Another Year of the Angry Voter

Furious Americans elected Donald Trump, now the tables have turned and Democrats stand to benefit from the anger.

By Susan Milligan Senior WriterFeb. 23, 2018, at 6:00 a.m.

AN OLD AXIOM OF American politics is that parties (and candidates) need to present a positive, affirming vision for the country, much as Barack Obama did with his "hope and change" theme, and Ronald Reagan offered with his "Morning in America" message. It's not enough to be against something, the conventional wisdom goes. You have to be for something.

But for Democrats and left-leaning independents, it's all about the anger this year. From #Metoo to #MeNext? (a gun violence awareness meme) to Dreamer deportation threats, activists are taking a new tack: Get Mad. Get Even. And Get Elected. The year 2016 may have appeared to be the year of the angry voter, the camp that showed up chanting "lock her up!" and "build the wall!" at Donald Trump rallies and – defying political predictions – elected Trump on a wave of fury. More than a year after Trump's win, the vitriol is still high. Only now, it is coming from the other side, fueling speculation of a Democratic wave in this fall's midterm elections.

"I do think that anger is shaping up in the form of resistance and persistence" this year, says Nate Hale, a political science professor at Seton Hall University. It's partly issued-based, he says, noting the protests held by women, climate change activists and immigrant advocates. But it's also a reaction to an election result few expected, he notes. "We're seeing groups of suburban soccer moms who are offended by the fact that Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton. That is a personal offense to them. And I think those are the folks that are organizing, those are the folks that are angry, and those are the folks who are going to make a difference in the next election."

The year-plus since Trump's election has been marked by a series of protests and movements, not all of them directly related to the president himself. The day after his inauguration, millions showed up for a Women's March, highlighting matters ranging from equal pay to reproductive rights to sexual harassment. Climate change activists followed with a March for Science. When Trump's travel ban against visitors and immigrants from mostly-Muslim countries was announced, people flocked to airports to show their support for the travelers (and offer legal representation). Demonstrators in favor of keeping Confederate statues were met with counter-protesters (who also showed up to defy white nationalists at a rally in Charlottesville, Va.). The already-established Black Lives Matter movement continued with such events as the June 2017 Minnesota march to protest a not-guilty plea in the police shooting of Philando Castile.

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