Last week, ABC’s Martha Raddatz sought to allay concerns about Venezuelan gangs infiltrating Aurora, Colorado, in an interview with Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance, saying that “only a handful of Only 100,000 apartment complexes were affected. If you listen closely, what sounds like a good-sounding layoff is actually more sinister than you think. Despite her intentions, it’s the news media version of Dorothy, pulling back the curtain on The Wizard of Oz and how class bias shapes media narratives and ignores voters’ concerns. revealed.
Raddatz’s casual dismissal of the legitimate concerns of certain communities merely reflects how easily media elites tend to downplay issues important to poor communities. Vance’s response highlighted an even deeper divide: how class bias in public discourse obscures the reality facing many Americans.
As former Capitol Hill staffers and current advocacy experts, we believe that narrative makers, including the media, lobbyists, think tanks, and other politicians, are being set up by their colleagues against some members of Congress. We have observed the phenomenon of indulging in stereotypes (stereotypes are as follows). as “unreasonable” and “excessive.” ) A casual observer may see this simply as an exercise between Republican and Democratic individuals and organizations. But that is too simplistic to explain the changes taking place in politics today.
Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (C) poses with employees at a McDonald’s restaurant in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 2024. Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (C) poses with employees at a McDonald’s restaurant in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 2024. Doug Mills – Pool/Getty Images
Last year, we set out to understand more clearly what our intuition was telling us by examining the socio-economic composition of key Congressional caucuses. It serves as a reliable indicator of how different factions within both parties tend to vote on and influence legislative priorities. We have seen white, black, and Hispanic members of Congress from America’s poorest neighborhoods increasingly defy the traditional power structures that have governed Capitol Hill. As detailed in our research paper, “Class Layoffs,” of all the major House caucuses, the four with the lowest median incomes are the conservative Anti-Wake Caucus and the Freedom Caucus. and the liberal Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus. caucus meeting. Although these caucuses may have different party affiliations, their members share a struggling constituency and a desire to agitate the leaders of their respective parties to wake up to the realities of their communities.
On the other hand, our analysis shows that members who appear to be more bipartisan in nature represent wealthier communities in Congress. And, as we surmised, these congressmen and their caucuses are often viewed by the creators of the story as more responsible and enlightened congressmen.
This dichotomy is what we think of as class bias, the fact that the creators of the story are insulated from the experiences expressed by members of Congress and caucuses that represent poor Americans. arises from.
The tactics of some members of the caucus representing poor communities may be useful content for media and political environments seeking to reaffirm the beliefs of their viewers, but why and where these members come from It ignores a deeper understanding of what is happening.
In a post-COVID-19 world where white collars have made strides and poor communities have fallen further behind, we look to our representatives to fight tooth and nail for the interests these voters believe have been ignored. is not reasonable.
When child poverty rates and health and wealth indicators are at or above the national average, prioritizing norms is a luxury that other Americans living paycheck to paycheck do not have.
And with a lack of a larger perspective on these real-life experiences from the story-makers, the political implications are undeniable. CNN data reporter Harry Enten recently reported that Donald Trump has done his best with black voters since Richard Nixon and is poised to do his best with Hispanic voters for a Republican in 14 years. I discovered that it is possible. Mr. Trump is also in position to break the blue wall in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin with support from white working-class voters, driven by high levels of support from union members and households.
Additionally, a recent NBC News poll found that college-educated men and women overwhelmingly support Kamala Harris (+8 and +38, respectively), while college-educated men and women support Trump. (+28 and +3 respectively).
The Republican Party is becoming a diverse working-class party, while the Democratic Party is absorbing more educated and wealthy Americans.
This is a realignment that can only be achieved through presidential elections, which offer a more mixed electorate than Congress. The seeds of this change are being planted in Congress, but the 435 congressional districts are too scattered to form a governing coalition that counters current class biases. But realignment is possible when more than 250 million Americans face just two choices for leading the country. And as current polls show, Donald Trump remains competitive in many blue states.
I started this column with a metaphor from the movie The Wizard of Oz. But perhaps the other origin story of the musical Wicked is where we find ourselves, as the audience learns of her difficult upbringing at the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West, who was portrayed as the “Good Witch of the North.” Perhaps it captures the moment more accurately. The Witch of the West was forgotten as a result of her attempts to adapt to the social structure that existed in her world. We suggest that more people consider similar social dynamics from this fictional story to inform political decisions in today’s electorate.
Sam Geduldig and Ja’Ron Smith are partners at CGCN, a lobbying firm based in Washington. Smith is the author of “Underserved: Harnessing the Principles of Lincoln’s Vision for Reconstruction for Today’s Forgotten Communities.”
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
