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TechnoratiBut Levin argued that people confuse cultural and economic populism, “a confusion of cultural identity with class identity.”
Traditionally, Republicans are “very good at cultural populism” and are characterized by traditional values, patriotism, anti-cosmopolitan, “non-nuance sort of Joe Six-pack Americans.”
Democrats, on the other hand, are “much better…at economic populism” where they are “out for fairness,” anti-corporatist, “people against the powerful, and defender-of-the-little-guy type.”
But Americans don’t care so much which candidate is richer, Levin argued, as much as who is perceived as an elitist.
Levin recalled that Obama did not help his image as a cultural elitist when he said earlier in the campaign season that people in small-town Pennsylvania cling to God and guns because they’re bitter.
“I think Obama is a walking, talking example of the way in which economic and cultural populism are not the same thing,” Levin said, referring to the fact that Obama is less wealthy than McCain but is perceived as an elitist.
“He is a cultural elitist and a classic representative of the cultural elite. And yes, his mother was on food stamps,” he added. “She was on food stamps at a time when she was a graduate student getting a Ph.D. in anthropology. His elitism didn’t come out of nowhere.”
In the end, both experts agree that traditional issues of culture war, abortion and gay “marriage,” will be “dampened” and matter less this election year.
holito8 »
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