Category Archives: John Russo

Why Trump Will Lose Ohio

Posted on October 26, 2020 by

It is always dangerous to publicly predict the outcome of a presidential election, especially in a purple state like Ohio. But I’ve done it twice, in 2011 and 2016, months in advance, when both of my predicted winners, Barack Obama … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Deindustrialization as a Template for COVID-19

Posted on May 18, 2020 by

As we wrote in Steeltown USA: Work and Memory in Youngstown, Youngstown’s story is America’s story. That’s true now as we try to imagine American life after the pandemic. No doubt, coronavirus is a natural disaster that is more contagious, widespread, … Continue reading →

Posted in Issues, John Russo, The Working Class and the Economy, Youngstown | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Class Anxiety: Parasite and Joker

Posted on March 2, 2020 by

A couple of weeks after the South Korean film Parasite won both Best Foreign Film and Best Picture, Donald Trump went on what the Washington Post called a “nationalistic cultural” rant about the film’s awards. He was upset that a … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Sherry Linkon, The Working Class and the Economy, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Beyond Policy: Why Democrats Need to Show White Working-Class Voters Some Respect

Posted on January 13, 2020 by

When I heard Hillary Clinton refer to half of Trump supporters as “deplorables” during her 2016 presidential campaign, I knew she would lose. Her comment exemplified the arrogant, elitist, dismissive attitudes that make many white working-class voters suspicious of the … Continue reading →

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White Middle-Class Racism

Posted on October 21, 2019 by

What do you picture when someone refers to the “Trump’s base”? If you’ve watched television coverage of his rallies or read any of the dozens of articles in which reporters and commentators try to explain Trump’s appeal, then you probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Class at the Intersections, Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Sherry Linkon, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Class, Empathy, and the Green New Deal

Posted on May 6, 2019 by

The recent debate over the Green New Deal got me thinking about a lecture I gave in 2018 at the Columbia University Seminar on Energy Ethics. The faculty who attended were mostly environmental lawyers and scientists. I am neither. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Labor and Community Activism, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Blaming Workers Again

Posted on January 7, 2019 by

Working-class people often get blamed for their troubles. They should have planned better, been less demanding, or just been smarter. Those are just some of the judgments that surfaced again in the weeks after General Motors’ announcement late in November … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Labor and Community Activism, Sherry Linkon, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Is the Fever Breaking? Ground Zero Youngstown

Posted on October 1, 2018 by

Two years ago, I described the Youngstown area as “crossover ground zero” for Donald Trump and the politics of resentment in working-class and rust belt communities. In local rallies during the 2016 campaign and since he took office, Trump has … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Working-Class Politics, Youngstown | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Have Ohio Democrats Learned Anything About the Working Class?

Posted on March 5, 2018 by

In presidential elections, Ohio has long been a swing state. Its voters supported Obama in 2008 and 2012, then swung right in 2016 to support Donald Trump. On the state level, however, Republicans have dominated for the past two decades. … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , | 46 Comments

Everybody Knows About Alabama

Posted on January 15, 2018 by

“You don’t have to live next to me Just give me my equality Everybody knows about Mississippi Everybody knows about Alabama Everybody knows about Mississippi goddam, that’s it”                                                    “Mississippi Goddamn” Nina Simone We saw the play with music, Nina … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Class at the Intersections, Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Sherry Linkon, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment