Pat Caddell, Again

I've mentioned this guy a dozen times in the last year.  Saw him in Milwaukee about 25 years ago; at the time he appeared to be a 'common sense Democrat.'  Those are near-extinct now, but Caddell's still going.

You'll see why when you read his observations, which (by the way) fit with those of Angelo Codevilla.  You should not be surprised, folks.

For more than two years the American people, in a great majority, from left to right, have been in revolt against the political class and the financial elites in America.  ...

...the analysts, the pollsters and most importantly the commentariat of the political class have never understood, and in fact are psychologically incapable of understanding what is happening...

Now comes the really important stuff.

...Several years ago, I began, with my colleagues at Armada, an ongoing, in-depth research project on what has become known as the “Candidate Smith” project...What we learned in our in-depth research was as astonishing as it was unexpected....

...The conventional wisdom that America is absolutely divided into warring tribes is a tired falsehood. Overall, in the attitude structure of the American people, the elements of this new paradigm are commonly shared by upwards of 80 percent of the population...

And what 'elements' are those?  Glad you asked!!

...First, the American people believe that the country is not only on the wrong track but almost 70 percent say that America is in actual decline...

...[Second].... In Armada’s polling we found that a majority of Americans believe that they are better off than their parents were. But a great majority says that THEIR children will be worse off than they themselves are today. This is the crisis of the American Dream...

...Third, when asked whether or not everyone in America plays by the same rules to get ahead or are there different rules for well-connected and people with money, a staggering 84 percent of voters picked the latter....

Lots more at the link, of course.  But here's the pull-quote that's MOST interesting:

...Despite everything we are told day and night – that political battle in America is between Democrats and Republicans – two thirds of the American people believe that the battle lines are drawn between mainstream America and its ruling Political Class. THIS is the battle of 2016 and beyond....

Yup.

HT:  Grim