I know quite a few people who voted for Donald Trump, including a few conservative Democrats here in Louisiana. These people were hung up on issues like abortion, hatred for Obamacare, and decades of talk radio assaults on the Clinton family.
Some of them meant well, some honestly believed that an alleged billionaire who manufactured a lot of his clothing line overseas would suddenly take their best interests to heart. None of these things are panning out, and some are beginning to doubt their vote, while others continue to defend Trump at every turn of the political page.
They voted for Trump because they thought he would bring back the glory days of American manufacturing. They believed that immigrants, and not the changing job market, were the reason why their jobs left the United States for poor countries like Bangladesh.
The factories that once provided a good life for single-income households are mostly gone, except for a few unions that have weathered the assault of decades of Republican attacks. In their place lies resentment, blame, and a working class that voted for conservative policies against their interests.
This is the middle America which has been betrayed by conservative ideology, victims of the culture wars. People who could have once secured mortgages on a decent house are now forced into slumlord trailer parks. The pride of being a worker has been replaced by reliance on government programs, while talk radio has convinced them to blame immigrants, government, and minorities for their decline in the quality of life.
Within an hour of where I live in Louisiana, there are a few manufacturing facilities that once employed hundreds of workers who worked for Fruit of the Loom. Those factories are abandoned now, with those jobs long gone to the third world, where desperate people who work for a fraction of the income that our working class considered to be a fair wage just a few years ago.
These people voted for Trump, as did much of the Bible Belt, because they thought an alleged billionairee could bring back the time when they didn’t have to rely on the government handouts that they now blame minorities for exploiting.
I don’t want to believe that hatred for minorities, civil rights and liberals motivated the white underclass to vote for Trump. Unfortunately for them, they voted against their future. And they have nobody to blame except themselves.
