Class warfare or fairness…or what?
But Gingrich seems to have noticed that the key to his South Carolina landslide last weekend was overwhelming support from blue-collar and middle-class Republican voters. With those making between $30,000 and $50,000 a year, Gingrich crushed Romney by 20 points. With those making between $50,000 and $70,000, the margin was 16. But at the top end of the scale, it was a completely different story: Romney won by 15 points with voters making more than $200,000.
As I noted the other day, this same basic dynamic was evident in New Hampshire and Iowa, where exit polls found a direct relationship between enthusiasm for Romney and income level.
via Salon.
The more essential issue, question really, is why any group of $30,000 to $50,000 wage earners would identify with either candidate. Education, education, education. Political sophistication requires that an individual be able to distinguish between social/morality issues and their own economic self interest. The centrist and right of center cabal of the political class has been mining the depths of people’s social conciousness in order to deflect the attention of low wage earners from the economic policies in place that assure their continued economic plight. Words to remember, “….when the rich and the government stop bribing treacherous pens and tongues to deceive them.” As Mr. Roemer put it so succinctly, “Romney is the One %, Gingrich is the lobbiest for the One %.” That lobbiest label could be attached to virtually the entire Congress and the Executive Office. Skip the idological rhetoric and keep your eyes on the resulting governmental activity.
The SC dynamic is very telling. Newt was trailing significantly in S.C. until he unleashed his inner bulldog on the utterly hapless John King. Whether this was a planned outcome or King was simply totally unprepared is something I’ll let the conspiracy theorists sort out. But it’s clear that at that moment Newt won the flinty hearts and defective minds of the the sociopathic mob known as the South Carolina Rethug electorate.
As exhibit B, I’ll point out that when revelations of Herman Cain’s sexual harassment surfaced, his campaign received a surge of donations.
This is sick, appalling, and – yes – despicable.
This is what “conservatism” has degenerated into.
This is the right-wing populist base of the modern Republican party.
JzB