When and why did US politicians drop 'working class' from their vocabulary?

[Indy Prez]

I notice in the US pols both Democrat and Republican use the term 'middle class' constantly but no mention of 'working class' families. Why is this exacly and when did it start (at the Presidential level mainly)? I have my own ideas why but I thought this would make for an interesting discussion.

[opebo]

In order to better betray them, obviously.

[DC Al Fine]

I notice in the US pols both Democrat and Republican use the term 'middle class' constantly but no mention of 'working class' families. Why is this exacly and when did it start (at the Presidential level mainly)? I have my own ideas why but I thought this would make for an interesting discussion.

Working class gives off a socialist vibe, while middle class does not. This is amusing, because a large part of the so-called middle class should be working class.

[pbrower2a]

I notice in the US pols both Democrat and Republican use the term 'middle class' constantly but no mention of 'working class' families. Why is this exacly and when did it start (at the Presidential level mainly)? I have my own ideas why but I thought this would make for an interesting discussion.

Working class gives off a socialist vibe, while middle class does not. This is amusing, because a large part of the so-called middle class should be working class.

True. People with middle incomes want to be considered middle class -- especially the working class. "Socialist" remains a dirty word in American politics, perhaps as objectionable as "fascist". Of course, given a choice between socialism without the label and full-blown, anti-human fascism, Americans would largely pick...

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I notice in the US pols both Democrat and Republican use the term 'middle class' constantly but no mention of 'working class' families. Why is this exacly and when did it start (at the Presidential level mainly)? I have my own ideas why but I thought this would make for an interesting discussion.

Working class gives off a socialist vibe, while middle class does not. This is amusing, because a large part of the so-called middle class should be working class.

Indeed, there isn't really much talk about the upper class either. It's always 'the rich' or 'the one per cent' in certain circles or 'the job creators' in other and opposed circles. Explicitly delineating them as a class doesn't occur for whatever reason, so that in American discourse there is a middle class, but what it's 'middle' in relation to is left entirely implied.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The term has hardly ever been used in US political discourse.

[memphis]

Unless they're retired, people in the middle usually work, so I don't see what the fuss is about.  The connotation of working class, is, of course, working poor. Nobody wants to hear about those losers... And middle class "really" means you, the most important person in the world.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Politicians have two jobs.

1. Appeal to the median voter
2. Serve special interest groups

What's more median than the middle class? 

But I totally agree and this is why I am not a Democrat.

[Indy Texas]

They seem to like the term "working families" (not to be confused with the Working Families Party, which I suspect attracts considerable support from families that actually don't work much, whether by choice or by lack of jobs). As in a Democrat saying "Republicans want to leave working families behind and cut taxes on the rich more" or a Republican saying "Tax-and-spend liberal policies are fueling inflation and burdening working families." But this is such a nebulous term that it seems hard to exclude anyone from it except for the idle, dynastic rich, who are the exception, and the idle, squalid poor, who are also the exception.

Political pundits, meanwhile, rely heavily on the term "blue collar" to describe a well-to-do, white collar person's notion of what a blue collar person is. Usually this comes out to be a man of white ethnic (especially Irish, Polish or Italian) ancestry, Catholic faith, a job in which he is likely paid by the hour and wears a uniform, no college degree, and an enthusiasm for prole sports like hockey or mixed martial arts. But unlike working class, this term has virtually no economic significance.

[Link]

I notice in the US pols both Democrat and Republican use the term 'middle class' constantly but no mention of 'working class' families.

Well because no matter how rich or poor they are the vast majority of people consider themselves "middle class."  No attorney making $300,000 a year would call themselves "working class."  But a lot of them are delusional enough to consider themselves "middle class."  It's just basic psychology.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.factcheck.org/2008/01/defining-the-middle-class/

With poll numbers like that who would you appeal to in your speeches?  Even claiming to want to help the poor is dumb because a huge chunk of them don't consider themselves poor.  Americans delude themselves.  Politicians take advantage of the delusions and perpetuate them.  And we continue down the spiral.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Yes, because people don't like to think of themselves as working class, regardless of how poor they might be.

[Indy Prez]

With poll numbers like that who would you appeal to in your speeches?  Even claiming to want to help the poor is dumb because a huge chunk of them don't consider themselves poor.  Americans delude themselves.  Politicians take advantage of the delusions and perpetuate them.  And we continue down the spiral.

Couldn't have put it more succinctly. It's like the way Americans give themselves high-fallutin' job titles like Underwater Ceramic Utilities Sanitiser when they mean dishwasher. Many of them in humour, but yes, it is a uniquely American pretense, this calling oneself middle class when you've got a home maybe health insurance and little else. And the politicians have to use that to win.
 Meanwhile, in Britain the 'working class' label is worn with pride. My mother will scold me for referring to myself as middle class since I was raised for the first six months of my life in a flat in Wallsend and she grew up sharing a bed with her siblings and one TV in the 70s. People will shirk the middle class label if anything.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Yes, because people don't like to think of themselves as working class, regardless of how poor they might be.

Or they are conditioned to identify as "middle class."