The Working Class-Sized Hole in Democratic Support Widens – Ruy Teixeira/Liberal Patriot
“We tested messages that Biden could use to expose Trump’s vulnerabilities, and the ones that voters found most compelling focused on economic fairness and how that should be reflected in public policy—not on Biden and Trump’s respective characters, biographies, and backgrounds….
“Blueprint’s latest survey, conducted in partnership with The Liberal Patriot, showed that many of the policies that are most popular with voters can be used to make the case that Biden is the candidate for average Americans while Trump is the candidate who advocates for the interests of the very rich. Among the 40 policies we tested, the most popular ones are those that crack down on corporations, lower the prices of health care and other things, and protect Medicare and Social Security.”
Are the Republicans the Party of the Working Class? – Les Leopold/Power at Work
“The book also pleads, cajoles, harangues, and virtually begs the Democrats to have the courage to directly intervene to stop mass layoffs and curtail Wall Street’s job-destructive ways.
“Josh Hawley is wrong. The Republicans will not be the party of the working class until it ceases to be the unabashed party of the anti-union bosses, like the Kochs and Richard Uihlein. Walking a picket line or two will not suffice. The Republicans have a long way to go before they can credibly defend workers from the plague of mass layoffs…”
“Though the GOP is far from taking its last breath, I applaud Sen. Josh Hawley’s appeal to the party to fight more for the working class and less for the country’s wealthy and more powerful interests. Many Republicans understand this, and the party has been making inroads among middle- to lower-income voters, with whom Democrats still hold an advantage.
“To represent workers, Republicans will have to move beyond cultural hot buttons (guns, abortion, etc.) and deliver economic benefits, including wages that can cover the cost of living. That means working with Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage, stuck at $7.25 for more than a decade. It also means taking a hard look at child-tax credits and regressive tax breaks for health and retirement employee benefits that now transfer billions of dollars from the middle and bottom of the workforce to the top.
“Are core economic issues — and immigration reform, for that matter — Rubicons that the GOP is willing to cross? Democrats could decide to respond to Republican inroads among working-class voters by returning to their more egalitarian New Deal roots. If so, how might the GOP respond? More competition for their votes could do a lot to improve working people’s lives.”

Mercedes plant workers stymie attempt to form union -Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP