A basket of deplorables. Racist. Sexist. Homophobic. Then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton categorized one half of the Trump voter base this way just three months before Election Day 2016. Three months later … well, Hillary isn’t sitting in the White House right now.
That one quote likely did not significantly alter the course of the entire election, but it is indicative of a more severe problem rampant in our political society: stereotyping and antagonizing voters across the aisle.
In 2020, it’s about time for some change. It’s about time we recognize that, politics aside, stereotyping Trump voters is morally wrong. Politically, it’s about time Democrats abandon their delusion that the Trump electorate is, without exception, a cluster of uneducated bigots, racists, and sexists. Tactically, if Democrats want to win the presidency, stereotyping and shaming Trump voters is not conducive towards this goal. If Democrats treat the Trump electorate as one homogenous “basket of deplorables,” the party risks taking millions of voters for granted, writing off their real, unique concerns, and ultimately losing their votes..
Attack the Issue, Not the Voter
Before starting, however, it’s important to delineate a few disclaimers. Yes, racist and sexist prejudices motivated a sizable portion of the Trump electorate in 2016. Yes, promises to build a wall and enact a Muslim ban stirred nativist sentiments. Yes, members of the KKK and other White supremacist groups overwhelmingly supported Trump. Yes, race played a huge role in voter motivation in 2016.
But these descriptions do not capture the entire picture.
In issuing blanket characterizations of racism and ignorance, Democrats neglect the Rust Belt voters who feared the economic impacts of NAFTA. They write off the thousands of voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin who grew disillusioned with President Obama’s failure to revitalize the steel industry and desperately reached out to an “outsider” as their last hope. They disregard the millions of working-class Americans who feared that, in time, with the decline of US manufacturing and industry, their children would be left with a lower quality of life. It’s about time Democrats take a long, close look at these voters’ concerns and reach out, rather than shame and ridicule.
In 2016, 46% of Americans (about 62.9 million voters) voted for Trump. In my hometown of San Diego, the Democratic and Republican candidates for State Assembly differed by a mere 600 votes out of more than 100,000 ballots cast. Mathematically, many Trump voters and Republicans are our family members, friends, and neighbors. It’s not right to issue such blanket accusations.
Yes, one could argue that these voters didn’t view racism as a dealbreaker, and thus should be held socially accountable.
I completely agree. Racism should be exposed and comprehensively addressed, but that doesn’t mean that Democrats can automatically discount the other 99 reasons these voters voted for Trump. When racism is the product of ignorance set aflame by economic anxiety, it can be eliminated. Ignorance is remedied through education and discussion. Writing them off isn’t the way to change their minds.
Oftentimes, many of these voters are the victims or soon-to-be victims of a broken socioeconomic system calling out for help. Economic anxiety renders individuals vulnerable to desperation and manipulation. If Democrats want change, they should attack the system, not the voter.
These are our fellow Americans. To ignore their economic anxiety and psychoanalyze the entire Trump electorate as only die-hard racists and bigots is itself a manifestation of arrogant privilege. To write off the entire Trump electorate as uneducated, backwards and unreachable is to willingly part with the hearts and souls of millions of Americans, to consciously ignore their diverse, relevant concerns, and to ultimately lose their vote.
Capitalize on Common Ground
The reality of the situation is that despite the name-calling and vote-shaming, Democrats and Republicans have more in common in terms of policy than we might believe. Forty-nine percent of conservative Republicans believe that the federal government should prioritize alternative energy sources. Twenty-four percent of conservative Republicans believe that the US should do more to reduce the effects of climate change. Even on more seemingly polarizing issues like police brutality, 70% of Republicans believe in banning racial profiling and chokeholds. With daily death tolls in the thousands, it is clear that COVID-19 does not discriminate between Republicans and Democrats when tearing apart families and destroying livelihoods. Currently, 21% of Republicans disapprove of the President’s handling of the situation. Healthcare access and economic stimulus are relevant to both Democrats and Republicans.
If Democrats want to win the presidency, the party has to reach across the aisle on these nationwide issues. For example, Democrats could place more focus on job-transition programs for coal miners to alternative energy sectors. Democrats could also put more emphasis on federally-funded universal testing and contact-tracing proposals. But sowing discord and demonizing the other side is just not going to work.
I’m not arguing to let racism and bigotry slide. We have to call it out and work to eradicate it. I’m not suggesting that Democrats should abandon their party platform and policy agenda for the sake of winning over voters, but rather arguing that Democrats must emphasize its parts that have wide cross-party appeal. Democrats don’t have to win over 62.9 million voters. Democrats just have to win over less than 1% of Republican voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Calling people “backwards” and “bigoted” isn’t going to win many votes. Reaching out might.
2020 is a golden opportunity to recalibrate and reembrace empathy towards all Americans. 2020 is a second-chance for Democrats to reach out to the millions of voters who had been previously ignored or written off through stereotyping and blanket generalizations. It’s about time Democrats put down the name-calling and shaming of Trump voters. Especially if they want to win.
