Steve Bannon May be Gone, but Economic Nationalism is Here to Stay

Lee Drutman was mentioned in a Financial Post article about how the shift towards economic nationalism is greater than Steve Bannon. 

Many Democrats and Republicans share an economic strategy encapsulated in America First — protect jobs at home and support government activism.

These conclusions are supported in an impressive study by Lee Drutman, a political scientist at New America and winner of a prestigious award in his field last year. Comparing the 2016 and 2012 U.S. election results, his research suggests that Trump created a voter coalition by capturing not just right-wing economic and social Republicans but a majority share of voters who were both left on economics and conservative on identity issues (social conservatism includes taking pride in America, limiting immigration and pursuing moral issues such as abortion and gay rights).

Drutman’s results are striking — 55 per cent of American voters are now social conservatives. Free market policies, espoused by Mitt Romney in 2012, gather support from only one-quarter of voters. Any Republican politician such as Ted Cruz on the economic and social right would lose an election. Neither would Democrats focused on the economic and social left win an election.

Thus, the 2016 election expresses strong support for economic nationalism.