About the "Republican" White Working Class...

[King of Kensington]

That's interesting, but why are you using such a narrow definition of working class?

(Though I agree the whites without college degrees as a proxy for white working class has its limitations).

When I think of the populist right constituency, I think it's largely made up of white men without degrees but they're usually not poor and they're often petty bourgeois rather than working class.

[King of Kensington]

controlling for both simultaneously, a higher income tends to make people more right-wing (because of economic "class" voting) while a higher education makes them more left-wing (because of cultural "values" voting).

That's pretty obvious.

[King of Kensington]

I could try to look for an "occupation" variable, and if there is one, filter out college students. On the other hand, the ANES codes individuals from the 33rd to the 67th percentile in a single income category, so there's not much I can do there.

The vast majority of people in the middle third are working class, IMO.

[King of Kensington]

Yes.  Working class is not defined primarily by income.  It's a matter of relationships and power.

http://tinyurl.com/jjhefna

[King of Kensington]

An engineer making $120k might be "working class" by Zweig's definition

No, said engineer would be middle class.  Most professionals and managers, as well as small business owners, are middle class.

I find it strange that a self-professed socialist uses a more narrow definition of working class than mainstream commentators who use no college degree as a proxy.  

[King of Kensington]

It's an imperfect proxy, but it's far better than "bottom third."  A majority of those without degrees are working class, a majority of those with are not.

But I agree should be an occupational definition.  Maybe something like the NRS social grade?

[King of Kensington]

I'd go with 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22 - that would give you an overwhelmingly working class sample and capture most of the working class.