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–>It seemed that the multiracial
coalition that elected Barack Obama
would secure a Democratic
future for this country for decades.<!–>
–>It seemed that the
multiracial coalition
that elected Barack
Obama would
secure a Democratic
future for this
country for decades.<!–>
–>But instead, as America grows
more diverse, it has become more
conservative. Why?<!–>
–>But instead, as
America grows
more diverse, it has
become more
conservative. Why?<!–>
[!–> <!–>
[–><!–>When I met Joey Gibson in the spring of 2018, I was sure he was an oddity. He was a Japanese American leader of a right-wing group in the Pacific Northwest that rallied for Donald Trump and menaced opponents on the left. But Mr. Gibson also disavowed white supremacy and spoke candidly about harms against the Black community, building a movement that was at once multiracial and conservative. –><!–>
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[–><!–>My colleague Joseph Lowndes and I have been studying the movement of nonwhite voters to the right for 15 years. When we began this work, people like Mr. Gibson — who told us they hated the establishment, who felt let down or left behind by the politics of the Democratic Party — were often disdained by liberals as dupes of the right voting against their own interests, votes they would regret once they saw their conservative beliefs in action.–><!–>
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[–><!–>But seven years later, Mr. Gibson seems to be much less of an anomaly. Mr. Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters from 2020 to 2024, won some 40 percent of the Asian American vote, and took almost half of the Latino vote. Many of those I have spoken with recently — students, lawyers, mechanics, pastors and others — sounded strikingly similar to Mr. Gibson. Angry at a system they contend is indifferent to their lives, they express ideas that were once seen only on the far-right fringe.–><!–>
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<!–>“I joined the Democratic Party because I’m Black. At my first Democratic meeting, two themes that had me reconsider everything about being a Democrat: The first thing was, ‘We have to help the poor Black men and women because the white man is holding them down.’ This is the first time I hear about this white savior complex from white liberals. Then they said, ‘We have to fight for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.’ We have to do this or we are a racist or you’re a bigot or you’re a homophobe if I don’t agree with you.–>
<!–>Owens isn’t the only
voter in Milwaukee
who believes the
Democratic Party
is indifferent to
his needs.–>
<!–>Tory Lowe, 49, is a radio host and community advocate: “I voted for Obama. The energy was, let’s see if we can get a brother in. So we had eight years of Obama, and the communities didn’t change. Our communities probably got worse. –>
<!–>“The policies that
the Republican
Party supports — pulling yourself up by your bootstraps — were in our household already.”–>
<!–>Cindy Werner, 65, is a retired property manager: “I grew up in a household where I had a single mom. My dad passed when I was much younger and my mother raised us. It was the responsibility of those of us who were older than our younger siblings to take care of them. So the policies that the Republican Party supports —pulling yourself up by your bootstraps — were in our household already. –>
<!–>“I am not particularly anti-gay marriage.
It just isn’t what I see bringing down my community.”–>
<!–>Erik Ngutse, 33, is a community engagement director for the Wisconsin Republican Party and an immigrant from Rwanda: “I worked on Obama’s campaign, knocked on a few doors for him and organized students. It was something about when Hillary Clinton ran for office that I think I started realizing that a lot of the values that I truly believed in were more on the conservative side. I absolutely despised her idea that she already owned the Black vote, that she didn’t really have to do anything.–>
<!–>“What do we
have to lose?”–>
<!–>Shana Gray, 46, is a cafe owner: “In my cafe, I kept hearing from the African-American community — how they were struggling not to just care for themselves but care for their families, and how much it was taking a toll on their very existence. We’re all going through these changes with the fluctuation of the economy, and we’re all kind of just holding each other’s hands while we’re getting through this. –>
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[–><!–>In many ways, the story of Milwaukee’s disillusioned Black voters encapsulates the tectonic shifts in American society that voters of color have faced in recent years. Like many other distressed cities, Milwaukee continues to reel from the foreclosure crisis, the opioid epidemic and chronic funding shortfalls. Together, these problems have created cracks in the bedrock of Democratic support in these communities.–><!–>
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[–><!–>But the America that this version of the Democratic Party emerged from has changed drastically. The restructuring of the U.S. economy over the last 40 years, along with the yawning inequality it has spurred, has disproportionately hurt communities of color. The Democratic-championed civil rights protections and social welfare programs that have defined the party’s appeal to nonwhite voters have proven inadequate in the face of the interconnected crises that define America now. Policies to address residential segregation some 70 years ago can do little to ease the housing shortages plaguing many communities today. The 1965 Immigration Act was not designed to manage the migration driven by economic downturns, military strife and climate catastrophes unfolding around the globe.–><!–>
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<!–>“My family immigrated to the United States
in 1983. Small-business owners, we’re not in the middle class, we’re
