Are our political parties realigning? The last two elections certainly provide some strong evidence to think so.
An opinion piece by Zaid Jilani in Monday’s Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required) offered some insight into the changing face of the Democratic party. In years past, the party used to rely on low income or less educated workers to form the backbone of the party.
Not anymore. A higher percentages of higher college-educated, high income individuals are voting Democrat. Today the party is increasingly relying on college-educated and elites to win elections.
How did it happen? Jilani writes:
The transformation of the Democratic Party has been summarized aptly by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who in 2016 boasted: “For every blue collar Democrat we lose in Western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs of Philadelphia ,and you can repeat that in Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.”
The impact of these changes is now playing out before our eyes.
Relief of student debt is a hot topic these days. Nearly all the Democratic candidates for President embraced some aspect of student relief from the costs of college; including either free tuition or student debt relief. Now that Joe Biden is likely to be in the White House, he’s being pressed by his party’s Left Wing to provide some sort of relief.
Used to be that such proposals wouldn’t survive discussion among Democrats. Simply stated, the bills didn’t aid the poor but only provided additional help for high income or highly educated families.
Not anymore.
Now that the Democrats are the party of the college educated and rich, many believe there is a good chance some sort of student debt relief is coming…. despite the fact there are still Democrats who oppose such proposals because they aid well off students and families at the expense of moderate and low-income families.
Realignment may already be here. This isn’t your fathers Democratic Party.
