“What’s Past is Prologue…"
[The following commentary initially appeared in this space on August 30, 2023]
The real nexus between 'race and class' in American politics today is that the powerful doctrine and practice of white supremacy as a major (and not incidental) ideological, structural, institutional, systemic, and material force and social reality within the larger context of Global monopoly capitalism itself in all of its dimensions is as always inextricably connected and thus mutually dependent forces in the United States.
This country is in much deeper trouble than it actually thinks it is. The most fundamental and horrifying fact is that in the last two elections in 2016 and 2020 a whopping 58% of ALL WHITE VOTERS across the board in every single individual class group from the poor to the working class to the middle and upper middle classes as well as the wealthy throughout the entire country have voted overwhelmingly for Trump TWICE and still support him for the presidency in 2024
THE MOST IMPORTANT, TERRIFYING, BUT ALMOST NEVER PUBLICLY COMMENTED UPON FACT IS THE FOLLOWING:
The real nexus between 'race and class' in American politics today is that the powerful doctrine and practice of white supremacy as a major (and not incidental) ideological, structural, institutional, systemic, and material force and social reality within the larger context of Global monopoly capitalism itself in all of its dimensions is as always inextricably connected and thus mutually dependent forces in the United States.
This country is in much deeper trouble than it actually thinks it is. The most fundamental and horrifying fact is that in the last two elections in 2016 and 2020 a whopping 58% of ALL WHITE VOTERS across the board in every single individual class group from the poor to the working class to the middle and upper middle classes as well as the wealthy throughout the entire country have voted overwhelmingly for Trump TWICE and still support him for the presidency in 2024
THE MOST IMPORTANT, TERRIFYING, BUT ALMOST NEVER PUBLICLY COMMENTED UPON FACT IS THE FOLLOWING:
Trump has won more votes over the course of two elections than ANY OTHER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FROM EITHER PARTY IN AMERICAN HISTORY. Trump received a total of 137 million votes in the last two elections (63 million in 2016 and 74 million in 2020) which is a record previously held by Barack Obama who received 134 million votes combined in 2008 and 2012. The huge difference of course is that Obama only received these many votes because 95% of black voters and 70% of Asian and Latino voters voted from him. I keep trying to remind people that Obama (like every other democratic pary candidate in the last 60 years (!) received only a paltry 41% of the white vote (43% in 2008 and an even more dismal 39% in 2012).
For example Hilary Clinton only received 37% of the white vote nationally in 2016 and Biden only received 42% of the white vote in 2020. This means of course that Obama, Clinton, and Biden between them only got 40% of the national white vote in this country in the last four elections. This means that that ALL of them lost the white vote by a landslide. Reminder: The largest national voting demographic in the country are white Americans who constituted 65% of all American voters in 2020 and were 70% of voters from 2008-2016. Which means as always that the white share of the voting public is larger that ALL OTHER racial/ethnic groups--male and female combined!
In the last 72 years of presidential elections since 1952 (a total of 18 elections overall and counting) a national majority of white voters have voted for a Democratic party candidate ONLY ONCE (1964).
What all this means in a larger sense is that because the GREAT MAJORITY OF WHITE AMERICAN VOTERS IN GENERAL SINCE 2016 HAVE ACTUALLY IN FACT openly supported and most importantly have continued to vote for Trump FAR MORE THAN ANY OTHER CANDIDATE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY we are all in very big trouble come November 5, 2024 and that the actual political prospects for what happens not only to the presidency but even more importantly Congress (as well as civil society in general) is the worse than at any time since the horrendous 1950s…
In the last 72 years of presidential elections since 1952 (a total of 18 elections overall and counting) a national majority of white voters have voted for a Democratic party candidate ONLY ONCE (1964).
What all this means in a larger sense is that because the GREAT MAJORITY OF WHITE AMERICAN VOTERS IN GENERAL SINCE 2016 HAVE ACTUALLY IN FACT openly supported and most importantly have continued to vote for Trump FAR MORE THAN ANY OTHER CANDIDATE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY we are all in very big trouble come November 5, 2024 and that the actual political prospects for what happens not only to the presidency but even more importantly Congress (as well as civil society in general) is the worse than at any time since the horrendous 1950s…
