How Barack Obama Can Win White Working Class Votes

Now that we finally have a Democratic nominee, a burning issue is how Obama can win the voters who went overwhelmingly to Hillary Clinton. It's a complicated topic. This blog will offer a game plan over the next few weeks. (I will speak to Obama, egghead to egghead, providing the book titles Democratic strategists should be reading if they want to understand the white working class.)

Let's start simple. Democrats are mystified about why working class voters resent them - who have such good intentions - but not Republicans, whose chief goal (as the Dems see it) is to protect the capitalist class. The hard truth is that the white working class distrusts professionals but admires the rich.

Joseph Howell's Hard Living on Clay Street found hostility towards college students, and that professional people were generally suspect. Lawyers were most disliked - many blue collar workers felt had cheated or overcharged them (typically in divorce cases). But doctors fell not far behind: "Doctors will screw you every time. Prescribe medicine for you you don't need and then charge you double for not helping you one goddamn bit."

Annette Lareau's Unequal Childhoods found tremendous resentment against teachers. No wonder. Lareau tells of:

*a working class child with learning disabilities who never gets properly diagnosed;

* a college student who is never counseled to drop a course she is failing, thereby jeopardizing her future;

*a seriously ill woman who refuses to go to the doctor because she feels she is tread like "white trash" when she does.

Elite children "learn to think of themselves as special and as entitled to receive certain kinds of services," Lareau notes, but working class kids learn a sense of powerlessness and resentment towards professionals, whom they often see as uncaring, arrogant, and exercising unchecked power over working class lives.

In sharp contrast, Michelle Lamont's The Dignity of Working Men found little resentment of the affluent. Some quotes:

I "can't knock anyone from succeeding." (Laborer)

"There's a lot of people out there who are wealthy and I'm sure they worked darned hard for every cent they have." (Receiving Clerk)

"You can't associate money with happiness, but I would sure like to give it a try." (Electronics Technician)

White working class people rank income above education in evaluating people's worth; they rank formal education below competence, knowledge, and common sense. "I'd rather have common sense than an education" is a common saying among steelworkers in Trenton.

All this is expressed to a T in Maureen Dowd's New York Times column. Dowd tells us she grew up working class, and reminds us that Obama did not - that his mother "got her Ph.D. in anthropology, studying the culture of Indonesia." Then she lights in, faulting Obama for appearing to be "observing the odd habits of the colorful locals" in Rocky country. Americans don't mind some elitism: "the great tradition of the millionaire who was cool enough to relate to the common man--like Cary Grant's C.K. Dexter Haven in 'The Philadelphia Story.'"

In others words, we admire the rich. "What turns off voters is the detached, egghead quality that they tend to equate with wimpiness, wordiness, and a lack of action--the same quality that got the professorial and superior Adlai Stevenson mocked by critics as Adelaide." Be rich and you are manly. Be intellectual? What a wuss.

Being an egghead is another professional identity the white working class distrusts. This is the chasm we need to bridge. How? Stay tuned.

Comments

[several]

Interesting intellectual exercise there Joan but you missed a really important basic concept:

Just because a white, working class democratic voter voted for Clinton in the primaries does not guarantee that they'll vote for McCain in November as you all but insinuate. Voting democratic in the Primary is a pretty good indicator that they'll vote Democratic in November too.

You're also more than insinuating that people who have less than a college education don't want a smart, educated person as president. That's pretty insulting to those voters to assume that they don't have enough sense to want a smart, well-educated person as president.

Most of the voters of whom you speak voted for Clinton over Obama because of one simple thing: Name recognition. They'll still vote Dem in the fall, including most of Appalachia (the remaining hardcore racists there excepted of course.)

[BBackSoon]

I agree with this story for the most part, but as a white semi-professional (Tech School - IT) person. I guess I straddle the line. Personally am living week to week and I have what many in my community would say is a good job. But I also have some nagging student loans. I don"t hate the rich but I do hate the fact that as you get richer they give you a car to drive and profit sharing on how much money you can trim from the budget. And remember that much of that trimming is at the expense of the employees below.

As far as other professionals go, I feel that teachers for the most part deserve our admiration and could use some monetary compensation for what they are trying to accomplish. The problem is NCLBH and 2 months of standardized test preparation each year. In my little Midwestern community we have 15 or 20-year teachers making half of what I make. Teachers are living just above the poverty line. Doctors seem to be in such a time crunch because of the corporate healthcare business and are also constrained by insurance companies. Lawyers on the other hand¦.

I think perhaps now would be a good time for another New Deal. Our infrastructure is crumbling and we need real jobs. Alternative Energy incentives could also create real jobs.

