In my October diary, I noted the GOP has built an angry mob within their base who are not doing so well economically and have been encouraged to blame the wrong people and policies for their woes. An article I read recently provides more detail about this angry mob and what motivates them to vote against their own interests.
The article “Who Turned My Blue State Red?” by Alex MacGillis clarifies who these voters are. They’re mostly white, rural, and members of the lower middle class — the 2nd quintile from the bottom of the economic ladder — who see those in the bottom quintile as the reason the middle class isn’t doing better. They’ve come to view safety net programs as a drain on the economy and those who rely upon these programs as lazy, shiftless, and undeserving.
The other disturbing point made by the article is that the poor, who one would think would be the biggest defenders of safety net programs at the polls, aren’t doing so. The poor have largely disconnected from the political process. They aren’t voting at all.
This means GOP candidates can win elections by ignoring the poor and concentrating on inflaming the prejudices and misguided views of the white lower middle class.
Of course, the long term consequences will be disastrous, especially in a society as awash in guns as the United States is. The poor will not accept an increasing level of abuse indefinitely. They’ve clearly given up on the political system. When things get bad enough, they’ll resort to violence.
And, with so many in the lower middle class giving Republicans political license to dismantle safety net programs and institute austerity measures directed at the poor, the middle class will become more and more vulnerable. Inevitable economic downturns, brought on by governmental austerity and the Republican penchant for policies which transfer wealth to the upper class, will swell the ranks of the poor. At some point, the angry mob will explode and take the country down with it.