"Read Settlers" is a meme, but it's also a true meme. You should read it, or read other things about this thesis regarding the white working class in the US (I've heard other Marxists have since improved on Sakai's thesis but I don't know who they are).
White Americans are doubling down on the racism. As white settler colonialism is starting to face just a little bit of opposition (like teaching kids that maybe the US isn't a perfect, God-blessed country), they are losing their minds over the idea of losing even a tiny bit of their privileges. This is still a perfectly material explanation. White folks have enjoyed an incredible level of privilege since the beginning of this country and they will fight viciously to keep all of it.
IMO the bulk of white Americans are a lost cause. Not to say white folks can't be revolutionary (I'm white), but I think we probably should be spending our very limited time and resources on folks outside the imperial core break from western imperialism, and focus on the oppressed within the core. Any white Americans who want to join in are welcome but any concession to white supremacy is unacceptable.
Edit: to clarify, I'm not saying the Dems lost because racism or whatever. I don't care if the Dems win or lose, it doesn't matter. My point is much more about using electoral results and the campaigns that precede them to see where winds are blowing. It seems that "CRT" and fear-mongering about crime (and thus the need to fund even more cops) was a very effective message in appealing to large segments of the population - particularly the white population.
Naw, never said that. Electoral outcomes can be useful as a temp check for wider opinions of the people / workers in a community.
Extreme example: if a city elects someone who is openly a member of the klan, that tells you something is fucky. Could be voter suppression or low turnout instead of wider support, but it’s one data point.
For example, we can hazard that the one of the "wider opinions" of Virginia is that Terry McAuliffe sucked and people didn't like him.
oh yah, no doubt there. If being against racism was important to these folks though, they probably would have voted against the GOP or not voted at all even if the other guy was mediocre. Again, temp check and not the end all.