To the best of my ability I write about my experience of the Universe Past, Present and Future
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump Voters Share Anger, but Direct It Differently
This is a really interesting article because it shows how both liberals, conservatives AND Tea Party Repubicans all are really angry at the establishment for their plight. The main difference is their solutions to some of the same problems are different.
However, my thought is that since Globalization combined with wages too high to compete internationally are the real culprits here, there isn't much anyone can do short of un-inventing the Internet and un-inventing companies like Wal-Mart, Amazon, Google, Apple and the rest of the globalization companies to save the middle and lower classes in the western world from going back to how they were in the Great Depression eventually if nothing changes for them soon.
I think if Bill Gates and Steve Jobs saw the full consequences on the Middle And Lower classes of the western world they might think twice about inventing home computers and the Internet (actually Darpa invented the Internet).
Though it is also fair to say that big banks around the world and their decisions written in contracts to home buyers with flexible rate loans caused the Great Recession too starting in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
DES
MOINES — They are angry at a political system they see as rigged. They
feel squeezed by immigration, or the power of big banks. They sense
that America is heading in the wrong direction, but emphatically believe
only their candidate has the strength and vision to change things.
The voters driving two of the more remarkable movements of this election cycle — for Donald J. Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders
— share striking similarities. Both groups are heavily white, more male
than female, and both are fueled partly by people who, in interviews,
express distrust of their parties and the other candidates, especially
Hillary Clinton.
No
matter how their preferred candidates fare in the Iowa caucuses on
Monday, the supporters of Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump are reshaping the
campaign and could have a profound impact on the outcome in the fall.
In
dozens of interviews at rallies in Iowa, and longer conversations in
their homes or workplaces, supporters of both candidates spoke openly of
their anxiety about the future. Even if they were not personally
affected by the economic downturn, Mr. Sanders’s supporters worried
about the growing inequality in wealth and income; Mr. Trump’s worried
about terrorists coming across the border.
Yet
there was also palpable enthusiasm for their candidate and hopefulness
about the future he represented. They believe that only their candidate
can fix a broken system because he is not beholden to it; neither has a “super PAC” for big donors to pour money into.
Many in both groups said they had never felt so strongly about a political figure before.
“He
stands for everything I believe in,” said Alex Curtis, 19, who traveled
six hours from Nebraska to hear Mr. Sanders speak last Sunday in
Fayette, Iowa. “He’s going to restore the American dream and bring class
mobility.”
Said
Toby Richards, 50, a farmer from Knoxville, Iowa: “It’s so refreshing
to have someone who’s not being bought, and Trump’s not being bought.
What he says now can’t be swayed by money.”
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to be angry with
the nation’s political system. Anger has risen among white voters of
both parties since 2010.
%
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
White Republicans
White Democrats
Jan '11
Jan '12
Jan '13
Jan '14
Jan '15
Dec '15
← 2013 government shutdown
The
two movements have significant differences: Mr. Trump attracts support
across a wide spectrum of demographic groups, but is strongest among
Americans without a college degree (eight of 10 Trump supporters do not
have one) and those with lower incomes, according to a New York
Times/CBS News poll in December.
Mr.
Sanders draws strong backing from younger voters and self-identified
liberals, and 43 percent of Sanders backers are at least college
graduates, the same survey showed.
“They’re
younger, they’re proud of being liberals, and they like Senator Sanders
personally,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac
University Poll.
Trump
and Sanders voters are the likeliest among their parties to be “angry”
at Washington, according to the Times/CBS News poll, with 52 percent of
Trump backers and 30 percent of Sanders backers identifying that way.
Photo
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont arrived at a garage in Charles City, Iowa, on Saturday to greet volunteers.Credit
Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Anger
has risen steadily since 2010 among both Democrats and Republicans,
according to polling conducted by The Times and CBS News. Republicans
are more likely than Democrats to say they are angry, and whites are
more likely than African-Americans to say they are angry. But the rates
for all are going up, and their anger appears to be one factor sweeping
Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders from the relative margins to the top of many
polls.
In
interviews with voters in Iowa, the anger simmered close to the
surface. “Oh, heck, yeah, I’m angry,” said Savannah Granahan, 52, who
plans to caucus for Mr. Sanders and attended a campaign event for the
first time this month, near her home in Fort Dodge. “This country isn’t
run by the government. It’s run by the almighty dollar.”
About
85 miles away, Esther Toney, 71, a retired prison guard from Collins,
returned from a Trump rally in Ames fired up. “Oh, I’m very angry,” said
Ms. Toney, who comes from a family of Democrats. “I’m extremely angry.
