions have left them behind with no retirements, healthcare, childcare, education, or opportunity. To them, their opponents are not the wealthy, but the white collar worker- the “institutionalists” in their eyes, are the ones who have fundamentally ruined their lives. The reason is quite simple: they’re visible and tend to talk down to blue collar workers. “You don’t understand the complexity of the situation” is a phrase blue collar workers have come to despise.
These Americans are capable of complex thought- see the passing of abortion referendums and pro-union policies across many states, the problem is that no one sits down to explain to them the complexities of the situation that can fit in a 20 minute conversation. As a college-educated individual I understand that many things are rooted in decades of research and experimentation, but that doesn’t eliminate the need to explain to these people how these things work. It can’t be the work of only schools and universities to educate them, it’s something that needs to be done where these people are, not from the capitol.
More than anything though, the Democratic party lost the trust of these voters for failing to fight against the things that actively made their lives worse off. Blue collar workers know that some things are complex and are better left with individuals who can best understand it, such as doctors, and politics used to be one such field… but not anymore. There used to be a time when blue collar workers would trust their vote to a politician to build a school, bring jobs to their community, or curb pollution, but decades of failed promises and inaction have left these people sour on the idea of governance to the point where they’d rather just burn it all down.
That is why Donald Trump won re-election.
In some ways, Republicans and Libertarians are right: government is too big, too complex. It’s too slow to respond to the needs of the people and only serves the largest and wealthiest businesses and individuals while stripping the working class of an affordable livelihood.
That is part of why I started this Usonian movement- a recognition that Federalism, by and large, has failed. We cannot govern 330 million people with 538 elected representatives, the best we can get is broad agreement and interstate corruption. The Democratic party needs to get back on the ground and start implementing policies at lower levels where people can actually see and interact with them.
Instead of hoping for universal, federal pre-K, how about it gets offered by the local school district?
Instead of universal health care, how about a county-wide health insurance program?
We need to reclaim the rights and responsibilities of governance and bring it down to the lowest level where it makes sense. Millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump or elected to not vote because they do not feel like their voices have been heard. It’s time to change that.
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