| Abstract: | The 1988 American election witnessed a vote for the status quoand divided government, as the Republicans retained the WhiteHouse and the Democrats triumphed for Congressional and stateoffices. The best explanation is that peace and prosperity leftmost Americans satisfied with the kind of government they havehad for the past eight years. Basically the same factors that have correlated with votingDemocratic or Republican since 1934 did so in 1988, with theexception of the White South, which started a movement awayfrom the Democrats in 1948 when Harry Truman ran on a civilrights background, and gradually moved over to overwhelmingsupport for the Republicans. A gender gap, with women votingdisproportionately Democratic also opened in 1980 and has continuedthrough 1988. It seemingly reflects feminists' concerns, sinceworking and single women go Democratic, while ‘homemakers’are much more Republican. The election results point up the existence of two majorities,a Republican presidential one which reflects the identificationof Democratic nominees with permissive liberalism, rejectedby most Americans, and a Democratic one for the other officers,which is related to legislators supporting the interests andvalues of their constituents, the majority of whom favor a governmentwhich is helpful to the underprivileged and to people like themselves. |
