Breaking: Mullets Draw Favor in Bluegrass State

Mullets Draw Favor in Bluegrass State



May 4, 2008

LOUISVILLE - Working-class whites, although a shrinking segment of the overall U.S. population, will be incredibly important to the determination of this year's presidential election. In 1940 they accounted for more than 85% of adults 25 and older; by 2007, that percentage was only 48%. These voters tend to be concentrated in states that have been most competitive in recent presidential elections. As a result of their potency as a voting bloc and their importance to what the Clinton campaign has deemed "the important states, the Democratic candidates have increased their outreach efforts to this dying demographic by campaigning in small, rural towns across the rust belt.

In a new study for the MacGyver-McGruber Institution, visiting fellow Billy Ray Buckner argues that the test for Democrats is not whether they can win working-class whites outright but whether they can hold their losses from 2004 and capitalize on the lower end of this demographic by seizing that all important "low information mullet head".

Senator Hillary Clinton has been very successful in this regard. She has consistently held on to this demographic even as she has lost other key groups of her coalition, including white women and seniors. She has reached out to these voters by proposing plans for a "gas tax holiday" and has reversed her position on trade agreements like NAFTA by arguing for stronger trade standards.

But there is one other key element in her plan to reach these voters: the mullet.

Senator Clinton's hairstyle has evolved throughout this election to resemble the "mullet", a cultural and often times political expression of the white working-class voter. The mullet became popular in the 70s and hit its peak in the 80s. But the decline of its mainstream popularity did not stop those in the white working-class demographic from continuing wearing the hairstyle.

Earl Cyrus, 46, Pikeville, has worn a mullet since 1979. He has voted Republican in every election since 1980 and is a self-identifying "Reagan Democrat". Asked why he votes for Republicans even as he identifies himself as a Democrat, he said "the Democrats haven't embraced my values for a long time. My people don't sip lattes and drive compact cars. We like beer, guns, pick ups, and mullets. I didn't leave the Democratic party, they left me."

Earl's sentiment is held by many in the so-called white working class demographic. They like mullets. They like beer. They like guns. They like pick ups.

"You see, Democrats seem to think that stuff like jobs, education, the economy, and the Constitution are the most important things on everybody's minds. I don't think so. When you clock out on a Friday evening, nobody's thinking about the Constitution. They're thinking about getting in their pick up, driving over to the Kroger to pick up a case of Budweiser, polishing the rifles for the weekend, and bowling a 300 at Stardust Lanes. What does the Constitution have to do with that?"

Asked why he thinks "mullet heads" will be an important key to the race in Kentucky, he smiled and pointed to the mullet he has grown since 1979.

"People will finally come to understand the power of the mullet. Hell, Hillary Clinton understands it. She has one now. My wife has one. My boy has one. My grandmother has one. If people can't respect our way of life, then they have no business coming around here."

Asked whether he believed Senator Barack Obama has a chance to earn the votes of "mullet heads" or white working-class voters, Earl, seemingly confused, had one question: "Can black people grow mullets?"