. Seldom do we find right-wing political cartoonists getting it right, but McCoy hit this one on the head. The white working class has since the days of the “Reagan Democrats” had “Liberals” as the group they hate the most.
Back then we couldn’t even use the word we had “THE L WORD” as a substitute. This never died down and has been growing for a generation. In fact over the past few years Democrats have had to rename themselves “progressives” to try and fail to take that “liberal” sting away. You know, Liberal, tolerant and open to the new.
The Republican Bases’ animus toward African Americans has been fairly steady over the years until 2009 when we got our first black president. A squeaky clean, cool, calm, smart and with better family values than any Trumpster. Which in turn gave us the Tea Party and the Birther movement [led by none other than the next president of the United States.] Hating Mexicans and Muslims is rather new to this generation, but it is Liberals that they hate the most.
We can argue what the election was most about, or more specifically, what it was that got their dander up high enough to go out and vote, and win. Wining by losing the by 2 million votes. Imagine if this were turned around and Hillary won and The Donald got 2 million more votes. Imagine that. WOWZER! Where would we be today?
Some say the turnout was due to Muslim terrorism, others say Mexicans stealing their jobs, some even believe that steel mills and auto plants will be moving to Hooterville. I believe more than any of that it was political correctness that drove them to the polls.
The Donald’s attack on political correctness was what got the emotions running at his rallies, the term that for a generation has defined Liberals as smartypants, elitist, free speech NAZIS. Which worked better than Republicans had ever imagined. It has been the basis of talk radio for 28 years. There is something to it of course, for no one likes anyone wagging their finger in their face telling them what they can say or how to think. Right and wrong do not enter into it.
Though the term “political correctness” is about resentment concerning education, intelligence and elitism while the term “political incorrectness” is by definition, bigotry whether in the form of racism, nativism, sexism, religious liberty, homophobia or transgender phobia. That is what political incorrectness is.
I think what so many liberal and Yankee friends of mine miss in all this, is that down here and across the corn/cattle belt racism and bigotry are things to be proud of, to boast of, to be accepted by one’s camo cap peers. It is how they were raised, with parents and friends all sidie that talk radio / Fox News bubble of theirs.
Reaching out is out of the question, the only hope is dying off.
Perhaps we are looking at the wrong things to blame for this? Perhaps it is more about Plan D and the new cheap generic brands for Plavix, Hyzaar and such?
Good news? The death rate for rural people is 13% higher than in the cities, and even higher for rural males.