Jacksonian Voters

For John, BLUF:  Yes, it is time for Republicans and other Trump voters to understand what they have in common.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Where'd you go, Ohio? How a swing state went red

From The Washington Examiner, by Reporter Salena Zito, 1 August 2021, 12:00 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

The old adage in politics used to be, “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.”  And for the most part, since the start of the 20th century, the Buckeye State had earned that adage, only twice failing to support the national presidential winner — once in 1944 and again in 1960.

That all changed last November when Joe Biden became the first person since 1960 to win the presidency without carrying Ohio.  Many in the Washington, D.C.-based political class decided that the people of Ohio had changed.

Well, they haven’t.  This misapprehension comes from many Washington journalists having more of a cultural connection with the Democratic candidates they cover than with the voters.  The key to understanding Ohio in 2021, and its election in 2022, is to understand how the political parties have changed.

So, we hve a sea change in politics in Ohio.  While it didn't change the outcome of the 2020 Election, it could play a future role.  Thus it is worth paying attention to the change.  That does not mean the Democratic Party can do anything about it, but it would help to understand it.

Further down in the article, Report Zito advances the thesis that Republicans are becoming Jacksonians, while the Democrats are moving away from our 7th President:

More than 20 years ago, Walter Russell Mead identified a certain type of American as “Jacksonian,” after the former Democratic president of the 19th Century, identifying their political attitudes with a region that overlaps with much of Appalachia.  Jacksonianism originated with the Scotch-Irish who had come to the country in its early days and settled there.  Many of the later Irish and Italian immigrants, who came to work in factories around the turn of the last century, were eventually assimilated into this culture and adopted Jacksonian values, including a sense of self-reliance, a distrust of authority, patriotism, loyalty to community, and admiration for the police and military.

“Jacksonians were attracted to law and order Republicans such as Nixon, or the patriotic anti-communist, Ronald Reagan,” [Youngstown State University political science professor Paul] Sracic said.  "But they usually considered themselves Democrats since they tended to be working class and associated the Republican Party with the wealthy.  Trump converted the Republican Party into the Jacksonian Party; this change is likely permanent, and future Republican candidates will adopt this message.”

This brings us to the Pauline Kael quote from back in 1972:

I live in a rather special world.  I only know one person who voted for Nixon.  Where they are I don't know.  They're outside my ken.  But sometimes when I'm in a theater I can feel them.

Yes, there is a cultural circle that does not have empathy for Republicans.  In fact, in that circle many think of Republicans as deplorables.  However, we are a diverse nation and while there are inter-pentatrations, we tend to group in regions.

It might reduce the back and forth rancor a bit if the Main Stream Media were more aware of the "other" America.  It might not change political minds, but it might allow for a better understanding of each other's viewpoints.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff