The return of "the angry white male"

One of the defining elements of the Clinton administration was the shape and tone of his opposition, at the time called "the angry white male." The argument for why was a little complicated, changing US demographics, shifts in the relative power of race and gender, changes in employment, the fact that Republican politicians are primarily white, male, and old....

But, anyway, the primary Republican political face/force of the era was "the angry white male," which consolidated in the rise of your Limbaughs and Gingriches and the incredible heat laid on Hillary Clinton.

(Stray thought: Did the "contract with America work because men are more rule observing and definitional?)

Well, that same element may be coming back. We've seen the FoxNews hosts, the re-rise of Limbaugh, the beginnings of racism.... and now, we add the fire.

In previous recessions, veteran workers were largely spared the pain of widespread job cutbacks, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Layoffs tended to be concentrated among younger workers: The younger you were, the more likely you were to get fired. Traditional, bread-winning older males — especially white men — were the least vulnerable....

Not so today. Aging Baby Boomers are suffering a harsh employment bust....

Glenn Beck: Barack Obama has “a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture....” The "upset" over the Henry Louis Gates thing. The attacks on Sotomayor. That wonderful (now recurring) phrase "reverse racism..."

We're seeing the return of older, white male victimology.

Brace yourselves. It's coming back. And this time they have an entire cable news network.