You bravely wrote, "...the Republicans are the party of the working class less in terms of class and more in terms of bigotry and prejudice." These attitudes are understood at a primal level but remain mostly unspoken by White people. Unspoken by some because of a fear of 'opening a can of worms' and unspoken by others because of what it might reveal.
You've also shown some real insight by discussing "... a petty bourgeoisie that’s resentful of not being very obscenely rich... by treating the petty bourgeoisie as if they were very obscenely rich."
Bravo! A resentful petty bourgeoisie is what is driving the Republican party because there are a lot more of them in America than they are Americans in the "filthy rich" category.
The big question then is why are they resentful. I think there is a fundamental religiosity that you lightly touched upon when describing this portion of the Republican party as "businessmen, property-owners and church members." Left unsaid was the description of the "church" that these men attend – but which is implied by using the term "church" instead of a more vaguely sounding "religious services." Church means Christian – at least it does in the "nation" of the Deep South.
One of the big societal shifts over the last decade has been the so-called "Prosperity Gospel." Prosperity has come to be synonymous with wealth. Therefore upward mobility is a sign of God's favor. In my opinion, this creed calls to those seeking power and control – those who get to make the big decisions. So, yes they seek to be wealthy but they want to ensure that a predetermined status quo is maintained. You say that the Republicans' tax cut treated "... the petty bourgeoisie as if they were very obscenely rich."
In Calvinistic terms, that means these petty bourgeoisie were part of The Elect or as commonly thought the Blessed – God's Chosen, known to all because God–bestowed blessings are obvious and tangible. Even the ability to "give back" is a sign of being Blessed.
This brings us to the resentments of the White working-class, which you've touched upon, writing, "the whites-only petty bourgeoisie for whom the whites-only working class worked."
In my opinion, at least in the Deep South where I live, I believe there is a caldera of resentment smoldering in the Whites-only working class. Harangues opposed to extreme wokeness or complaints against cancel culture are merely window-dressing, masking all the resentments that underlie the lives of these Americans.
I believe Donald Trump, speaking with words high-school dropouts can understand perfectly, plugged into the fear, ill will, and anger many working-class Whites have. They often believe that a mysterious cabal of "elites" has caused their woes... not happenstance, genetics, misconduct, malpractice, or sheer bad luck.
Though they may not have innate race hatred in their hearts, it's easy to feel bitterness when it seems "people of color" are reaping all the benefits of the elites' efforts--and they are making advancements!
Now more than ever before, Republican politicians are trying to feed this cycle. For many of them though, they can never truly SPEAK to these separate groups the way Donald Trump did.
In his case, words spoke louder than actions. Grievance will still have an audience, but it won't be the perfect storm of Donald J. Trump and that's why Republicans want Trump to shut up about stolen elections.
You write about Kaitlin Byrd who "has argued persuasively, the US economy was built in accordance with white supremacy." I would argue that the US economy was built by the White Elect and this continues to this day--or maybe we should ask Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, or Elon Musk.
The mystery to me is why the Democrats don't seem to be able to tap into the entire working class with a prosperity message of their own.
You bravely wrote, "...the Republicans are the party of the working class less in terms of class and more in terms of bigotry and prejudice." These attitudes are understood at a primal level but remain mostly unspoken by White people. Unspoken by some because of a fear of 'opening a can of worms' and unspoken by others because of what it might reveal.
You've also shown some real insight by discussing "... a petty bourgeoisie that’s resentful of not being very obscenely rich... by treating the petty bourgeoisie as if they were very obscenely rich."
Bravo! A resentful petty bourgeoisie is what is driving the Republican party because there are a lot more of them in America than they are Americans in the "filthy rich" category.
The big question then is why are they resentful. I think there is a fundamental religiosity that you lightly touched upon when describing this portion of the Republican party as "businessmen, property-owners and church members." Left unsaid was the description of the "church" that these men attend – but which is implied by using the term "church" instead of a more vaguely sounding "religious services." Church means Christian – at least it does in the "nation" of the Deep South.
One of the big societal shifts over the last decade has been the so-called "Prosperity Gospel." Prosperity has come to be synonymous with wealth. Therefore upward mobility is a sign of God's favor. In my opinion, this creed calls to those seeking power and control – those who get to make the big decisions. So, yes they seek to be wealthy but they want to ensure that a predetermined status quo is maintained. You say that the Republicans' tax cut treated "... the petty bourgeoisie as if they were very obscenely rich."
In Calvinistic terms, that means these petty bourgeoisie were part of The Elect or as commonly thought the Blessed – God's Chosen, known to all because God–bestowed blessings are obvious and tangible. Even the ability to "give back" is a sign of being Blessed.
This brings us to the resentments of the White working-class, which you've touched upon, writing, "the whites-only petty bourgeoisie for whom the whites-only working class worked."
In my opinion, at least in the Deep South where I live, I believe there is a caldera of resentment smoldering in the Whites-only working class. Harangues opposed to extreme wokeness or complaints against cancel culture are merely window-dressing, masking all the resentments that underlie the lives of these Americans.
I believe Donald Trump, speaking with words high-school dropouts can understand perfectly, plugged into the fear, ill will, and anger many working-class Whites have. They often believe that a mysterious cabal of "elites" has caused their woes... not happenstance, genetics, misconduct, malpractice, or sheer bad luck.
Though they may not have innate race hatred in their hearts, it's easy to feel bitterness when it seems "people of color" are reaping all the benefits of the elites' efforts--and they are making advancements!
Now more than ever before, Republican politicians are trying to feed this cycle. For many of them though, they can never truly SPEAK to these separate groups the way Donald Trump did.
In his case, words spoke louder than actions. Grievance will still have an audience, but it won't be the perfect storm of Donald J. Trump and that's why Republicans want Trump to shut up about stolen elections.
You write about Kaitlin Byrd who "has argued persuasively, the US economy was built in accordance with white supremacy." I would argue that the US economy was built by the White Elect and this continues to this day--or maybe we should ask Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, or Elon Musk.
The mystery to me is why the Democrats don't seem to be able to tap into the entire working class with a prosperity message of their own.