It has trended left in the past, and I expect we may live to see that recur. The American people nowadays are very discontented with the plutocracy, and their main complaint about both parties and both the legislative and executive branches is that they seem to serve the interests of the 1% as against the rest of us. The people want a chance to vote against the plutocracy . . . and, not in 2016, but sometime in the next two or three election cycles following, they might well get that chance. And that will involve voting for a Democrat.
The problem is that there is no right-wing or left-wing way to fight the plutocracy as of yet. THe little people hate the big guy as represented by the government as much as the big guy represented by corporations. You’ll never reach those Americans by preaching to them on obesity and telling them they need to pay higher electric bills because climate change.
That’s why Jim Webb’s candidacy is going to be pretty enlightening. It’s really going to highlight the divisions in the Democratic base and show what the Democrats would have to do if they really wanted to win the working class vote.
Social issues are simply red meat to each party’s base. The deciding voters don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other. SSM is a good example. The right has strong feelings on it and the left has strong feelings. The swing voter doesn’t care. There has been a shift in recent years, but it is a “who gives a shit” shift for the swing voter.
In 2006, the swing voter would have voted against SSM and then pick either the Dem or Rep candidate. Today the swing voter votes in favor of SSM and then picks either the Dem or Rep candidate.
The same holds true for other issues. A swing voter might be in favor of legal abortion and gun control, but he or she will ultimately vote for a candidate based upon which one will allow them to be able to hold a job to make money, the candidate’s stance on those issues be damned.