Bernie Sanders: Democrats Abandoned Working Class
One of the most popular figures on the political left argued that the Democratic Party has lost touch with the thought process and needs of many common workers. This role has been replaced by initiatives by the Republican Party since.
Former 2016 and 2020 presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told Bill Maher this week that the Republican Party has become the party of working people.
The Vermont senator is saying what many Republican critics have charged since the rise to prominence of former President Donald Trump. Trump’s focus on working-class concerns was a revelation for many voters, they argue.
According to the Vermont Senator, the Democratic Party no longer represents the “working class in America.” He said that most Americans would have seen this role filled by Democrats in the past, but now that “the Republican party probably has more adherents than the Democrats.”
Sanders showed several examples of working-class voters leaving the Democrats for candidates such as Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
The socialist senator has traditionally been far to the left of Republicans but was the only person in the 2016 and 2020 presidential races willing to discuss the effect that immigration has on wages for the average American. He opposed the recent Democratic Party position of open borders.
Former President Trump’s policy preferences lined up with a number of issues affecting the former industrial states of the Midwest. The increased discussion about free trade issues destroying industrial jobs and the needs of blue-collar workers helped Trump win most of the region, including shocking wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The focus on working-class issues has only increased since President Trump entered the White House in 2017. Many Republican candidates, including Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), focuses heavily on the needs of rural areas that lost thousands of jobs over the last several generations. Vance has also drawn considerable attention to the effects of the Feb. 3 railway derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
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The rise of the blue-collar Republican focus also resulted in a shift in voting patterns among many former Democrats. President Trump’s ability to draw in voters from across the political spectrum is reminiscent of the popularity of former President Ronald Reagan among working people.