In the long run, the most significant thing about the Obama speech will be the simple fact that he felt compelled to come out of his Benedict-like shell and make it. That said, there were elements of the speech which call for further analysis, and I’m just the person to do it.
In the speech, Obama essentially made the argument that the white working class is being hoodwinked by the rich and powerful to vote against its economic best interests. This is Bernie Sanders country. It resolves the class/identity question in favor of the former, and it lets the white workers off the hook for their bigotry.
The questions for the day are:
- Is it irrational for white workers to prefer their values to their interests?
- Are the reactionary workers dupes, or accomplices?
- Will the Obama/Sanders formula help win elections?
My responses are as follows:
- No. People are not simply economic units. All of us have values we prize above money.
- The Reactionaries are the largest faction within the GOP. The GOP is built upon a deal wherein the PBPs get tax cuts, and the Reactionaries get welfare cuts, limits on immigration, and friendly judges. Both factions know exactly what they want and drive the hardest possible bargain. The white workers are accomplices, not victims.
- The Obama formula may help the Democrats pick off a few white workers here and there. Ultimately, however, the correct approach is to tell the Reactionaries that they have an extremely important role to play in this country, that they don’t have to walk around feeling guilty about “white privilege” every day, and that their interests will be protected, but that they are not the default for America, and they are certainly not victims.