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Subscribe to Working-Class Perspectives - Working-Class Perspectives offers weekly commentaries on current issues related to working-class people and communities. Contributors discuss a variety of issues, from what class means to how it intersects with race and gender to how class is shaping American politics. We welcome relevant comments of 500 words or less.
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The State of the Working Class
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Tag Archives: 2012 election
How They Think: The Complexity of White Working-Class Voters
Since the late 90s, political pundits have debated how to define the working class and how to explain their voting patterns. Prior to the 2000 presidential election, a standard definition of the working class combined income, occupation, and education. But … Continue reading
How Kasich Can Win Ohio Again
In November 2011, I published a New York Times op-ed entitled “How Obama Can Win Ohio Again.” Now, with my pundit credentials firmly established (sic), I am opining that Ohio Governor John Kasich will win reelection in 2014. This could … Continue reading
The White Vote in 2012 & the Obama Coalition
I’ve had it with “the white working class.” Not the actually existing part of the working class that is white, which is composed of complex and interesting people most of whom don’t vote like I think they should, but rather … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, Working-class politics
Tagged 2012 election, Obama, working-class voters
6 Comments
Obama Will Cruze to Victory
“And the winner is…” (Drum roll—sound of envelope being ripped open.) “…Barack Obama.” I’m going to be honest about this: when it comes to predicting the outcome of the 2012 presidential contest I’ve been downright Romneyan. It’s not something I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Leo Jennings, Working-class politics
Tagged 2012 election, auto bailout, Obama, Ohio, Romney, working-class voters
5 Comments
He’s No Coach Taylor: Mitt Romney and Friday Night Lights
As someone who counts getting escorted out of an auditorium by Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf’s hired goons as one of my proudest moments, I never thought I’d admit to having something substantial, even intimate, in common with Mitt Romney. … Continue reading
The New Precariat and Electoral Politics
During the Presidential campaign, Americans have heard endless discussions about unemployment. But neither candidate has said much, at least not directly, about precarious employment or about the new precariat – that growing group (some would even say the growing class) … Continue reading
Voting on the American Dream
In between the Republican and Democratic conventions, I was asked to review an article concerning the attitudes of displaced workers toward their plight. The study suggested that cultural narratives shape the social and political consciousness of those suffering economic distress … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Working-class politics
Tagged 2012 election, American dream, Occupy Movement, politics, recession, working-class voters
38 Comments
Stereotyping the White Working Class
As I’ve pointed out in previous blogs here, here, and here, Democratic politicians led by President Obama have consistently claimed that they are resolutely for a catch-all “middle class,” even as Democratic political strategists, operatives, and pundits publicly worry about … Continue reading
Right-To-Work Laws and Working-Class Voters: Another Teachable Moment
As a professor, I am always interested in teachable moments. When it became apparent in late 2010 that Ohio Governor John Kasich planned to introduce legislation depriving public sector workers of basic bargaining rights, I told reporters that it was … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Working-class politics
Tagged 2012 election, anti-union, Kasich, Obama, Ohio, Right-to-work, union households, working-class voters
4 Comments
The GOP, Black “Underclass,” and Working-Class Studies
In the frenzy of the Republican race for the presidential nomination, candidates have appealed to conservative populism through racially coded appeals evoking the dependency of the black “underclass” on government handouts. Late last year, former Speak of the House Newt … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Working-class politics
Tagged 2012 election, Gingrich, GOP, Republican primary, Romney, underclass, welfare reform
8 Comments
