The Disunited States of 'them' and 'us'

IT has been a familiar American political narrative: A progressive Democrat decides to run for political office in a rural district of a Midwestern or Southern state, where most of the voters are hardworking folk. Some of them have lost their jobs recently and those who haven't are struggling financially.

At first glance, it seems that these are exactly the kind of voters who would rally behind a politician who is calling for reducing social-economic inequality, for raising taxes on the wealthy, and for spending more government money on assisting the poor and the needy. As they say, a no -brainer.

So our left-leaning Democrat running in this district launches his campaign, pledging to invest his time and energy by standing up to the greedy billionaires in Wall Street and Corporate America while helping "ordinary Americans like you", supporting, among other things, bills to provide universal government-run healthcare and guarantee tuition-free college education for everyone.