The long-term trend: Unstable coalitions for both parties
In the long run, the most powerful demographic trends will continue to benefit Democrats, at least at the presidential level. But that advantage will be offset if Democrats can’t sustain more support from whites, especially when the party holds unified control in Washington and can implement its agenda, as Obama did during his first two years in the White House. Democrats may now need fewer whites to win a national majority, but Obama is laboring to clear even that lowering bar, especially since the surge toward Romney after the first presidential debate.
In combination, the stark class, generational, and—above all—racial fissures now shaping American politics have produced a closely divided and volatile electorate that has stubbornly refused to provide either party with a lasting advantage, arguably since the Reagan era, and voters next week may again divide almost exactly in half. “A political system in which one party is the party of white America and the other party is the party of minority America is a political system that is structured for polarization,” says veteran Democratic analyst William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “It’s a political system that locks us into an endless continuation of what we’ve seen.”
Blowback
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Pfft. That’s been the plan all along! It won’t be endless, though. Not at all.
Dack Thrombosis on November 2, 2012 at 10:25 PM
I didn’t realize the 40 years of Democrat rule was over already…
…still felt like 80.
Gingotts on November 2, 2012 at 10:27 PM
Delusion with a Brownstain.
davidk on November 2, 2012 at 10:30 PM
It doesn’t matter today or for the next week. Conservatives, Indies, SOCONs, Atheists, Libertarians, GOP and anyone else who gets it that this man is ruining our nation need to stick together.
hawkdriver on November 2, 2012 at 10:32 PM
Republicans cannot be conservative when they’re telling “nonwhite” voters what they will do to save them from the great heterosexual white male conspiracy. Reject class warfare and vote Republican.
Now here’s some questions that an article with this subject may ask: How does jacked up prices of energy, cars, and land (via smart growth) help the “working” and “middle” class? How do you stand for the interests of the LGBT community and the Muslim community at the same time?
Transpo on November 2, 2012 at 10:36 PM
You’re right. They need to stick together and work tirelessly to elect a man whose policies and fundamental beliefs about the relationship between government and the individual are nearly indistinguishable from those of the incumbent. What an incredible insight.
Armin Tamzarian on November 2, 2012 at 10:37 PM
Yet the balance of power is apparently held by whites who voted for Obama but are now tilting toward Romney. Coddling that constituency is not a recipe for polarization, just lots of eye-rolling.
Seth Halpern on November 2, 2012 at 10:41 PM
The “Us vs. Them” mentality hasn’t been cultivated by whites against non-whites. In fact it is the opposite. I’m so sick to death of this gender/racial/sexual orientation/cutural bullshiite.
When was the last time any of you evil whiteys thought of yourself first and foremost as white? I am an American, a wife, a mother, a daughter.
I am not a Proud White Woman!
Nor a Proud Heterosexual Woman.
Nor a Proud Portuguese/Swedish/English/Irish Woman.
My goodness, how tiring it must be to carry around those labels.
mrsmwp on November 2, 2012 at 10:51 PM
Oh, and as a PS to my above comment. Anyone who primarily identifies themselves by race, culture, etc over being an American can suck it. I’m sick to death of you.
mrsmwp on November 2, 2012 at 10:53 PM
I got a platform for the RNC. It’s good for whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, rich, poor men, women, gays, straights, bisexuals, transsexuals, the young, the old, single parents, married couples, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, atheists, immigrants, Native Americans and just plain old pure-blooded Americans.
Want to know what it is??????????
FREE MARKET CAPITALISM!
Now, shut up!!!!!!!!!!
Glenn Jericho on November 2, 2012 at 11:05 PM
This is what I read.
hawkdriver on November 2, 2012 at 11:11 PM
hawkdriver is a dumb partisan fraud. And his hatred for atheists and libertarians is well known. It is pretty hilarious to see his apthetic ass grovelling for their support for electing his candidate though. Romney’s only meaningful difference from Obama is that he’s all white, instead of merely half. And it’s not meaningful, if you don’t buy into this “whites are a voting bloc” racist crap like Brownstain here.
The debates consisted of Romney and Obama agreeing with each other on every topic. ALL the arguing and disagreement stemmed from each side accusing the other of lying and being ingenuine in their statements. Not the content of their actual “policies”. And both have a VERY long record of being lying BS-spitting phonies. Same as anybody who supports one over the other.
Daikokuco on November 2, 2012 at 11:21 PM
No surprise. This site posts the favorable polls and stories and skips the ones that don’t make Obamney look so good. Basically, the editors and readers of Hot Air have conditioned themselves to see what they want to see and ignore everything else.
Armin Tamzarian on November 2, 2012 at 11:21 PM
They are unskewing the polls and removing the media bias.
^This is what so-con hot air readers actually believe.
Daikokuco on November 3, 2012 at 1:09 AM
translation: we let obama destroy the democrat party thoroughly ( and it wasn’t that great shakes before his ascension…) and are still in denial about it.
mittens on November 3, 2012 at 2:02 AM