Would Focus On Working Class Issues Really Have Made A Difference

The NY Times has an article today about Trump voters in Florida who count on Obamacare for their health insurance and now hope that it won’t be taken away. One woman who is currently on Obamacare and who voted for Trump did not believe he would take it away, saying, “Trump is going to keep it for a while, at least the part where if you have a disease you can still get coverage.” She seems to think that would work for herself, despite probably hefty rate hikes and elimination of her subsidies under a Trump plan, as she will be eligible for Medicare next year. But she probably didn’t contemplate that she could well be paying a lot more out-of-pocket for Medicare if Paul Ryan’s proposals goes through. Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Republicans in the legislature have blocked Medicaid expansion in the state and they will be just as stingy with Medicare dollars. Another Floridian who is on Obamacare but is having problems with the out of pocket costs and high deductible said, ” I think it was rammed down our throats. I’m taking advantage of it because I’d be silly not to. But it needs to be changed.” He actually supports repeal of the law despite his own admission that it would be silly to live without it. Another voter who does not receive any subsidies at all felt that the law was unfair because so many did receives subsidies while he did not. He said, “Maybe Mr. Trump can make it better by making it more equal.”

It is hard not to hear what these people are saying and not focus on the fact that Hillary Clinton addressed every single one of their concerns with her plans for Obamacare. Donald Trump promised only “repeal and replace” without really defining what that replacement would be, a problem Republicans have had since the law was enacted. Virtually all of those mentioned above were purely relying on what they hoped Trump would do, which was totally contradicted by what Trump actually said he would do during the campaign. Now, admittedly, this is purely anecdotal evidence, but, along with other similar reports on different subjects, it seems to be a constant refrain from the Trump voter. They did not take his statements at all literally and never really believed that he would do all the things he said he would do. And I think you can also say that about the Republican party. A large segment of Republican voters do not really think that the GOP will actually privatize Medicare and/or Social Security despite repeated statements from party leaders that that is exactly what they would like to do. When seen in this light, it adds to the belief that these voters acted purely out of tribalism and it is highly doubtful that a laser-like focus on proposals to help the working class would have really made any difference. For these voters, Clinton had proposals that directly addressed the issues they cared about. They just didn’t care to listen and preferred to rely purely on hope.