I know this large town

artappraiser — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 02:16:21 +0000

In reply to The Heartland Is Moving in Different Directions

I know this large town inbetween Milwaukee and Chicago well enough to know this article is a good read of it. It is classic rust belt working class (of mixed color) and has a lot of immigrants. It's never been "classy", and proud of that. It's been swingy forever. No surprise to me that there are some Bernie fans there, I can easily imagine a lot of old time Regan Dems there that have become Bernie fans. I can also imagine there are many that would tend to like the Joe Biden union man shtick:

In Wisconsin Swing District, a Range of Views on Immigration

Invoking family stories of coming to America, many left-leaning voters in the multiethnic city of Racine say immigrants should enter legally.

By Stephanie Saul @ NYTimes.com, July 31

RACINE, Wis. — In this old manufacturing city that supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, dislike for President Trump runs wide and deep. Images of crying children at the Mexican border typically serve as Exhibit A on the list of grievances that Democratic voters cite against the president.

Many of those same voters also express strong views opposing illegal border crossings, often rooted in their own family stories of coming to America. If you want a chance at the American dream, they say, you should play by the rules.

“I think everybody should come in the right way, just like our ancestors did,” said Christy Cowles, 59, a retired city worker who is a fan of Senator Bernie Sanders.

Voters like Ms. Cowles present a conundrum for Democrats as they navigate the sensitive topic of immigration. While many Democrats express a desire to ease the way for aspiring immigrants, party leaders also worry that an immigration agenda that shifts too far left could alienate voters in tightly contested states like Wisconsin, ranging from avowed liberals like Ms. Cowles to coveted swing voters.

In the first round of Democratic debates in June, candidates staked out aggressively liberal positions on immigration, with near-unanimous support for decriminalizing illegal border crossings [....]

A recent Gallup poll found that immigration tops the list of issues that Americans view as important [....]

There are few places where the topic is more contentious than in Wisconsin, a swing state where it has been used as a cudgel against Democrats, even in local races for elected positions with no role in federal immigration policy.

Immigration has emerged as an issue in other state races as well, with right-leaning appeals that appear designed to inflame anti-immigrant passion, according to Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, who blamed huge last-minute spending around immigration and other issues for defeating the Democratic candidate in this year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Special interest groups — on both sides of the race — reported spending more than $4 million in an effort to sway its outcome.

With its Democratic city center and a surrounding rural area that skews Republican, Racine County is known for swinging from one party to another, serving as a national bellwether in predicting the outcome of presidential races. In 2016, the county voted for Mr. Trump.

And in this swing district, some local Democrats have speculated that immigration helped torpedo their efforts last year to win the congressional seat held by the former House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, according to Fabi Maldonado, a Racine County supervisor and immigration advocate.

The Democratic candidate, Randy Bryce, had been arrested while protesting Mr. Ryan’s position on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which delays deportation and allows work permits for undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children.

“There was internal fighting in the Democratic Party over whether he was too open about supporting illegal immigration,” Mr. Maldonado said. “Some of that might be true, but you have to be for immigration rights if you want Latinx voters to turn out.” [....]

Maybe related, and I find

artappraiser — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 16:43:44 +0000

In reply to The Heartland Is Moving in Different Directions

Maybe related, and I find kinda interesting even if it's not, that there's basically a 50/50 split among Independents on this: Nearly half of independents say Democratic Party leans too far left: poll @ TheHill.com, July 31. I woulda guessed a bigger percentage would say it is too far left, but only 48% do:

Almost half of independent voters said in a new poll the the Democratic Party is leaning too far to the left.

The Hill-HarrisX poll showed that 48 percent of independent voters believe the Democratic Party is swinging too far to the left, compared to 68 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of Democrats.

Only a third of independents — 33 percent — thought the Republican Party was leaning too far to the right.

Overall, most Democrats and Republicans believe their party strikes the right balance [....]

The Heartland is a Lonely

PeraclesPlease — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 14:39:24 +0000

In reply to The Heartland Is Moving in Different Directions

The Heartland is a Lonely Hunter?

dagblog - Comments for "The Heartland Is Moving in Different Directions"

I know this large town

Maybe related, and I find

The Heartland is a Lonely