We’ve got politicians that are just there for their own gain. They
should be thinking about how they can make our lives better. And they
don’t. They vote on things to support their PACs or whoever gave them
money.”
The
targets of their anger diverge. Mr. Trump’s supporters directed their
wrath toward career politicians, unlawful immigrants, terrorists and
people who they said were taking advantage of welfare. Mr. Sanders’s
supporters assailed big banks and economic inequality.
Photo
Esther Toney, 71, a retired prison guard, said she plans to caucus for Donald J. Trump because she is angry with politicians.Credit
Sam Hodgson for The New York Times
Mr.
Sanders’s supporters tended to blame the campaign finance system for
Washington dysfunction; Mr. Trump’s supporters blamed the politicians
who they said cared only about donations.
“Look
at our health care,” said Sean Bolton, 42, of Norwalk, a Trump
supporter who once voted for Barack Obama because of similar promises of
independence. “Who do you think wrote those laws? I guarantee it was
the insurance companies and drug manufacturers of the world.”
And
while people in both groups express criticism of Mrs. Clinton, it is
for different reasons: Supporters of Mr. Sanders find her dishonest;
fans of Mr. Trump worry she would continue the policies of President
Obama, which they oppose.
Both
camps include many people who have not been active in the Iowa caucuses
before, or previously supported the other party. And the
characteristics they bring up in describing their chosen candidate are
distinct: Those in Mr. Trump’s camp said he would bring better financial
and negotiating skills; those in Mr. Sanders’s said he would bring
better conditions for average working people.
Photo
Justin Holihan, 31, a
paramedic who supports Mr. Sanders, said he feared that growing economic
inequality might pitch the country toward either revolution or a police
state.Credit
Sam Hodgson for The New York Times
The
two candidates have not shied from appeals to anger. Mr. Trump said
recently that he “will gladly accept the mantle of anger.”
Even
as he said he would compete to attract Trump voters, Mr. Sanders
distinguished his message from Mr. Trump’s, saying the Republican
candidate was “using it to scapegoat minorities.” Mr. Trump said he
would cool his tone once the campaign battles were over.
A
big question for both parties is whether the energy generated by the
Trump and Sanders movements will be enough to lift them over more
traditional contenders, like Mrs. Clinton on the Democratic side or
Senator Ted Cruz for the Republicans. And beyond that, will these
voters, if Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump do not prevail, stay involved into
the fall?
In
many ways the appeal that the two men have does not seem easily
transferable. Supporters are drawn to what they see as their
independence, and a lack of pandering.
Brad
Nelson, 50, who works the overnight shift as manager at a chain of
convenience stores in Des Moines, said that he had last turned out for a
caucus to support Ronald Reagan in 1980 but that he planned to do so
this year, probably for Mr. Trump or Mr. Cruz.
Mr.
Nelson voiced a litany of irritations: people on welfare who don’t want
to work, immigrants taking jobs, the culture of complaint.
“It
makes me angry that this is how the country is,” he said. “After 200
years we have to be politically correct? We can’t say the Pledge of
Allegiance?”
But
his main grievance was against the system. “I don’t think you get voted
into office — I think it’s who’s paying the bills that gets people into
office,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more involved or
listened to the debates like this year.”
Watch “The Contenders,” a new virtual reality film about the 2016 race, in NYTVR,
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What
drew him to Mr. Trump, he said, was his independence, which he summed
up as: “What I say is what I do. Nobody else tells me differently.”
Each
side views its candidate as a little raw and, as a result, uniquely
able to channel this election’s frustrations and resentments toward real
and productive change.
Justin
Holihan, 31, of Ames, a paramedic who supports Mr. Sanders, said he
feared that growing economic inequality might pitch the country toward
either revolution or a police state. “I make $18.50 an hour, and I need
to work 50 to 60 hours a week in order to pay my bills,” he said. “I
can’t imagine how someone making minimum wage can.”
Mr.
Holihan, who previously voted for George W. Bush and Mr. Obama, walks
with a limp from a ski injury; his insurance company cut off payments
for physical therapy, he said, and he cannot afford more treatments
until he pays the bills for the sessions he has already had.
He
did not want to see neighbors rising up with pitchforks, Mr. Holihan
said. “That’s why I’m hoping somebody like Bernie Sanders gets elected
and can help solve some of these issues before we get pushed to that
step,” he said. “Because people are angry.”
Megan Thee-Brenan contributed reporting from New York.
A version of this article appears in print on January 31, 2016, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: They’re Mad and Sure Their Guy Is the One to Lead the Fight. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe
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