One of the great hoodwinks of the century has been Donald Trump convincing too many economically struggling white voters that he and his party are better for their economic interests than Democrats. A big part of that pitch was his “message” on jobs. It doesn’t exactly qualify as a message to simply say, as he did when announcing his campaign, “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” Still, his message—which emphasized opposition to trade deals like the TPP—worked well enough to eke out an Electoral College victory.
To be sure, race-baiting was a big part of his campaign strategy as well, but the economic piece of it was important. UCLA political scientist Lynn Vavreck looked at TV ads run during the general election campaign (June through Election Day), and found that almost four times as many of Trump’s ads (34 percent) highlighted economic issues than did Clinton’s (9 percent)—and that Trump’s percentage was higher than the average presidential campaign (28 percent) going back to 1952.
Since taking up residence in the White Hosue, Trump has failed to pass a job-creating infrastructure plan, and has overseen job creation numbers that are no better than Barack Obama’s final year in office. His rich man’s tax cut has mostly just cut taxes for the rich—and we’ve borrowed billions more than initially projected in order to send that money trickling up the economic ladder. Furthermore, it’s done little to nothing for workers, just as planned, according to financial analyst Michael Patcher, quoted in Time:
The tax law didn’t do anything to provide an incentive to employers to create jobs. There’s nothing in there that would suggest that employers have a particular incentive to hire more people or pay the ones that they have more money.
In recent weeks, Democrats have stepped up with some bold ideas about creating jobs. And it’s about time.
Democrats have put forth a number of different proposals in which the federal government would directly hire workers. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ forthcoming plan is the most expansive thus far, promising a job to any American “who wants or needs one.” The jobs would pay a minimum of $15 an hour and provide health coverage. Sen. Cory Booker’s plan contains the most details and has been written up as formal legislation—co-sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Jeff Merkley, and Kamala Harris.
Despite their differences, these various Democratic plans have similar broad goals, both in economic and political terms:
The “job guarantee” plans, many of them pressed by Democratic White House hopefuls, vary in scope and cost, but they all center on government-sponsored employment that pays well above the $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage — a New Deal for a new age, absent the bread lines and unemployment rates of the Great Depression. The most aggressive plans seek to all but eradicate unemployment and to set a new wage floor for all working Americans, pressuring private employers to raise wages if they want to compete for workers.
But Democratic leaders hope the push will help their party bridge the growing political divide between white and minority workers, and silence the naysayers who accuse the party of being devoid of new, big ideas.
Along those lines, here’s what Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and a top Obama and Hillary Clinton adviser, had to say: “We are living in a world where Trump and Trumpism is trying to drive wedges between people. It’s important to the country and the progressive movement that we have ideas that matter in the lives of working people who are black, brown and white.” These plans on jobs represent both a big idea and a politically smart one because it offers a fundamental contrast between Democrats and Trump Republicans, one that Trump managed to obscure in 2016.
Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg has surveyed voters in Macomb County, Michigan, multiple times over the years. The first was in 1985, after that traditionally Democratic county had swung to Ronald Reagan—those voters came to personify the so-called Reagan Democrats. Greenberg surveyed them again in 2008 and in 2017. The largely white county gave a majority of its votes to Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, but then went for Trump.
In 2008, Greenberg summarized, voters were angry at corporations who they saw as shipping their jobs to foreign countries. In 2016, they expressed anger primarily about issues relating to race and immigration. Greenberg explained that their racial attitudes hadn’t changed much, but their priorities had: “Had I administered a test on racism [in 2008], they would have scored badly. I’m sure their racial identity was just as strong in 2008 and 2012, but despite those attitudes they voted for Obama twice.” These voters can be reached with a message that contrasts what Democrats will do on behalf of working-class people of all races to the fact that Republicans will do nothing—at least nothing good—on their behalf.
It’s not just the jobs guarantee that Democrats should talk about. They recently put forth a plan to repeal Trump’s tax giveaway to millionaires and use that money to pay for $1 trillion of investments in our nation’s infrastructure—in itself a major job creation plan. While Democrats are fighting to protect consumers, Republicans are engaged in a War on Consumers. Trump’s party has made it easier for businesses to rip consumers off, for example by weakening the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
By stealing a Supreme Court seat and installing conservative Neil Gorsuch, Trump and his party also severely weakened the ability of workers to band together to fight for their rights on the job. As our own Laura Clawson put it, the decision “gave employers a free pass on labor laws. All of them.” The Republicans are fighting for Wall Street, as seen in countless actions they’ve taken to weaken the rules put in place under Barack Obama to protect our economy against another speculation-driven collapse like the one that took place, not coincidentally, after years during which Republicans controlled Congress and George W. Bush held the presidency. Republicans have been very successful at making the Supreme Court a campaign issue, and Democrats need to do the same—by highlighting issues like reproductive rights and civil rights, and also the rights of workers.
Democrats need more than one type of message to win across the country. No one questions that. Part of that message has to aim at convincing working- and middle-class voters that our economic policies are going to help them, while Trump’s policies are going to harm them. Furthermore, we must highlight that policy contrast while also explaining that Trump and the Republicans want to divide workers—and the American people more broadly—along racial lines exactly in order to win power and continue fighting for the 1 percent against the rest of us. It’s the old divide-and-conquer strategy. Results from one Minneapolis survey suggest making this connection will be a winning message for Democrats:
Admittedly, these are early results, with caveats about sample size, region, method, and so on. Nevertheless, they suggest Democrats can tackle racism and economic inequality simultaneously, making gains with white voters and voters of color simultaneously. The key is to make explicit how racism oppresses people of color while serving as a weapon for a greedy few to keep the rest of us from uniting.
A message that demonstrates the foundational link between economic and racial injustice helps white working-class voters identify the true culprit for their hardships. It also motivates voters of color who want leaders that fight not merely against corporate interests but also for equality and freedom.
So, yes, Democrats must go after white working-class voters. Yes, Democrats must address racism. And, yes, progressives can do both simultaneously – and do better with both white voters and voters of color in the process.
Donald Trump wants to convince voters that the true culprit for their hardships is people of a different background. Democrats need to convince voters that the true culprit for their hardships is Donald Trump.
Ian Reifowitz is the author of Obama’s America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity (Potomac Books).