[GraceNeeded]

EVERYONE responds to equality and fairness in offering the opportunity for the American Dream to everybody! This is why despite any prejudice or stereotypes one might have, they ALL believe children of all colors, religion, ethnicities deserve the chance for a decent education and will even vote for Head Start and support Public Television's Children's programs like Sesame Street, as well as Child Healthcare Plus (in NY) for children of all walks of life. ALL of us believe in the concept of fair chance, fair educational opportunity, etc. When Senator Obama, with Senator Webb's support make it clear that this is what he offers - a kind of broadening of affirmative action to include all those from lower income families and/or culturally deprived areas like Appalachia, then those working class whites will respond more positively. The fact is, Senator Clinton did everything she could to define Senator Obama as someone who was elitist and not like them in these regions and NOW will have to undo her primary campaign winning strategy by letting these same voters know, that despite the well spoken way Senator Obama comes across and his (and her's) Ivy League education, he really IS MORE LIKE THEM THAN she is. She can undo the hits on her character by being gracious in defeat and recognized as being authentic in her acknowledgment of his character.

[Trueheart]

We are making a mistake if we funnel everyone into an educational system which belches forth degreed professionals who don't know how to fix a leaky faucet and look down upon people with manual skills. I come from a long line of men and women who were farmers, fishermen, carpenters, boatbuilders, sailmakers and teachers. I can vouch for the fact that despite lack of formal education, they loved music, art, literature, political thinking, and were witty, clever people. What's missing in our approach to working class people transcends race. What's missing is respect for survival skills and knowledge passed on from generation to generation. Commenter AOFH gets to the heart of it with his/her comment about Jane Jacobs. Let's first get rid of the patronizing attitude that WE, the educated and enlightened, have to do something TO or FOR the poor, undereducated THEM. Well-meaning Liberals need to step back.

If we create a sytem in which people have the freedom to build their own futures, they can and will do it. Take New Orleans for example. Why store people in sardine cans on wheels while contracts are handed out to builders, when you can put tools into the hands of people whose homes were destroyed, provide supervision, and they can rebuild their communities? That's what Habitat for Humanity is all about, and this concept has been promoted for years by the UN and World Bank. It works because it empowers people to solve their own problems.

[katzooks]

Through its academic, laboratory approach to understanding human behavior, this "eggheaded" approach to defining why the white working-class resents/distrusts Democrats loses sight of the forest for the trees. I have to strenuously disagree -- no matter what water the test-tube theories appear to hold -- that this distrust boils down to resentment of the educated vs. an admiration for the wealthy.

Out in the real world, fear is the great motivator among this group, which tends, anyway, to vote in small numbers, compared to other demographics. Those who do vote, tend to vote on hot-button issues: abortion, gays and raising taxes, that last issue being inextricably tied to race, with the built-in implication that Democrats will raise their taxes, giving their hard-earned money to minorities, who are already, in their eyes, robbing "white" jobs through affirmative action programs. Republicans have successfully exploited these fears over and over to draw the white working class vote.

The Democrats, on the other hand, have failed to speak to their real issues, with most poverty-related agendas (education, health care) targeting minorities over whites. Much as I agree that the white working class tends to distrust higher educated "eggheads" I think the cure is in the poison: educate the white working class on what the Democrats plan to do for THEM. John Edwards' poverty tour will be a strong influence, as the Democrats spread light into the dark places conjured by the Republican propaganda for the past 30 years.

[BKLN]

FINALLY - a forum that is going to dedicate itself to understanding an issue the Democrats have needed to do for a very long time.

[kellysmalltowngirl]

Yes Yes Yes

[ddharder]

Uneducated voters respond well to pandering. Simplistic campaign slogans (read propaganda) hold great sway with them. The GOP has done an excellent job feeding them "common sense" and has played to their fears and their hatreds.

It's lost on most of these voters that the US government hands out corporate welfare hand over fist, going so far as to even subsidize corporations who outsource jobs to cheaper overseas labor at the expense of the working class. But bait them about welfare queens and they are fired up and ready to charge Washington with their pitchforks; forget the fact that the amounts are triffling in comparison.

Bottom line is that the GOP blows on the embers of their distrusts while at the same time undermines their best interests. A simplistic world view makes all this possible.

How does the opposition party overcome this? Short of a better education system, I have no idea.

[allonfla]

If what you say is true, then Obama needs to show the working class how the rich get rich and stay rich. Like shipping their jobs overseas so they could save on labor costs and make their 'rich' shareholders even richer.


However, I don't understand the logic in the way they think.

[ddharder]

Ha ha. I read somewhere (can't recall at the moment) about a computer tech in Silicon Valley who actually outsourced his own programming job. He hired a programmer from India or Bangladesh to do his work for him and profited on the pay difference. Smart guy.

[Trueheart]

Ha ha indeed. What you admiringly call "smart," I would call "exploitative and dishonest." But there you go! It's all about getting rich so that you can buy things and let some other poor suckah do the hard work. That's the kind of thinking that has led to the ruinous state of affairs we're now in. "I've got mine, Jack, and to hell with the rest of you." Good luck kiddo.

