One of the noteworthy paradoxes of American politics is the large number of relatively poor people in red states who vote for GOP politicians who are committed to cutting their benefits. Why does this happen, and can it be stopped?
A big part of the answer to the first question is that red state voters, like many others, frequently attach more importance to issues of identity and values than their economic interests. In this, they are joined by the elderly, the other large group that votes for the GOP in spite of its frequent threats to cut benefits. The second part of the equation, however, is that the voters in question view themselves as rugged individuals who were screwed over by the system; while “welfare” is for lazy minorities, they just want justice and their old jobs back. In this, they are encouraged by opportunistic GOP politicians who blame Washington and “elitists” for everything and make idle promises to bring back jobs that are gone for good. Democratic promises of additional investment in poor areas and more government benefits are unpersuasive compared to this toxic cocktail of resentment and nostalgia.
The only way I can see to combat this is with really authentic sounding economic populism; in other words, turn the resentment that the GOP stokes against the federal government against the local capitalists. It works for Sherrod Brown; it might work, to some extent, for Bernie Sanders.