Real Majority/the Pa

by Ben J. Wattenberg

With a new introduction for the '90s, this classic work on the American electorate is as alive and as relevant as it was when first written. The Real Majority discovered and defined the middle class, a group whose values and interests were once ignored but that are now catered to by both major parties in this national election year.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, The United States Of America, History, Historical

Paperback

First published August 28, 1971

About the author

Joseph Ben Zion Wattenberg (August 26, 1933 - June 28, 2015), known as Ben J. Wattenberg, was an American author, commentator and demographer. He was an aide and speechwriter to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968, and served as an adviser to Hubert Humphrey's 1970 Senate race. Wattenberg was a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. He was appointed to various committees and commissions by Presidents Carter, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, as well as by then-Speaker Tom Foley. Wattenberg died on June 28, 2015 from complications following surgery. Wattenberg's written works included: The First Universal Nation, 1991; Fewer: How the New Demography of Depopulation Will Shape Our Future, 2004; Values Matter Most, 1995; and Fighting Words: A Tale of How Liberals Created Neo-Conservatism, 2008.

Reviews

[Molly Kranzley Driscoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gave this a quick read after hearing it had similarities to the current election. A little academic for me and hard to relate on some of the historical references, but an interesting look at voters, not the candidate.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1970, Scammon and Wattenberg's book is remarkably prescient about the developing electorate which had elected Richard Nixon two years earlier -- and has continued to develop into our current political climate. The authors not only predicted the continued attraction to the voters of the political center, but observed that social issues would only increase in importance to the electorate. There's also some great analysis of political polarization and the "Solid South". Political junkies will eat it up.

[Sagar Jethani · Rating 3 out of 5]

The true significance of Wattenberg and Scammon's "The Real Majority" is that it foretold the ideological shift of the Republican party away from economics and into hot-button social issues. The authors analysis of 1968 voting data revealed that Democrats risked a historical alignment between the Republican party and voters whose stance on social issues-- rising crime, housing, moral decay, youth rebellion --made them increasingly alienated within the party of Robert Kennedy.

The most striking moment in the book occurs during a discussion on what it means to be a conservative:

"What does 'conservative' mean in the context of the [upcoming decade of the] 1970's?

[What follows is a series of questions showing strong conservative support on issues including strong crackdowns on student protests, opposition to slavery reparations, stronger anti-obscenity laws, and the continued criminalization of marijuana]

So one-sided are these results that we may predicate that it may well be the feeling about the Social Issue that has been moving voters to say they are 'conservative'.

But on the non-Social Issues, there seems to have been a move toward liberal, not conservative, attitudes. ...Medicaid, poverty programs, aid to cities, are issues that five or ten or fifteen years ago would have been considered rather far out for middle-of-the-roaders. Today they are clearly in the mainstream. Today the voters are all for coping with the crisis of the cities, for fighting pollution, for better health care-- all the liberal goals of only a few years ago.

Insofar as the political eye can see, this is the apparent paradox of attitude in the seventies: conservative on the Social Issue, liberal on the bread-and-butter issues."

The historical weight of this observation cannot be exaggerated. Republican strategists such as Kevin P. Phillips wasted no time in putting Wattenberg's argument to work by urging his party to keep voters focused on social issues rather than bread-and-butter issues. While Republicans could capture Democratic votes by appealing to the growing backlash to the tumult of the 1960's, Republicans could only do so by minimizing the focus on economics and social justice issues-- both of which skewed strongly for liberals.

An important work of political analysis, "The Real Majority" was the harbinger of the GOP's shift into demagoguery.