Phillips relied upon Donald Warren's _The Radical Center: Middle Americans and the Politics of Alienation_ study of 'lower-middle' (identified as high school/less than hs education, nonmanagerial employment, lower-middle income) strata. Warren's 'middle american radicals' (MARs) were only category of 'middle-income' folks holding view that rich give into demands of poor and middle-income people pay the bill.
MAR label hides race and MARs are white. In Warren's study, they were more likely to express following: blacks and wealthy get more than 'fair share' of government benefits, have too much political power, are more likely to get 'fair treatment' in court. Michael Hoover