[lbo-talk] Bartels on Frank, etc.

Seth Ackerman sethackerman1 at verizon.net
Sat Mar 4 11:41:43 PST 2006


Doug Henwood wrote:


> Seth Ackerman wrote:
>
>> To say that middle-income whites don't respond to populism means that
>> Dems have already tried a populist strategy directed at middle-income
>> whites. But where and when have they done it?
>
>
> The polling data says (or say, if I want to be a pedant) that econ
> populism doens't appeal to that demographic. It's always possible that
> a vigorous campaign could change the environment, but why do left
> candidates do so poorly in Dem primaries, in which voters are quite to
> the left of the general election? Seth, you worked for Kucinich -
> how'd the campaign analyze that phenomenon?
>
There wasn't much analysis. And to be honest, I don't think economic populism played much of a role one way or another. Primary voters are many things, but they're mostly partisans who want the party to win. That's why they dumped Dean and switched to Kerry so fast. You could argue about Dean's chances in a general election, but no one could argue seriously about Kucinich's. That said, DK was sort of a beloved candidate on the primary trail who always got the loudest applause and had the most small donors.

But also keep in mind that Kucinich represents a white-ethnic Cleveland district with lower-to-middle incomes. He wins every election. It's not because he's a vegan.

Seth



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