Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I'm not thinking about Trump voters. I'm thinking about my grandfather, who grew up on a farm in a Wyoming town that no longer exists, who never went to a day of college, and who made a life for himself and his children by learning a trade. He once told me that the only two institutions that had ever done anything for him were the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Democratic Party, although there were probably a few more (BPOE, e.g.). He's the kind of voter that Geoghehan piece speaks to. If a political party isn't going to help people like him, what good is it?
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My grandfather was a swing voter. He was a consummate moderate. He wanted a good deal for himself, but wanted to keep everyone else in solid shape (owned businesses reliant on local consumers). If everybody had a few bucks, they cycled back to the merchants (Henry Ford theory).
I don’t think he’d have a candidate in the last few elections. He was anti-war (but a veteran), and detested bullshit. Never vote for Trump.
I don’t think anyone speaks to your grandfather or mine anymore because they were people existing at a time when politics mattered and politicians were connected to demographics rather than special interests.
They were also fucking normal. Pre-24/7-news-and-internet people could disagree and do the Reagan/O’Neill dance until they found a middle ground.
They’ve been forgotten because the Blight Generation - the Boomers - has poisoned everything. And Gingrich has destroyed politics.
