Christopher S. Parker
Professor of Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle
January 29th Talk: It’s NOT the economy, dumbass; It’s all about race
According to convention, if Trump is to be defeated, Democrats must win the working-class white vote. This is a mistake for two reasons. First, class-based appeals NEVER work for people of color. Second, economic anxiety isn’t the only reason why Trump won. After all, he won 48% of college-educated whites. (Likewise, in the recent Alabama race for the senate, Roy Moore secured 57% of college-educated whites. I don’t think these folks are economically insecure.) As long as some whites believe they’re losing “their” country, they won’t support Democrats. Instead, Democrats must mobilize communities of color based on the existential threat they perceive from Trump.
Christopher Parker (Ph.D., University of Chicago, 2001) is Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington. Most of his research takes a behavioral approach to historical events, bringing survey data to bear on questions of historical import. Read more about Christopher Parker here.
