Democrats like to think that they have a shot at winning the War on the Poor. They do, but only because it is unseemly to have the elderly dying in the street and poor children starving leading to increased levels of crime.
The other side of this is that, since the success of the Reagan Presidency and the necessity for Clinton to move to the center and promote welfare reform, the incessant drum beat of conservatives over the last 13 years that the poor just need to work harder so they can pay taxes after getting the jobs that tax cuts motivate (trickle down economics) has had a consequence with American voters. There is belief held by some that there is waste in the system and the social safety net is an incentive to not seek work.
It is by no means clear to me which way this will turn out as I do believe there is substantial support for and intent by Republican Politicians to further reduce the Social Safety Net in all respects. And I do not believe this topic alone will drive many votes from the GOP to the Democrats.
This dense column, written by a Reagan economic advisor, illustrates the truth based on hard facts and notes the President of the American Enterprise Institute (a conservative think tank) stating that “The social safety net is one of the greatest achievements in our society, and we have to fight for it.”
The Conservative attacks on the Safety Net are making progress
Along similar lines, today I read a piece that suggests that most of the people who hate Washington, and hate Congress, are still prone to support the party that they lean towards. What this means, since the self-described haters are many more Republicans than they are Independents or Democrats, is that they are still likely to support the GOP Congresspeople who have shut down the government and prevented Government from working. Thus, an extended period of gridlock without coherent policy is all too likely.
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