Michigan’s angry voices shakes presidential race

The outcome of a primary that shook the certainties in the Democratic presidential race while also ratifying the ongoing power of Donald Trump’s coalition of discontent was determined by voters who don’t trust trade deals and don’t believe in the promises of the new economy.

The social compact that underwrote each party’s consensus was broken by the long-term effects of working-class income decline and the severe dislocations let loose by the financial collapse of 2008.



[...] did majorities in both parties in Michigan tell exit pollsters that trade takes away rather than creates U.S. jobs.

For all of their differences, Sanders and Hillary Clinton both support more regulation of Wall Street, more progressive taxes, and government measures to ease economic dislocation and to provide broader social benefits.



[...] both Democrats have embraced a multiracial America and courted African Americans aggressively.

The incantations about smaller government, less regulation, and lower taxes (especially for the wealthy) are as familiar as the sonorous tones of Gregorian chant.

[...] the Michigan Revolt should leave the traditional powers in both parties uneasy and the economically better-off with an intimation of how profoundly their comfort contrasts with the social and economic pain experienced by so many of their fellow citizens.