a little bit lower. We barely make it to keep our families running. We feel like we are the forgotten ones. In California, people tend to vote Democrat, and Democrats represent minorities. But during those four years of Biden, they are not looking from our point of view.–>
<!–>While crime was an
animating issue in
this community, many
identified with the
cultural values of the
right as well.–>
<!–>Kathy Wu, 65, is an interpreter: “We have no way to go with Republicans; we only have one option, and that is the Democrats in California. So I tried to choose the best Democratic candidate I think will help our community here. But year by year, it turned out very bad. I want to see Americans go in the right direction. California is definitely in the wrong direction. I decided I want to vote for Donald Trump in the last election.”–>
<!–>Allen Chin, 51, is the owner of a charter boat business: “I was an Obama voter. I was fooled by his rhetoric. I grew up in San Francisco. That’s the place I love. It just turned downhill. Homelessness, and the feces, and the needles, and the drug use and and all the politicians not doing anything about it and just throwing money. I don’t know where that money is actually going.–>
<!–>Tammy Li, 50, is a business manager: “My opinion started turning when I used to work for 7-Eleven. I became a franchisee, and that’s when I started to feel there’s something going on. In 2014, there was a law passed called Proposition 47: If people steal less than $950, you can’t really prosecute them as felons. We got impacted almost right away. The crime goes up; we got shoplifted left and right. When we try to call the police, a lot of times we’re told, ‘Well, there’s not much to do.’ –>
<!–>James Zhan, 58, is an engineer: “We felt that the party is really for equal results rather than equal opportunities. Asian Americans felt very strongly that their kids get penalized as being Asian Americans. In order to get into an Ivy League school, you have to be better than students from other races.–>
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[–><!–>It wasn’t supposed to be this way. On the heels of Mr. Obama’s sweeping victory in 2008, the Democratic Party saw the multiracial coalition that elected him as a virtual electoral guarantee. Indeed, an estimated 80 percent of voters of color cast their ballots for Mr. Obama in 2012, as the share of white eligible voters declined in all 50 states from 2000 to 2018.–><!–>
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[–><!–>At his second inauguration, themed “Faith in America’s Future,” Mr. Obama told a crowd of an estimated million people that “America’s possibilities are limitless.”–><!–>
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[–><!–>Yet behind the confident pronouncements of the 2012 election and the faith in demography as destiny, a different reality was coming into view.–><!–>
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<!–>“They always told
us the Democrats
are for the people,
for the little guy,
for the Mexicans,
for Blacks,
for poor people.
They were going to take care of us, they were going to make things better for us.–>
<!–>For Latinos in the Rio
Grande Valley — many
of them immigrants
themselves — the crisis
at the border has
complicated their views
on Democratic
immigration policies.–>
<!–>Alexis Uscanga, 21, is the president of the Rio Grande Valley College Republicans: “I had seen someone run across our campus parking lot, drenched in water, and I was just like, ‘Oh gosh, did I just see someone cross?’ The border definitely got worse, and reality set in. I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, like, no, Trump was right.’ –>
<!–>Yolanda Gonzalez, 72, is a restaurant owner: “I was brought up as a Democrat. My mother was a strong Democrat. A lot of us have relatives across the border. But those that are here have come in legally. It’s cost them. They saw all the benefits they were giving those who had come illegally. I have employees where they do get benefits, and they were getting cut because of the illegals that were coming in. That was hurting everybody. –>
<!–>Luis Cabrera, 47, is a pastor: “Down here in South Texas, I got a rude awakening when I started pastoring. I started noticing that a lot of the Christians down here are Democrats. –>
<!–>Celena Cisneros, 25, is a receptionist: “We were raised on the Democrat thoughts that we should allow people in, being able to help those in need, even if they’re coming from a different country. Before my dad went into Border Patrol, we were Democrat. –>
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[–><!–>While these seismic demographic and cultural changes were already pushing nonwhite voters away from the Democratic Party, an iconoclast emerged: Donald Trump.–><!–>
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[–><!–>It flew in the face of decades of Republican policy. After 1964, the party was mostly content to cede local elections in multiracial urban areas to the Democrats. The national G.O.P. made a strategic decision to abandon most electoral appeals and connections to minority communities. Sally Bradshaw, then a Republican strategist in Florida, explained after the 2012 election, “Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the party represents and many minorities think Republicans don’t like them or don’t want them in our country.” After a second momentous loss to Mr. Obama, a G.O.P. “autopsy report” recommended embracing a redesign of the immigration system and making a concerted effort to soften the party’s tone toward nonwhite voters.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Mr. Trump mocked the report when it was released. Instead, he not only doubled down on racial epithets, but paired them with a different vision of politics altogether. His “burn it down” style of politics rang true for nonwhite voters who were caught in the maelstrom of compounded financial and social crises, feeling left behind not only by Democrats but by the political establishment in general. Many of the voters I have spoken to say they’re not Democratic or Republican — they are Trump supporters.–><!–>
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
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