In some ways, I think David Brooks gets this right, and in some ways, I think he gets it wrong. But I sure like reading it: "Politically, the G.O.P. is squeezed at both ends. The party is losing the working class by sins of omission — because it has not developed policies to address economic anxiety. It has lost the educated class by sins of commission — by telling members of that class to go away." The GOP's inadequacy on economic issues is true, but not a recent development. In the past couple of decades, when the working class has been concerned about the economy, Democrats have won elections. When they've been more worried about terrorism or communism, Republicans have won elections. When they've been worried about neither, as in 2000, it's been pretty close. But if John Kerry or Al Gore had run amidst a collapsing financial sector, their close elections would probably have been Democratic blowouts. If Barack Obama had run in 2004, he might have done considerably worse. Meanwhile, you've had a structural change in elections, too. The GOP wasn't much trusted on the economy because they were considered too sympathetic to the interests of corporations. That poll question asking "do the Republicans care more for the problems of people like you or those of corporations?" has not been kind to the GOP. But the flip side of the bargain was a whole lot of money. The GOP wildly outraised the Democrats, and won a lot of elections that way. This was particularly true in the final weeks of the 2000 election, where Bush swamped Gore on battleground state airwaves. But the rise of online fundraising and small donor democracy have, at least to this point, largely wiped that advantage out at the presidential level, and so now the Republicans are left with the baggage of a pro-corporate philosophy without the protective effect of the fundraising advantage. As for the educated class, that's an interesting question. Much like with the conservative wing's mistrust of Hispanics, it's a policy that might have seemed electorally wise a couple years ago but is growing more questionable with every passing election. At some point, the demographic trends predicted by The Emerging Democratic Majority
's will reach sufficient maturity and the GOP's decades-long effort to drive away the educated and young and the different is going to leave them making ever more exclusionary appeals to an ever smaller slice of the electorate. 's will reach sufficient maturity and the GOP's decades-long effort to drive away the educated and young and the different is going to leave them making ever more exclusionary appeals to an ever smaller slice of the electorate.
