Time for a Realignment? by David Brooks, New York Times
Summary:
David Brooks claims the unpopularity of Trump and Clinton is not what is making this election a transformational moment. Existing partisan mentalities are dying out and the current social divide will likely lead to some sort of party realignment in the near future. Brooks says "the molten core of the Republicans is the dispossessed" while the Democratic core consists of the "coastal professional class." These disparate groups have a huge trust gap in terms of trusting their neighbors, governmental institutions and surely the 21st century global economy. If certain groups within each party, minority dispossessed Democrats and Republican professionals, recognize the molten core does not reflect their values, one can expert some party realignment. For example, the Sanders Democrats and Camber of Commerce Republicans will not stay with their respective parties if the party leaves them ideologically. According to Brooks, this is likely given the fact the social, mental and emotional gap between the core groups will widen.
Questions:
Is David Brooks' bold claim accurate?
Can the Republican Party gain popularity with minority voters, especially if their message focuses on struggles in response to globalization?
Can the Democrats balance constituencies such as upper income professionals who have benefited from the 21st century global economy with the millenials who will graduate will record levels of student debt?
This election year has been filled with a great amount of uncertainty and anxiety. For example, Clinton and Sanders supporters have been immature in dividing the Democrat Party by not compromising. Moreover, the controversy surrounding Hillary and her emails, Trump and his University, casinos, taxes, and laborers have all made Americans anxious. When Brook claims that this election will result in a political realignment, this is not very plausible unless the Republican Party is slaughtered in the election and Trumps loses his mind and ultimately drops out of the race causing white to distrust the Republican Party. This is a remarkable election because a former president of the United States may return to the White House as the First, First Man. The media and other linkage institutions may feel uneasy and react to the 2016 election and all of its shenanigans in this manner. I do agree with Brooks that there could be a minor shift with minority voters (African Americans and Millennials) but not a major realignment. Millennials will become increasingly Democratic as they generally have a strong hatred for Trump. African Americans tend to hate Trump too so they will remain Democrat. One thing Trump may be able to foster is the support of Latinos.. Either way, Trump should give up on his campaign sooner or later.. He didn't actually believe he would make it this far.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your comment regarding political realignment because I do in fact believe that this election will put the Republican party into power after 8 years under Obama and the Democrats. You mentioned that Hillary and Sanders are dividing the Democratic party, and if this continues, the Republican party will win because the Democrats will not be able to unite under a single candidate. It seems that the Republicans under Trump will have a better chance at winning the election than the divided and thus weak Democratic party with Sanders and Hillary struggling for power.
DeleteWhile I understand your point that Democrats are struggling to unite under one official, I believe this will not lead to Trump's victory in this year's election. Many Republicans disagree with Trump's moderate stances on a wide variety of policies and have decided to vote as independents. For this reason, I believe that Democrats will unite as a party in order to keep power in office, while the Republican party will be split and left to fight for a spot against Hillary in four years.
DeleteWhile I understand your point that Democrats are struggling to unite under one official, I believe this will not lead to Trump's victory in this year's election. Many Republicans disagree with Trump's moderate stances on a wide variety of policies and have decided to vote as independents. For this reason, I believe that Democrats will unite as a party in order to keep power in office, while the Republican party will be split and left to fight for a spot against Hillary in four years.
DeleteDavid Brooks' claim is accurate. Every few decades, there appears to be party realignment. The biggest issue with the two dominant political parties is the disconnect between social, economic, and political views. Many Republicans are socially liberal but economically conservatory. Similarly, Democrats can have conservative political views but progressive economic opinions. This is becoming an issue because many voters as though they do not fit into either party anymore. The division within political parties (i.e. Clinton and Saunders supporters) can be attributed to the widening opinions on different aspects of each party's key values. Furthermore, the dynamics of politics are changing because the dynamics of our country are changing. A once white-privileged-educated-male dominant country is becoming more accepting and diverse than ever before. Just over the past few years, the legalization of gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana have become heavily supported controversial topics in politics. Another issue that is widely discussed today is the wage gap. Fifty years ago, women were lucky if they were even considered for the same jobs as men. Today, people are fighting to end gender inequality. Just as people are becoming more aware of and sensitive to these issues, politics are inevitably paying more attention.
ReplyDeleteExplanation of Party Realignment:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/2016-election-realignment-partisan-political-party-policy-democrats-republicans-politics-213909
I agree with Madelyn's statement on Brooks' claim being accurate. The realignment of political parties has happened many times in history, based on historical events and situations changing the way that individuals vote. People can easily vote for another party based on their personal political views and even can vote for two different parties through split ticket voting. Realignment is natural because new issues and a constantly changing political agenda alters the way a person views government, especially considering the diversity in the United States.
