Who are the MAGA republicans? If you listen to Joe Biden, you will think that MAGA Republicans are the second coming of Fascism as he recently stated, ““Trump and the MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy… I worry because I know that if the other team of MAGA Republicans win, they don’t want to pull the rule of law, they want to get rid of the FBI.” The truth is the complete opposite. John Hinderaker noted, “Why are Democrats so enamored of denouncing “MAGA Republicans? In part, no doubt, because “MAGA” polls very poorly worse than Republicans, conservatives, and so on. Democrats saw an opportunity and have done all they can to smear MAGA and hang that term around the necks of their opponents. In the constantly repeated view of Democrats, MAGA voters are ignorant, racist insurrectionists, dedicated to the overthrow of “our democracy.” Below is a poll that shows what Maga means to Trump voters.
54% of “Maga Republicans” want stronger borders, something that most Americans want as well and 63% wants a better economy, again within the mainstream of most Americans. Over 30 percent wanted lower taxes and around 30% want better international agreements to protect their job, hardly radical ideas. Better economy, lower taxes, stronger borders and better international agreements represented what Making America Great again and only one out of four viewed Donald Trump as the definitive MAGA definition.
John Hinderaker added, “I wonder whether the Democrats are using “MAGA” as a racist dog whistle. The Republican Party has become increasingly diverse, from both a racial and a class perspective. I wonder whether Democrats, in speaking to their constituencies, intend “MAGA” to be interpreted as white. Or, more specifically, the white working class. Democrats advocate vicious discrimination against whites (as well as Asians, of course). I wonder whether demonization of “MAGA” is really a dog whistle, standing in for demonization of working class whites. That might help to account for the contemptuous attitude that Democrats express toward “MAGA Republicans.”
Hinderaker own point has merit as the left disdain the working class and while they may hate the white working class, they also hate Asians and won’t be long that many within the Hispanic working class and business owners will join working class whites as victim of the left derision. There is a lesson for the Republicans since many in the GOP are uncomfortable with many of the Trump populist and there is truly little understanding or attempt to understand who they are.
When we did a survey on retirement, we found “The demographic group least prepared for retirement is the base of the Trump/Conservative coalition: Middle Class, skilled workers. Republicans without a college degree account for 73% of Republican workers age 50+ who have saved less than $100,000.” Many in the Republican coalition have been hit hard by the recession of 2007-09 and the decades follow through the Pandemic.
We concluded, “The challenge for Republicans is to protect their base among older voters, while designing a strategy that appeals to voters age 18 to 49 and college graduates. Younger voters are facing their own financial distress with student loan debt that could slow down their accumulation of wealth for retirement. For older voters, conservatives are lacking policy solutions that focus on looming challenges to retirement savings and health care risks. In addition to addressing social security issues, conservatives need to emphasize economic growth not only as a key for full employment but as an absolute necessity for maintaining and increasing retirement savings. The number of voters willing to increase taxes on the wealthy as a solution to shore up and even increase Social Security benefits is something conservatives must realize. Seniors will not allow their own benefits to decline in any future budget crunch. They feel entitled to the benefits of both Social Security and Medicare because they have been contributing to the system.”
In another report conducted through the Americas Majority Foundation, “The U.S. is still a country where wealth and income earned through hard work and personal risk taking is respected. Our national survey found interesting dynamics. 71% of Blacks, 79% of Whites and 66% of Hispanics believe that hard work is still rewarded but when asked if the economic system rigged against the Middle Class, we see the results reverse. 71% of Blacks, 65% of Whites and 61% of Hispanics believe the economic system is rigged. In a survey among Michigan voters in August of 2016, two of every three voters viewed the system rigged against the Middle Class with two/thirds of White and Black voters along with 55% of Hispanic voters viewing the system as being rigged against Middle Class. Even with that cynicism, four out of five Michigan voters believe that to increase economic opportunity and a fair opportunity to succeed, you must grow the private sector, which is the position taken by Republican candidate Donald Trump, the first Republican who won Michigan since 1988.”
