THE HYPERPOLARIZATION of the American political system threatens the long-term health of democracy. Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson have convinced me that it creates an important moment of opportunity for Democrats. But their increasingly “U-shaped” base poses a real danger, both for the party and the nation.
Hacker and Pierson ask how Biden has been able to propose such a bold economic agenda despite growing reliance on affluent voters. One reason for suburban realignment that they don’t mention is the specter of the new Republican Party. The GOP’s embrace of Trumpism over the last decade has profoundly alienated moderate suburbanites, sending them fleeing to the Democrats. Yet Trump and his allies are not the only reason for this exodus, nor for the purportedly paradoxical voting patterns of this group.
Many high-income professionals understand that Biden’s policies are not really at odds with their values and economic interests. Since the 1950s suburban residents have shown concern about environmental issues, so their support for Biden’s effort to combat the climate crisis is not surprising. Moreover, affluent suburbanites consistently prioritize pocketbook issues that offer them material rewards, and in many ways Biden’s economic agenda has actually aligned with these priorities. Reliable child care and elder care are concerns not only of low-income people but many middle- and upper middle-class ones as well—especially dual-career households, as the pandemic made all too clear. Biden’s child care subsidies extended into the upper reaches of the middle class, as did his changes to the child tax credit. Places like Washington, D.C., that have introduced universal pre-K have seen it utilized by residents of all economic levels.