The Three Americas
When it comes to voting and politics in these United States, the nation can be roughly divided into three socioeconomic groups that drive its politics. At the top of the heap is a combination of super rich and the upper middleclass. Its primary concern is economic dominance. Most of this outright wealthy and relatively affluent division of American society finds President Trump an abomination, but as long as he continues to shovel money its way, as with huge tax cuts for corporations and the super rich and the stock market keeps its 401ks healthy, it will continue to hold it nose and vote for the Donald.
These capitalist titans and upper class Whites are longtime Republicans that find them tied to a GOP base that they find hard to recognize as Republicans — lower middle class Whites. In theory they still believe in democracy, but where the rubber meets the road they see the rising number of minorities as a threat to their wealth and social status. In other words they would like to think that Black lives matter, but there is not a whole lot of conviction behind it. And Like German industrialists of the 1930s that were suspicious of Hitler, they, too, are wary of Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, but feel they have the power to keep him in check via their political shills in Congress. Politically speaking this upper tier American faction makes up around 15% of the electorate.
The middle groping of voters, and by far the largest political divide, perhaps 60% of Americans, is composed of Democrats, Independents and most minorities. They still believe whole-heartedly in America’s democratic ideals. They care intensely about the nations standing in the world and its security, and see Trump cozying up to murderous dictators like Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a dangerous threat to our own democracy. They also see the Donald’s hollowing out of the nation’s critical and sacred institutions of justice, security and defense, and even the Post Office, as a not so slow strangulation of our freedom.
They are terrified to know that this president cares nothing about the nation or its people, as he has already left a trail of thousands of Corona dead in his indifferent wake. Indeed, he only values that which he can squeeze out of the office of president for himself — money and power — and says that people who sacrifice for the nation are suckers and losers. The Whites folks of this group may be slightly wary of the Black Lives Matter collision, but they know in their gut that if American democracy is to survive it can only do so as a multicultural nation. And so they push on in hopes of making the country truly the home of the free and the brave with justice for all.
Making up the bottom group, the White lower middle class, is what more and more of it numers are framing as White nationalists Americans, symbolized by parades of pickup trucks bedecked with fluttering American and Trump flags. These are the MAGA hat, true believer supporters of the Donald — the good old boys. Their unifying force beside overt and covert racism is a return to White male power. Trump’s lies, disinformation and conspiracy theories suit them just fine. They comprehend facts, science and experts as nothing more than liberal hogwash. As Kellyanne Conway, a Trump top advisor, once said, we have our own alternative facts. Moreover, these are the folks whose needs make Fox News and right wing talk radio personalities rich by feeding them the sort of bigoted red meat they love to hear. Like their hero, Trump, they are afflicted with a huge inferiority complex wrapped within a protected coating of delusion and lies. The Donald loves to paint himself as rich and smart, but at heart Trump is one and the same with his MAGA hat rubes.
Speaking of delusion and rubes, a subset of this lower middle class group that the heathen, Trump, is certain to pander to are conservative, evangelical Christian’s. The driving force of this lot is to protect their religious beliefs while floating in an ever more secular sea and somehow insulate from reality their hope for a path to “Jesus in heaven.” Together White Nationalists and evangelicals make up perhaps 25% of the American electorate.
If these three factional numbers are correct, then Trump should be at a 60/40 disadvantage in the coming election. His untimate disadvantage deepening on the extent of voter suppression and other cheating tricks the GOP may conjure up. Unfortunately its not this simple. Biden only has a nine point lead in the polls.