We found that many Americans are of two minds. They think that hard work is still rewarded and support the proven principles of productive work, delayed gratification and personal responsibility and they also fear a trend toward system being rigged against them. A system where the proven principles are not enough. While they respect the entrepreneurs who start up their companies, they have less respect for executives who manage long-established companies. The heart of the complaint is executives who are paid millions while seemingly running former power-house companies into the ground. This entrepreneur/manager divide is part of the explanation on whether a person sees it as a system that allows people to pursue their passions or a system where only the top benefit. If they see a manager-stock-trader economy, they will likely think of it as a rigged system where only the top benefit. If they see an entrepreneur economy, they are more likely to think in terms of pursuing passions. Many Trump Republicans like other Americans view the system rigged against them and that is something Republican Party needs to understand.
President Trump showed a commitment to the concerns of “Populists Capitalists” who did not fare well under many trade agreements and past economic policies. Which is what underlining the tension within the GOP from speaker race to the presidential campaign, as the populist wing of the party feels unwanted and outside as many within the GOP just as soon be rid of Trump supporters. The GOP is going through the process of defining what kind of Party it will be in the future. Will it be a populist party or a conservative party? Or a third way, a constructive collaboration of the populist and Conservative party? Trump own administration did combine both with his tax and regulations reduction plus his only trade deal was NAFTA Two, adjusting work rules to benefit blue collar while keeping trade flowing. Trump foreign policy was a more modest approach, concentrating on China and not adding any new involvements. His trade policy more protectionist than previous Republican administrations but there was enough that united the Party and even today, there is more that unites the MAGA and more traditional Republicans from cutting the deficit, lower taxes, regulations and while there is a debate on Ukraine, there is little debate over supporting Israel. Republicans can’t win without the populist wing and the populist wing must understand that it is part of a conservative/populist coalition.
The one issue down the road is Entitlement reform, as it is agreed that we need to tackle Medicare and Social Security but as noted, many of the Trump coalition are among those who are not prepared for retirement and since 2007, the investor class declined, in particular among the Middle Class. The Middle Class and upper Middle Class saw significant drops in participation in the investor class since the Great Recession. Two thirds of those with incomes between $30,000 to $74,999 were members of the investor class but this was reduced to 54% by 2017 for a drop of 13% and those earning between $75,000 to $99,999 declined from 85% to 75%. The Stock market lost half of its value during the Great recession and many investors removed their money from the market or they took money out to survive periods of economic difficulty. The rise in the stock market has made up the difference in what was lost, many of the Middle class did not reinvest and did not participate in the market’s rise. This has helped in the decline in income and wealth of many within the Middle-Class during Obama’s recovery. Both College graduates and those without college degrees saw reduction in investor class participation but those without a college degree saw bigger drop in participation as members of the Middle Class and many blue-collar workers not only saw themselves without jobs but they also saw their nest egg disappear. Eighty-three percent of College graduates were members of the investor class before the Great Recession but after only 78% of College graduates were members of the investor class. Those without college degree went from 53% to 43%. Many of these workers became Trump Republicans during as Trump made significant inroads among blue collar and no college graduates voters.
The Great Recession and the slow recovery afterwards saw many Americas going month to month and 61% of eligible workers dipped into their 401 K and one third of Americans have no savings. With the rise of the investor class, Americans took control of their retirement savings, and everyone knows that Social Security and Medicare are unstainable and insolvent. The decline of many workers no longer in the work force during their prime years will ensure that Social Security and Medicare become broken even quicker. The divide can be solved by combining the best of Reagan Revolution with Trump populism as it worked in first Trump administration. It also begins with Republicans have an opportunity to be the party of working man and woman and Main Street. It’s what worked for Trump in 2016.
Referencess
- Nordic Capitalism, Venezuelan Socialism & Voters’ Perceptions
- THE POLITICS OF RETIREMENT: A Report on Voters Age 50+
- THE POLITICS OF RETIREMENT: A Report on Voters Age 50+ summary
- Tax and Social Security in The New Paradigm
- The Decline of the Investor Class &Rise of Minority Entrepreneur
The Donelson Files 