McCain's Michigan Woes May Widen as Economy Hits Working Class By Heidi Przybyla
(http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=photos&sid=adM8Fq0RTis0) Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Kari Durell, a 38-year-old waitress, had her doubts about Barack Obama after reading wild Internet rumors that he trained with al-Qaeda terrorists as a child. She's voting for him anyway. ``My main issue is health care, and I think a Democrat would do more,'' said Durell, who works at a riverside bar near a _Ford Motor Co._ (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=F:US) -managed stamping plant in southeast Michigan that's about to close. Voters like Durell used to be called ``Reagan Democrats,'' working-class people who embraced _Ronald Reagan_ (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Ronald+Reagan&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) in 1980 and every Republican presidential candidate ever since over cultural issues such as abortion, guns and patriotism. Senator _John McCain_ (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=John+McCain&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) needs their support in a big way this year. McCain's campaign last week, however, pulled out of Michigan, a state that only a month earlier was one of the Republican presidential nominee's top targets. Interviews with dozens of workers and elderly voters illustrate why: Michigan, whose _8.9 percent jobless rate_ (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=USUSMICH:IND) is the highest in the nation, is filled with economic anxiety, and McCain was gaining no traction there. The trials he faces in places like _Macomb_ (http://www.macombcountymi.gov/index.htm) and _Monroe_ (http://www.co.monroe.mi.us/monroe/default.aspx) counties -- largely white, Catholic enclaves near Detroit where many people make between $40,000 and $60,000 a year -- are mirrored throughout industrial battleground states from Ohio and Pennsylvania to Missouri. _George W. Bush_ (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=George+W.+Bush&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) won the support of these firefighters, carpenters, autoworkers, electricians and retirees by a margin of 15 percentage points in each of his two presidential races, exit polls showed. McCain has to do as well. `I'm Not Sure' That won't be easy. Voter thirst for a new economic direction after eight years of Bush is overpowering issues like gun rights, gay marriage and even race that have helped the Republicans run up votes in the past. ``I've been a Republican all my life, but right now I'm not sure,'' said Joyce Moynihan, a retired homemaker and member of _St. Mark Catholic Church_ (http://www.ourchurch.com/member/s/STMARKPARISH/) in Macomb County who's leaning toward Obama. ``Of course, I'm anti-abortion, but you can battle this forever. The economy and the war have got to be addressed'' and ``something dramatic has to happen,'' she said. To be certain, McCain, 72, has pockets of support. Those who plan to vote for the Arizona senator cite concern about what they say is Obama's lack of experience. Some say they see no difference between the two candidates on the economy and plan to continue voting Republican. For a few, the race issue was barely beneath the surface. Avoiding `Race Card' McCain ``has more experience than his opponent, and he's not playing the race card,'' said Ken Benardo, a 49-year-old carpenter from _Flint_ (http://www.cityofflint.com/) who said the country isn't ready for a black president. Brian Bennett, a 25-year-old construction worker from Detroit, said he may begin voting this year, but it won't be for Obama, 47, an Illinois senator. Still, just one voter interviewed, a Republican, mentioned abortion as a main issue. No one cited gun rights or gay marriage, which was such a hot ballot initiative in Ohio in 2004 that it helped Bush carry the state and secure victory. For Cornelia Glowacki, an 81-year-old retired hospital employee who lives in Warren, north of Detroit, morals and values extend beyond issues like abortion to the war in Iraq. ``The big issue with Catholics is the abortion issue, but look at all the young fellas that have lost their lives,'' said Glowacki, who plays cards with Moynihan and other seniors once a week at St. Mark Church in Warren. Economic Survival For most, economic survival is the chief concern. Michigan has _lost 40,000 manufacturing jobs_ (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BLM0MI01:IND) in the past year. And workers interviewed cited anxiety over the rising cost of fuel and health care, home foreclosures, the disappearance of unions and anticipated cuts in Social Security. Most of them wanted Senator _Hillary Clinton_ (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Hillary+Clinton&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) to be the nominee, but now say they'll support any Democrat, including Obama, as the country's economic picture turns grim. They range from a 55-year-old worker at the _Automotive Components Holdings_ (http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=21794) stamping plant in Monroe who is losing his home, to an autoworker, who must drive 100 miles to his plant each day; a sickly, retired pipe fitter, who says there are no good-paying jobs in the state for his children and grandchildren; and a single mother, who recently incurred $50,000 in medical expenses she doubts she'll ever be able to repay. ``We can't afford to drive,'' said Sue Hill, a 43-year-old pipe fitter from nearby Newport who took a $4-an-hour pay cut to work closer to home. Crippling Job Losses Job losses have devastated local families, said Dave Desloover, a 37-year-old counselor to workers at Automotive Components, which is due to close by the end of this year. ``There are a lot of families that are breaking up because of these pressures,'' he said, citing seven divorces out of a few hundred _United Auto Workers union_ (http://www.uaw.org/) members in just the last month. Monroe was once a thriving manufacturing center that provided middle-class lifestyles to generations of immigrants working for companies including Monroe Paper Products Co. and Consolidated Paper Co. and furniture-maker _La-Z-Boy Inc._ (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=LZB:US) The scaling back of the stamping plant and the shutdown of a plastics factory owned by the same company have taken 4,000 jobs in the past year alone, said Royce Maniko, Monroe County planning director. `More Than Two Classes' ``I worked at Ford for 42 years, and my kids won't have that chance, my grandkids won't have that chance,'' said Jim Gross, a 65-year-old retired die maker from Monroe who voted for Reagan and now votes Democratic. ``It's about the middle class. We need to have more than two classes.'' In Monroe, the feeling that the middle class is under siege is so strong that the election has become personal. One worker from a nearby energy plant would only give his first name for fear his plans to vote for McCain would be held against him in the workplace. Around the corner from the plant, at UAW local 723, paper banners decorate the main hall, reading: ``A worker voting Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders'' and ``Out of a job yet? Keep voting Republican.'' In _Warren_ (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BLM7LJ0C:IND) , home to _Chrysler Corp._ (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=2251Q:US) and _General Motors Corp._ (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=GM:US) plants, economic angst is overshadowing cultural concerns, and the anger and frustration is palpable. `Economy Is Terrible' Bill Lovell is a 37-year-old _National Rifle Association_ (http://www.nra.org/) instructor who voted for Republican _Ron Paul_ (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Ron+Paul&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) in this year's primary and now worries about his job as a line worker at a Chrysler truck plant. ``I'm a human, so I'm voting Obama,'' said Lovell. ``The economy is terrible, and we need somebody who actually understands what the working people want.'' Deborah Sanders is a 57-year-old shipping and receiving clerk who frets about the lack of prayer in public schools, talks openly about the role of God in her life and is concerned about Obama's ``background and beliefs.'' Still, she says she's leaning toward him. ``I don't know if our economy and our country can handle another four years of what we've already gone through,'' said Sanders. Her son, a foreman, was unemployed for four years, lost his home and ultimately left the state to find work. Still, Mike Keck, a UAW benefits representative who is working hard to get Obama elected, said it's a challenge to move some workers off the cultural issues. ``We all still have guns. That doesn't change,'' he said. Meantime, ``we're all losing our jobs.'' This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