[jsarets]

The shift in the kinds of jobs available to working class whites affects how they see themselves in the context of American society. As manufacturing jobs are replaced with service jobs, the dignity of producing something useful is giving way to a growing sense that they exist to serve wealthier people.

The most promising and fastest growing job market available to exurban communities is nursing, a profession that requires formal education and certification. The kinds of manufacturing jobs that will stay in America are mostly middle-class jobs, but the bottom half of the service sector can only sustain poor and near-poor standards of living. It's becoming more clear than it ever was that education is the key to breaking into the top half of the service sector where a middle-class lifestyle is affordable.

Obama can win the white working class by passionately explaining that the best way to ensure continued prosperity and competitiveness in the global economy is to reaffirm our commitment as a society to the idea that education is our fundamental engine of growth. He has to make the connection between education and the economy.

McCain doesn't really want to dwell on the economy in general, but I really doubt that he wants a debate on education. That's the sleeper issue in this election.

[ddharder]

Great post!

[americaforme]

If Obama doesn't ad,dress the very real class problem caused by outsourcing, democrats will jump ship to where, I dont know. I dont think everyone admires the rich,especially since big business set up shop in China, and India, causing our Nation to go broke...NAFTA alone killed industrys, add to that China, Indonisia,India, and now they want all of Latin America,outsourced...Obama has to reign in the banking systems,regulations of interest rates, that rip off the poor,(middle class) Are you afraid to call a spade a spade, I think your talking about (Joe Six Pack)...Joe will vote for Obama if he keeps his act clean and is not a kiss ass to lobyist,. I think it's a good thing Obama is steeped in legal. Perhalps he will be a breathe of fresh air...I pray that he hears the heart of Joe, out of work, and down on himself. What's this Caroline decision;....give us a break..surely you can find a not so rich, choice. we're watching you Obama, please dont disapoint us.

[aofh]

The rich are different. Class has long been the great elephant in the Ameican room. I purpose that the rich are given a pass by the working class because they are insulated from them in daily dealing by the merchant/tradesman/professional/supervior (boss). The guys in the middle are actively making working classes make the difficult choices in their lives regarding their resources.

Frankly, I think we need a new discusion about economy; one that asks what is an economy, what is it for and who does it support. Jane Jacobs has defined economy as a system of survival, a system whereby we get a living. This view puts the individual and his/her community at the center of economy. Economies are local first, then expand outward to the global. Such a view allows the blue collar workman to be seen as the integral and necessary part of the economy that he is. In fact, it allows us all to be seen in that way. I would love to hear Obama or one of his surrogates ask that question and to start chipping away at the supplyside thinking elevated during the Reagan Administration.

[kellysmalltowngirl]

Everyone CAN"T have a professional job, SOMEONE needs to do the crappy work, and they are just as valuable as higher status jobs.

If the *sshole doesn't exist the whole body fails.

The goal should be to value every part of our economy equally. In time this will lead to social equality.

[kellysmalltowngirl]

Exactly! Great post!

[obamagirl1968]

HuffPost's Pick

Newsflash...even professionals work for a living!! Mainly to pay off the student loans and to ensure that their children don't have to work and struggle like they did.

It amazes me how the 'white working class' could admire rich people who may have stole, lied and cheated to get rich but hold in contempt professionals like doctors, lawyers and teachers who are just trying to help their fellow man and live a decent life.

I have never seen this dichotomy in the black community. My mother's biggest dream was that I obtain my college degree. I am working on my second master's degree.

[bigboycat]

just remember it is the rich who give you jobs

[kellysmalltowngirl]

You are entirely correct in your understanding of the white working class people of this country.

[KillTheMessenger]

There is a very questionable assumption here: that Obama will not win over significant numbers of working whites.

By the way, I think you have your definition of "working class" wrong. The kinds of people you describe are not the working class. They are "daily survival class" people.

Quotes like

""I'd rather have common sense than an education" is a common saying among steelworkers in Trenton."

don't select for the working classes. They select for the stupid of the working class. A favorite quote from those people (I heard this in Germany a couple of times) is:

"I don't want my son (daughter) to be smarter than me. He (she) would lose respect for his (her) parents."

This has nothing to do with working for a living and everything to do with being a moron. You will never hear this from a Chinese or Indian parent.

[kellysmalltowngirl]

The group of people in question here are WHITE working class Americans, not Indian, not Chinese, not German.

And they are citizens of this country who deserve respect regardless of the lack of apparent wisdom in their comments. They also deserve to have their views heard and understood by the people who want to run their governement.

Everyone matters!

[aofh]

I agree that they need to be respected and their views listened to. But too often their views are not in their best interest, their views hold them back. Too often they are the most resistant to change. How do you penetrate the resistance? How do you get them to leave the security of the pain they know?