Colonel William A. Phillips

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The Blue Collar Caucus is a United States Democratic Party congressional caucus that advocates for labor and working class priorities. It was founded in 2016 to focus the Democratic Party on blue-collar issues.[3] The caucus supports increased infrastructure spending and opposes offshoring.[1] The grouping aims to negate the elitist image of the Democratic Party and appeal to the blue-collar voters that were "lost" to Donald Trump by focusing on economic issues and promoting left-wing economic causes, abandoning the "urban, educated and socially liberal voices" in the party in favor of blue-collar ones.[12] Members of the caucus believe that the Democratic Party lost votes "by marching left on social issues" and offers to refocus on poor areas instead of the "coastal strongholds"; the caucus also has ties to major trade unions such as AFL-CIO and IAMAW.[11]

Members of the Blue Collar Caucus believe that the Democratic Party does not focus on the issues of blue-collar workers.[13] The founder of the caucus, Brendan Boyle, argues that the party should develop its own kind of left-wing populism to combat the working-class appeal of Donald Trump.[9] The caucus wants to raise wages of the lower and middle class, supports the wealth tax of Elizabeth Warren to tax the top-earners more,[9] and advocates protectionist measures, opposing NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.[13] The caucus is considered economically progressive,[14] and its leader supports the Green New Deal, a single-payer healthcare system, and the federal minimum wage of $15.00 per hour.[15] The caucus also stresses the importance of promoting protectionism, with Veasey stating: "On trade, we have to be out in front of Trump"; it also proposes a partial retreat by Democrats on social and environmental issues in favor of a core economic appeal, arguing that Trump's economic rhetoric won him the 2016 election.[16]

While the Blue Collar Caucus was compared to the Congressional Progressive Caucus in terms of economic issues, it leans more conservative socially. The Blue Collar Caucus believes that the Democratic Party has become the "party of the elite", eschewing working-class issues in favor of appealing to educated, urban and socially liberal voters; as such, the caucus advocates for abandoning what it calls identity politics in favor of a sweeping left-wing economic message that would appeal to blue-collar workers instead. Members of the caucus cite Bernie Sanders's statement that "the Democratic Party has become a party of the coastal elites, folks who have a lot of money, upper-middle-class people".[12] The caucus envisions a Democratic Party as the champion of the "working people, not Wall Street and corporate interests",[17] while abandoning "progressive vanguard" politics.[18]

Electoral results

House of Representatives

Congress Overall seats Democratic seats ±
116th (2018)
49 / 435
49 / 233
Decrease -1
117th (2020)
47 / 435
47 / 222
Decrease -2
118th (2022)
45 / 435
45 / 222
Decrease -2

Ideology

According to the founders of the Blue Collar Caucus, its goal is to re-orient the Democratic Party to focus on issues such as trade unions, wage stagnation, offshoring and job insecurity, especially in case of manufacturing and building workers.[19] The caucus argues that the working-class voters were a backbone of the Democratic Party, and that the loss in the 2016 presidential election can be attributed to eroding confidence of this voting bloc in the party. Founders of the Blue Collar Caucus expressed concern that the Democratic Party became the "party of the elite", where "urban, educated and socially liberal voices" displaced economic and working-class issues.[12]

The caucus contends that the Democratic Party needs to "articulate an economic message that really gets beyond identity politics", and instead of attacking the Republic Party for its social conservatism, it should instead be attacked for being a party that gives "tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and big corporations, and gives very little to the working class."[12] The members of the caucus also proposed an economic agenda for the party known as "A Better Deal", which would address wealth inequality, lack of opportunity and wage stagnation, along with hedging on social issues in favor of a purely economic focus.[20]

Caucus members

Current members

Arizona

California

Connecticut

Washington, D.C.

Florida

Illinois

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Texas

Washington

Wisconsin

Former members

Miscellaneous

In March 2018, former Vice President Joe Biden met with the Caucus to discuss 2018 midterm campaigning.[22][23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Jordan, Chuck (11 October 2017). "It's time to rebuild the American Dream".
  2. ^ "Boyle and Veasey form "Blue Collar Caucus" in Congress". 1 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Can Democrats win back the blue-collar voters that flipped to Trump?". Archived from the original on 2018-04-18.
  4. ^ "Boyle Launches Blue Collar Caucus - Philadelphia Public Record". www.phillyrecord.com.
  5. ^
  6. ^
  7. ^ Velasco e Cruz, Sebastião C.; P. Bojikian, Neusa Maria (2021). De Trump a Biden: Partidos, políticas, eleições e perspectivas (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Editora Unesp. p. 41. ISBN 9786557110850. Blue Collar Caucus, caracterizado por uma pauta trabalhista e agenda keynesiana;
  8. ^
  9. ^ a b c Daniel Newhauser (22 March 2021). "The Mod Squad". persuasion.community.
  10. ^ Mike Cowburn; Rebecca Kerr (2022). "Inclusivity and Centralisation of Candidate Selectorates: Factional Consequences for Centre-Left Parties in Germany, England, and the United States" (PDF). Political Research Quarterly. SAGE Publications: 299. doi:10.1177/10659129221081213.  - Listed as progressive wing of the Democratic Party, together with the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Medicare for All Caucus.
  11. ^ a b Andrea Drusch (24 August 2017). "Texas lawmaker Veasey sees himself as the Democratic party's future". mcclatchydc.com.
  12. ^ a b c d Niall Stanage (12 October 2020). "The Memo: Democrats grapple with 'elite' tag". thehill.com.
  13. ^ a b Alex Daugherty (17 February 2017). "Can Democrats win back the blue-collar voters that flipped to Trump?". star-telegram.com.
  14. ^ Mike Cowburn; Rebecca Kerr (2022). "Inclusivity and Centralisation of Candidate Selectorates: Factional Consequences for Centre-Left Parties in Germany, England, and the United States" (PDF). Political Research Quarterly. SAGE Publications: 299. doi:10.1177/10659129221081213.
  15. ^ "Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan Boyle Speaks to Students at Law School". cuatower.com. 28 March 2019.
  16. ^ Alex Daugherty (28 March 2017). "Democrats and unions are trying to figure out how to win back blue-collar votes". tri-cityherald.com.
  17. ^ Luke Collins (21 July 2017). "Trumka Talks Economy and Jobs with House Blue Collar Caucus". aflcio.org.
  18. ^ "Shifting to 'blue collar' focus could work for Democrats". ocregister.com. 14 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Reviving Local News: Leaders in the Movement to Preserve and Protect Democracy". 14 March 2022.
  20. ^ Susan Davis; Scott Detrow (9 November 2017). "A Year Later, The Shock Of Trump's Win Hasn't Totally Worn Off In Either Party".
  21. ^ Boyle, Brendan; Veasey, Marc. "OPED: THE BLUE COLLAR CAUCUS IS ACTUALLY WORKING FOR BLUE-COLLAR AMERICANS". Congressman Brendan Boyle. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  22. ^ "Biden meets with 'Blue Collar' Democrats on the Hill - GantNews.com". gantdaily.com.
  23. ^ "Blue Collar Caucus Hosts Vice President Joe Biden". 21 March 2018.

External links