The 'rainbow' Democrats still have nothing to offer America's working class – women or men

[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]I[/FONT]n the end, three predictable things happened: the Democrats took control of the House, the Republicans held the Senate and Donald Trump declared a famous victory.


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[FONT=&quot]Will anybody tell the truth about these events? Probably not immediately, while exultation and exculpation are the order of the day. But look closely at the results and there are some disturbing historic facts that cannot be ignored indefinitely.


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[FONT=&quot]Left liberals are celebrating this as “the year of the woman” because a record number of female candidates have been elected to Congress. But it is really the year of what they call in the US, “suburban” women - which is to say, the educated, middle class ones.


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[FONT=&quot]The terrible truth is that Democrats have almost nothing to say to working class women in those blue collar states where they are more worried about putting food on the table than breaking glass ceilings. Indeed, the party appears to have nothing to say to working class voters of either gender (except “I hate you and your ignorant prejudices which stand in the way of our great march toward enlightenment.”)


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[FONT=&quot]This election victory in the House confirmed that the Democrats are now committed to the concept of the “rainbow coalition”: an electoral alliance of women, ethnic and social minorities and their progressive supporters. Which is to say, they have completely abandoned their traditional constituency and left them prey to the demagoguery of anyone who professes love for them and seems to take their concerns seriously.


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[FONT=&quot]They appear to have learnt nothing from the Hillary Clinton debacle in which a confederation of like-minded minorities poured contempt on the great disenfranchised millions who once believed that the Democrats were the party of the working man. (It is no coincidence that Trump stole Franklin Roosevelt’s term “the forgotten man”.)[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]But, you might argue, perhaps the time has come for politics to move away from that old class-based idea of party loyalty. That was a dangerous Marxist myth, wasn’t it? Maybe it is better to have parties that align along common interests and ideals rather than locking people into pre-ordained social position and economic categories. Yes indeed. But that can only work if the new alignments and the new messages connect with the reality of people’s lives. If you are a victim of the post-industrial apocalypse in a rust belt state, you want to believe that somebody in Washington understands your anger and does not regard your inchoate rage as despicable. If that is not forthcoming from a respectable candidate then you will turn to one who tells lies, who propagates terrifying myths and who deals in hate. The Democrats have more than their electoral prospects to consider.

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[FONT=&quot]There is a matter of moral responsibility here too. Speak to, and for, the angry mob - or they will turn in their desperation to something very dangerous.[/FONT]

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