DeleteI believe that it is possible for the Republicans to gain popularity with minority voters by addressing issues of globalization. Globalization provides many important economic benefits to our nation but it also allows large corporate companies to more easily take advantage of cheap foreign labor by outsourcing. As a result, members of the American working class are being deprived of job opportunities. The minority vote in our nation consists of mostly members of this working class. Therefore, the Republican Party can expect to see a gain in popularity among the minority vote if they can adopt a stance on globalization that addresses the issues that appear as a product of outsourcing.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Republicans may be able to gain popularity by addressing globalisation. In theory, globalisation should catalyse the US economy by lowering the prices of imported goods made with cheap labour, thus allowing more people to buy more goods, helping the economy. Historically, Republicans have been pro-globalisation, while Democrats are anti-globalisation. However, the current Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is against globalisation, attack the outsourcing of job outsourcing as "job killers". Furthermore, Obama's recent foreign trade proposal - the TPP - suggests that the Democrats are starting to lean towards globalisation. Could this suggest that the Republican party is shifting its values towards a more pro-local business tune, while the Democrats are becoming increasingly aligned with "upscale urban professionals", as David Brooks suggests?
DeleteTherefore, whilst I agree that globalisation is a big issue that can sway the opinions of voters, the parties' futures and whether or not they support globalisation or not is still up for debate.
I disagree with your argument. David Brooks' claim that the parties are going to realign after this election is very unique and something that I personally do not think is probable. African American Democrat voters are not going to wake up one day, realize that their ideals don’t perfectly align with those of democrats and choose the Republican party as as an alternative because they fit their beliefs more. The generalization that a race will be realigning to a certain party is ridiculous even if some members of the minority group want an economy closer to what Republicans are promoting.While globalization is an important and controversial issue, the voters that will "Realign" are single-issue voters and the rest of Democrats will stick with their party because the know that all of the other issues are just as important and their ideals align with their own party for all of these issues.
DeleteI agree with David Brook's claim. I believe that the Republican Party will be able to gain voters who feel alienated by the the global economy. These voters are more likely to be conservative and vouch for their individual rights. The Republican party tends to be more conservative and if they put emphasis on this, on trying to shield people from the harms of globalization, then they can get these voters. Also, I believe Democrats can balance constituencies, for millenials and some wealthier people who support liberal values will both vote for them.
ReplyDeleteI comply with David Brook's assertion that the Republican Party will be able to appeal to more citizens who fell excluded from the global economy and ultimately gain their vote. Generally speaking, Republicans tend to favor more conservative issues. If they are will to protect the minorities (majority of the working class) from the globalization that threatens to take their jobs away, they will most definitely get their vote. Republicans see that this is a prominent issue that needs to be addressed and if they appeal enough to these voters who feel robbed, they will draw in all their votes one by one. Lastly, Democrats can balance constituencies, because a lot of demographic groups and smaller parties support liberal issues just like them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brook's claim that realignment is likely in the near future. Voters who feel threatened by globalization will side with conservative republicans in an attempt to protect their rights as individuals. If Republicans take advantage of this shift and protest globalization, they will earn more votes from working class citizens who fear that their job will be taken away. Republicans also need to run a more inclusive campaign, empathizing with the average-income citizen, and minority groups to ensure their vote. If republicans succeed at this, democrats will be left with little to offer these groups of citizens.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans are always seen as prejudiced due to their biased view points in society. People are already accustomed to their political views and identity for generations and unless the opposing party can offer a more beneficial perspective to life, there will not be any realignment or switching of parties.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Brooks makes appropriate claims regarding party realignment trends in the past, it is fairly inaccurate to say that Trump would gain the support of some minority voters if his campaign was removed of the brash sexism and racism. I actually believe that this election would attract a few moderate Republicans to Hillary's side, due to the fact that Trump does not represent the interests of the majority of the Republican party. In regards to Brooks claim that states how his campaign may even attract a few apathetic Sanders supporters, it is unlikely that those supporting Sanders' policies would align with Trump's vague and inconsistent agenda over Clinton's.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with David Brooks' claim even though this upcoming election will definitely have people questioning what political party resonates with them the most. I don't believe there will be as dramatic of a party realignment that Brooks' claims. In all, one election won't make people switch their beliefs and change their political party.
ReplyDeleteI think that there will be more party dealignment, not realignment. The political parties are not necessarily changing their views, it's more of the people who are changing their views. Because of this I believe that party dealignment is very possible considering that many people do not support either candidate. Because of the lack of support for either candidate, many people are turning toward the 3rd party candidate.
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