b**********s
发帖数: 9531 | 1 这篇文章的内容很多人都能大致猜到。关键看后面的评论
http://news.yahoo.com/ohios-dirty-little-secret-blue-collar-dem
CANTON, Ohio (Reuters) - If Donald Trump wins the Republican Party
nomination, his path to the White House will run through this working-class
city with a knack for picking presidents.
No Republican has ever won the White House without Ohio. And nowhere better
reflects the challenges and opportunities Trump faces in his 2016
presidential quest than Canton, a once-booming industrial city that, like
Ohio and the rest of America’s rust belt, is going through profound
economic and demographic change.
Canton, a gritty northeastern Ohio city where the once-dominant steel
industry has been in decline for 20 years, is the heart of Stark County, a
political bellwether that, save twice, has picked every winning presidential
candidate since 1964.
The real-estate mogul’s primary wins in Michigan and in Mississippi on
Tuesday, in the face of blistering attacks from the party's establishment,
expanded his lead in the White House nominating race and demonstrated his
broad appeal across many demographic groups in the Republican Party.
But here, in predominately white Canton, the birthplace of professional
American football, he will need to show cross-over appeal in the general
election and win over not just Republicans but working-class Democrats and
some independents, to beat a Democrat, illustrating the challenge he will
face in Ohio and potentially other Midwestern “rust belt” states.
A more immediate test looms next week in the state’s Republican primary,
where polls show Trump narrowly leads Ohio Governor John Kasich, who casts
himself as a pragmatic, statesman-like alternative to Trump. If Trump wins
Ohio and Florida — states rich in the delegates who select their party's
nominee at July's Republican National Convention - he would almost
certainly lock up his party’s nomination.
Sitting in a steel workers' meeting at their Canton union hall, Curtis Green
, the chapter's vice president, described Trump's support among a growing
number of members as their "dirty little secret."
"I view him as a radical and a racist and I don't want to be affiliated with
that," Green said. "But if you say what you mean, a lot of guys see that in
Trump and they respect that. He doesn't dance around the issues, he takes
them head on. There are a fair amount of our members who do support Donald
Trump."
If Trump just wins the states that Republican nominee Mitt Romney won in
2012, he would have only 206 electoral college votes, short of the 270
needed to win the White House. The fight over electoral college votes has
turned recent elections into pitched battles over a dozen or so states.
Ohio is often at the center.
The state, which has not voted for the loser in a presidential election
since 1960, is seen as a microcosm of American swing voters — from
culturally conservative “Reagan Democrats” who defected from their party
to support Republican Ronald Reagan in the 1980s to suburban soccer moms and
upwardly mobile Hispanics.
To offset the growing proportion of blacks and Hispanics in the voting age
population, Trump must turn white voters out in greater numbers than Romney
in cities such as Canton. His performance in primary states where Democrats
and independent can vote, as well as Republicans, suggests Trump could
attract large numbers of these voters in a general election.
Reuters interviews here with more than two dozen voters show why.
In this city of 72,500 people, Trump's denunciation of free trade, political
correctness and illegal immigrants is resonating among some traditionally
Democratic blue-collar steel workers.
"The labor unions, who usually support the Democrats, a lot of our members,
and a lot of their families, are supporting Trump," said Keith Strobelt, a
political director for the United Steelworkers local union in Canton.
Strobelt does not support Trump.
Canton's local United Steelworkers union has 1,800 members - down from 6,700
at its peak 30 years ago. Its leadership has not officially endorsed a
candidate, thought it has praised Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders. Some rank
-and-file members, however, say they better identify with Trump’s
broadsides against illegal immigration and tirades against trade with China
and Mexico.
"It could be that several hundred of our members will back Trump," Strobelt
said. "A lot find him refreshing. He says a lot of things they say around
their dinner tables."
View galleryCurtis Green, vice president of the United Steelworkers'&
nbsp;…
Curtis Green, vice president of the United Steelworkers' local union, poses
for pictures in Cant …
“WRINGING THEIR HANDS”
But in a general election, Trump faces formidable odds in Canton, as he does
across Ohio and the Midwest. Canton and the region is changing in ways that
favor Democrats, reflecting the Republican Party's broader problems with a
U.S. electorate that is becoming less white and less culturally conservative.
In 2000, Canton was nearly 75 percent white, with an African American
population of 20 percent, and an Hispanic population of just over 1 percent.
Its biggest employer was the Timken Company, a giant ball bearing and high
custom steel manufacturer that was the dominant economic force in Canton for
much of the 20th century.
By 2010, according to Census data, Canton was 69 percent white. Its black
population had increased by 3 percent, its Hispanic residents to nearly 3
percent.
Tuesday’s primary in neighboring Michigan showed how volatile this election
has become, with Trump’s potent appeal among disaffected whites stretching
beyond the South. In the Democratic race, Sanders won most of the state’s
white working-class countryside and small towns in an upset over front-
runner Hillary Clinton.
In Canton, like elsewhere in the “rust belt” heartlands stretching from
the Midwest to the Great Lakes region and parts of the Northeast,
manufacturing has been hollowed out since the 1970s, due in part to foreign
competition. In 1990, Ohio had over 1 million manufacturing jobs; today,
just 680,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ohio has
shed nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs since the 2007-2009 Great Recession.
A different type of worker, more white collar and upscale, has moved into
the Canton area.
The top two employers are now the Aultman Hospital and Mercy Medical Center,
highly competitive health care providers.
