Does the 'liberal elite' exist and if so, who are they?

[Mr. Illini]

So, this is the topic that has been bugging me of recent (it is always something). Does this group really exist? A look at the Presidential maps would suggest possibly, as you have areas where there would be considered to be 'elites' living oftentimes voting Democrat. At the same time, wealth levels in almost every area suggest that the richer you are, the more likely you are to vote Republican. That said, those with exceptionally levels of education are more likely to vote Democrat.

Could it be that this is an over-educated but underemployed group? Who exactly are they, where do they live, etc?

[Meursault]

They are the realization of the class consciousness of the American proletariat, which is inverted and idealistic.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

They are people like Warren Buffet who realize it's a good thing if their own taxes are raised.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

In the broadest sense of the word "elite", even well-off people vote in their best interests. Bureaucrats and technocrats vote for their own jobs. Academics, students and scientists (no necessarily financially well-off, but still essentially "elite") vote for grants, funding and looser foreign student laws. Urban people oppose the individualism of the right. Doctors in the UK are typically left-wing, while in the more free-market US they lean right (dentists often lean right in both countries).

[memphis]

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Jon Corzine? There are plenty of big money Dems in Manhattan.

[Heimdal]

I imagine it would be professional and academic elites living on the coasts, in places like New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. This loosely defined group probably has a high degree of education, and earns a decent amount of money.

I think this group is very real, but it probably isn’t the boogeyman that Townhall and National Review make it out to be. The Republican Party has its own elite.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Silicon Valley

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Silicon Valley

Agreed.  The treatment of the homeless and poors in that area by so called "liberals" is perverse. 

[pbrower2a]

That's part of it. American Jews have high-end demographics but vote heavily liberal.

[Hifly]

Arlington Virginia if Non Swing Voter is anything to go by.

[pbrower2a]

I imagine it would be professional and academic elites living on the coasts, in places like New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. This loosely defined group probably has a high degree of education, and earns a decent amount of money.

I think this group is very real, but it probably isn’t the boogeyman that Townhall and National Review make it out to be. The Republican Party has its own elite.

Also Chicago.

Ethnic and religious minorities doing well must see themselves in a precarious spot, perhaps fearing that if the economy tanks they are vulnerable to mass resentment of their professional and commercial success. German Jews were the definitive example of a model minority. Their best defense is the tolerance that come with liberal ideology that never seeks ethnic or religious scapegoats.   

[Simfan34]

[AggregateDemand]

They exist. Usually blue-bloods who don't work because someone else is the bread-winner or because they are asset-owning class who haven't gotten their hands dirty in a long time. In my experience, they are trying to satisfy their own vanity, you know, the kind of people who throw a ball for themselves to celebrate a $1,000 gift to the food bank.

The pejorative "limousine liberal" is quite appropriate, though some are genuinely empathetic people who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. I respect the wealthy social crusaders who imperil themselves for the good of others.

[All Along The Watchtower]

They definitely exist, but I don't know why they get more attention than the conservative elite (The Bush family dynasty? Mitt Romney? Ted Cruz? Not to mention all the billionaires that bankroll the Republican Party and its associated right-wing causes)...

Nothing says you're in touch with the common man like being paid an annual salary of over $60 million to spew hatred against the librul elites. And that's just Rush Limbaugh.

[Antonio the Sixth]

There obviously are people in the Elite who happen to be liberals. Does that make it a Liberal Elite? The notion seems quite nebulous to me.

[memphis]

That's part of it. American Jews have high-end demographics but vote heavily liberal.

Part of it? That's the whole damn meme! Maybe some of the rubes out there in Middle America don't make the connection, but that's exactly what this political posturing is all about. Perhaps Sarah Palin could give you her opinion about banking and Hollywood too.  I remember during the W Jr years, the GOP liked to use the phrase "San Francisco values." Wonder what that one was about

[Simfan34]

Republican anti-semitism. Right.

[krazen1211]

Yes. They are Senators from Massachusetts .They are extremely dangerous folk and the people must be vigilant.

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

Yes. They are Senators from Massachusetts .They are extremely dangerous folk and the people must be vigilant.

BE AFRAID
BE VERY AFRAID

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Yes. They are Senators from Massachusetts .They are extremely dangerous folk and the people must be vigilant.

BE AFRAID
BE VERY AFRAID

I am very afraid of a President Elizabeth Warren .

[Marokai Backbeat]

Silicon Valley

Agreed.  The treatment of the homeless and poors in that area by so called "liberals" is perverse. 

[traininthedistance]

The conception of "liberal elite" as explained by AggregateDemand doesn't really exist, at least not in numbers sufficient to show up on any sort of election map... but CrabCake's gloss on the concept does, indeed, get at a more widespread truth. 

Another thing to keep in mind is the fractional inequality that occurs in wealthy urban areas: if you're a successful professional in Park Slope that's easily part of the 5% or better by a nationwide scale, you may not feel that wealthy if you're rubbing shoulders with the 0.5% and 0.005%, and identify more with redistributive economic policies.  (Also you can't hide from the fact that poor people exist and, even if they're not literally your neighbors, you actually share the streets and the subways with them, so their situation becomes human to you rather than some distant problem for somewhere else.)  Recall where Bill de Blasio came from, after all.

[TJ in Oregon]

Of course the liberal elite exists. They are predominantly educated professions and tend to live in at least one suburb in almost every major city: in Cleveland see Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, in Milwaukee see the North Shore suburbs especially Shorewood, in Chicago see most of the northern half of the metro area but in particular Oak Park and Evanston, here in Madison see, well, almost everywhere as it would be quicker to make a list of areas not part of the liberal elite.

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

Yes. They are Senators from Massachusetts .They are extremely dangerous folk and the people must be vigilant.

BE AFRAID
BE VERY AFRAID

I am very afraid of a President Elizabeth Warren .

I know you are. (I think that's ridiculous but whatever.) But krazen said Senators, plural, which includes the deeply conventional and nonthreatening Markey.