Throughout history and popular culture there has often been a division manufactured between what are known as the “elite doves” and the “hardhats”. In part this is due to protests and counterprotests that were taking place during this time-period. However, if you talked to the so called “hardhats” it was found that they often agreed with the college protesters about the Vietnam War. The difference was in method and rhetoric surrounding the war. The college students tended to be seen as more radical, while the working class wanted to show that they were still pro-American but anti-Vietnam war.
This stereotype was often perpetuated by the media and their fascination with both campus protests and the counter protesters. The media were not the only ones who perpetuated this division, politicians such as Richard Nixon and George Wallace also capitalized on this division. Nixon was famous for turning the former Democratic stronghold of the South into the Bible Belt that bleeds red. He was able to cultivate this using populist sentiments and this idea of middle America. This is not a place or geographical location but instead a disposition. In a sense it is another phrase for common sense as opposed to those on college campuses who were protesting the war and were radical. These people were also demeaned by the Democratic party. In a sense they were taken for granted. A great example of this was the refusal of the labor unions to endorse a candidate. The labor vote was a democratic certainty for as long as there have been unions. To stop this alignment, I think the Democrats could have potentially introduced programs that would have helped everyday Americans. They also really took the working class for granted. I will also say Nixon had a particular talent and was excellent at cultivating Populist sentiment and future Presidents such as Ronald Reagan were so politically savvy that this would have happened eventually.
Will Wright 