“While Trump might pick up blue collar Democrats, and older folks who are
disillusioned with the political process, the flip side is he could lose
more upper-status voters in Ohio," said John Green, a political science
professor at the University of Akron, close to Canton. "Republican Party
leaders in Ohio are wringing their hands. There is a perception that Trump
helps among blue collar voters - but could alienate white collar voters."
Jane Timken, the vice-chair of the Stark County Republican Party and the
wife of TimkenSteel's chief executive, said the local party was encountering
people who had never voted Republican before but were supporting Trump.
But, she said, there was concern Trump might turn off other voters,
especially independents who account for one fifth of Ohio's voters.
There is no polling to predict which way Canton and Stark County will vote
in November's general election. But after a long era of mixed local
government, the city council, after elections last year, is now made up of
entirely Democratic Party members, although the current mayor, a former
Democrat, won office as an independent.
In Canton, there are nearly 6,000 voters registered as Democrats, compared
to just over 1,100 Republicans according to the Stark County Board of
Elections. In 2006, there were 12,000 registered Democrats and 4,400
Republicans.
Democratic strategists say that despite the demographic changes, Trump could
still prevail.
Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist, cites Trump's dominant performance
in the Republican primary in Massachusetts on March 1. Although not a rust
belt state, Trump won big in heavily blue collar, union cities.
"Trump put together a coalition in Massachusetts that elects Democratic
governors. He won among Catholics, a week after picking a fight with the
Pope. I absolutely think he can put the rust belt into play," she said.
(Editing by Jason Szep and Ross Colvn)
http://news.yahoo.com/ohios-dirty-little-secret-blue-collar-dem | m****g
发帖数: 2215 | 2 One comment:
You can call it a "dirty little secret" if you want, but it is no secret to
the majority of ordinary American citizens. When I first came of age to vote
, The "blue collar", "working class" were all staunchly Democrats. The
perception was that the Republicans were the party for "rich businessmen"
and the Democrats were the party for the "working people". That said, those
"blue collar", "working class" people also:
-Owned guns, were hunters and members of the NRA.
-Were hard workers who took pride in earning what they had and who had
little tolerance for people living their lives on welfare.
-Believed in the family, at best had grudging tolerance for homosexuality
and would have busted out laughing at the notion of someone being "
transgender".
-Considered themselves Christian and had great respect for Christianity,
even the ones who were not devote church goers or who did not lead exemplary
lives.
-They were not "politically correct", they liked direct talk, even if it
was sometimes a bit "insensitive". Too much "political correctness" was seen
as double talk...which to them was the same as a lie.
Today, the core values of working Americans have not changed. What has
changed is how they are starting to see the Democratic party. They are
beginning to see Democratic "leaders" as super rich 1%'ers who take exotic
vacations and socialize with celebrities and have famous singers perform at
their birthdays and other family occasions. They see Democrats as the ones
who want to keep handing out billions of dollars in welfare...even to people
who are not even US citizens. They see the Democrats as the party that
wants to take their guns away..."Australian style". They see Democrats as
the ones who are loath to say "One Nation Under God", but want to prosecute
bakers who don't want to bake gay wedding cakes, force schools to let boys
who think they are girls use the girls locker rooms and every time a Muslim
terrorist kills someone or blows something up are more worried "back lash
against Muslims" than they are about our people being killed or maimed.
In short, they are watching the Democratic party evolve into a liberal
socialist elite that does not represent them or their values at all. This is
not to say that they are necessarily thrilled with the Republicans either,
but they do see the Republicans at least somewhat standing up for their
constitutional rights, freedom and values. They like Trump, because he is a
"not very Republican" Republican. The fact that the GOP establishment has
made it clear they don't like Trump, makes them like him even more.
If the Democrats had offered a strong candidate that appealed to their
values, the working class would likely have supported that person, but look
at what the Democrats have offered. Hillary is the embodiment of everything
that they hate about what the Democratic party has turned into. She is Obama
volume 2. Bernie Sanders is a socialist. This leaves only one choice that
makes any sense to them. Donald Trump.
class
better
【在 b**********s 的大作中提到】
: 这篇文章的内容很多人都能大致猜到。关键看后面的评论
: http://news.yahoo.com/ohios-dirty-little-secret-blue-collar-dem
: CANTON, Ohio (Reuters) - If Donald Trump wins the Republican Party
: nomination, his path to the White House will run through this working-class
: city with a knack for picking presidents.
: No Republican has ever won the White House without Ohio. And nowhere better
: reflects the challenges and opportunities Trump faces in his 2016
: presidential quest than Canton, a once-booming industrial city that, like
: Ohio and the rest of America’s rust belt, is going through profound
: economic and demographic change.
| x****k
发帖数: 2932 | 3 我非常佩服老美的一点的是一个文章的comment可以正正经经的写得这么好，完全不带
情绪宣泄和脏字。
多谢分享。
to
vote
those
【在 m****g 的大作中提到】
: One comment:
: You can call it a "dirty little secret" if you want, but it is no secret to
: the majority of ordinary American citizens. When I first came of age to vote
: , The "blue collar", "working class" were all staunchly Democrats. The
: perception was that the Republicans were the party for "rich businessmen"
: and the Democrats were the party for the "working people". That said, those
: "blue collar", "working class" people also:
: -Owned guns, were hunters and members of the NRA.
: -Were hard workers who took pride in earning what they had and who had
: little tolerance for people living their lives on welfare.
|
|
