Both Wallace and Nixon appealed to different groups in the American electorate. For example, this is seen in their appeals to the “silent majority.” George Wallace capitalized on the perceived sharp division between the elite and the ‘hardhats’. He said that the hardhats were this pro-war and patriotic group, and therefore, he emphasized his opposition to the war as a matter of national pride rather than appealing to the elite. Nixon also tapped into this stereotype as a way to gain political advantage. He propositioned himself as a man for the hard-working majority of Americans. He said that the radicals were simply louder than the everyday man who supported the war. This is seen in the quote “It was against the antiwar movement that the “silent majority” became central to the conservative realignment in U.S. politics that was repeatedly invoked.” This demonstrates that both individuals appealed to working-class values in order to create the sense that it was a small portion of the population who opposed the Vietnam War.
However, Americans were getting tired of the engagement in Vietnam and the protests that came from it. But for White working-class Americans the article states, “‘the working-class white man is actually in a revolt against taxes, joyless work, the double standards and short memories of the professional politicians, hypocrisy, and what he considers the debasement of the American dream.”’ The lack of economic stability, growing distrust in the government, and feelings of isolation are what caused the discontent in the working-class to rise. Nixon began to promise tax cuts, law and order, defense spending, and family values. He positioned the democratic party as the party of “hope.” However, as hippies and protesters became more visible, the right-wing language that positions that white workers against a “them” became more appealing. I think the realignment of the Republican vote was bound to happen especially as topics became more polarizing. In order to avoid the realignment issue, not playing into stereotypes or drawing sharp political connotations with things like the Civil Rights movement or war protests while appealing to the economic interests in the working class. If we use the book Caste, which proposes an unintentional hierarchy in the United States requiring someone to be at the bottom, if the rhetoric surrounding these political efforts did not seem like the working class would be at the bottom, then maybe some realignment would have been prevented.
Will Wright 