Why Democrats can’t speak for the ‘silent majority’

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The silent-majority concept is inextricably intertwined with backlash politics of the sort promoted by Trump. The concept was perhaps best explained by historian Rick Perlstein, who described the silent majority not in terms of demographics but emotion: “a feeling of dispossession,” especially in times of great change. While Democratic presidential candidates seem to think that hammering away at Trump’s incivility will damage his popularity in “middle America,” these attacks only bolster his appeal to the silent majority. This voting bloc sees such criticism as an attempt to silence Trump and, by proxy, them.

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The idea of the silent majority is something that conservative voters, who feel their values are under siege, have long been able to rally around. Most important, perhaps, these voters feel muzzled. As one Trump supporter complained, “The reason we’re silent is because we’re not allowed to talk.” He continued, “My favorite thing about Trump is that he wants to get rid of political correctness.”

This sense of marginalization is also why the left can’t co-opt the idea of a silent majority. After a Trump rally in July included supporters chanting “Send her back,” referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), CNN commentator Van Jones challenged the vision of a backlash-driven silent majority, claiming, “I think there’s a silent majority of people who have been getting increasingly uncomfortable with what Trump is up to.”

But Jones, Bustos and other Democrats looking to borrow the phrase to win over this crucial voting bloc have the same misconception as Moynihan: that the silent majority wants civility and sobriety. They overlook the fundamental role that race, resentment and alienation have played in why the silent-majority concept has stuck. While these voters are neither silent nor a majority, they feel as though they have been dictated to by a disproportionately powerful minority — and they want a champion willing to fight back against that minority, something Trump does with relish.