In an attempt to further explain the popular vote-loser’s “victory” in November, a group of researchers developed a simple yet brilliant study comparing voting trends over the past three Presidential elections. They looked at how people voted, specifically trying to figure out why people who voted for Obama (against Romney/McCain) now voted for Tr*mp, and why those who voted against Obama (for Romney/McCain) now voted for Hillary. To derive a measure of “view of racial diversity” (essentially, if someone has a positive or negative view about minorities), they conducting a questionnaire, asking for feedback for the following four statements.
Now, as you may know, census projections show that by 2043, African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and other mixed racial and ethnic groups will together be a majority of the population. Thinking about the likely impact of this coming demographic change, how much you agree or disagree with each of these statements?
- Americans will learn more from one another and be enriched by exposure to many different cultures.
- A bigger, more diverse workforce will lead to more economic growth.
- There will be too many demands on government services.
- There will not be enough jobs for everybody.
Using this information they were able to rate respondents as to how favorably they viewed the rise in the minority population. They then graphed this score based on voting history. The two graphs that I have attached are my favorites.
The first graph is pretty clear, and probably not surprising. Trump voters are more racist than Romney or McCain voters. Identifying as Republican does not (or did not) make one inherently racist, but being a Republican Trump voter, a little bit yes.
The second graph is a bit more complicated, but still not surprising. Voters who voted for Obama and then Trump were motivated by fear of rising diversity. Voters who voted for Romney, but who refused to vote for Trump, had a much more positive view of diverse populations...in other words, those were the Republicans who were not racists.
I think this pretty much closes the argument. I was one who was trying to make it about jobs, about taking the power back from the establishment (which uneducated whites believed Trump would do, even though clearly he has done the opposite). There was no indication in this study that class or trade or a “rigged system” contributed to the outcome of the election.
Just thought yall should know.
Edit: I just realized that this article is about a month old. I missed it, though, so maybe some of you did, too. If this is old news and I’m just behind...apologies.