Blue collar Dem voters angry about first family's lavish vacations
I think most Americans are resentful of the Obama's ostentatious displays of wealth and privilege. But blue collar Democrats - white, middle class voters that Obama needs to beat Romney - appear to be downright angry about it.
Blue collar Democratic voters, stuck taking depressing "staycations" because they can't afford gas and hotels, are resentful of the first family's 17 lavish vacations around the world and don't want their tax dollars paying for the Obamas' holidays, according to a new analysis of swing voters.
"They view everything through their own personal situation and if they can't afford to do it, they can't enjoy it, they don't like Obama using their tax dollars to benefit himself," said pollster John McLaughlin. "In this case, they see him as out of touch. While they are struggling he's not sharing in that struggle and he's basically doing what they can't do on their tax dollars," added the GOP pollster.
He and several other top-tier Republican pollsters, organized by Resurgent Republic, traveled to 11 battleground states to host focus groups of independent and swing voters, mostly Democrats, who voted for President Obama in 2008 but who are now on the fence.
McLaughlin handled blue collar and Catholic voters in Pittsburgh on April 3 and Cleveland on March 20. He found that they are very depressed about the economy and feel that their tax dollars are being sucked up by both the rich and those living on government assistance.
During the focus group discussions about debt and spending cuts, many in his group volunteered criticism of the presidential vacations as something that should be cut. Among the lines McLaughlin wrote down was one from a Democratic woman who said, "Michelle Obama spends $1 million to take the kids to Hawaii," and another who said, "President Obama was the only president to take so many trips."
The theme, said McLaughlin, is that the first family "is out of touch" with working class voters.
Obviously, this isn't a trend, but it might become one if Romney exploits the opening offered by the president and his wife. Those blue collar Dems are still important in the upper midwest, as well as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Tapping into that resentment could bear significant fruit in November.