Trump’s election was a ‘white-lash,’ and Democrats need to listen

The 2016 election was a values election, not an economic one. The rapid, decadelong movement for abortion, gay, women and transgender rights, as well as a reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement and a black president, triggered a rural “white-lash,” as CNN’s Van Jones remarked.

It reminds me of the 1968 election, where law and order sentiment, along with reactions to women and civil rights movements, put Richard Nixon in the White House.

Trump fed on a widely held unrealistic fear of terrorism, by those who live thousands of miles from targets. Economic discomfort pushed people to react more forcefully and set up the rural-versus-elitist mentality. Trump’s racist, misogynist, anti-intellectual and xenophobic comments were ignored in the rural white electorate, if not applauded for being not politically correct. His economic plans, other than anti-trade, were so disjointed and fluid that they were not his primary appeal.

The Democratic Party will need to focus its economic message on the plight of the rural white voters, as well as developing an ear for their values. Tacking further left socially and economically will further alienate many red state rural voters, important for winning state races as well as the Electoral College.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Trump’s election was a ‘white-lash,’ and Democrats need to listen."