The Forum 2016; 14(1): 25–37 Joseph Lowndes* White Populism and the Transformation of the Silent Majority DOI 10.1515/for-2016-0004 Abstract: Since 1968 a racially-defined conservative populism – what Richard Nixon called the “Silent Majority” – has been a durable part of Republican political identity. Yet across this era the GOP has continued to move away from protecting the rights and livelihoods of the very middle and working-class whites through which they built the modern party. For decades these whites have been experienc- ing falling or stagnant wages, the deterioration of collective bargaining, and the largest wealth gap in US history – an economic reality that was made worse by the Great Recession of 2008. Today the Silent Majority that made the rise of modern conservatism possible over the last half century is no longer a reliable element of national Republicanism. A combination of downward economic pressure, demo- graphic changes, and political abandonment by GOP elites has created deep rifts that have destabilized the Republican Party and left its future uncertain. Introduction In early November 1969, Richard Nixon’s deputy assistant Henry Cashen sent a request to the Budget Bureau asking for a paper on how existing federal programs impact “forgotten Americans” and how this group could be better served in the future. The White House had been intently focused on what it also called “the Silent Majority” or “Middle America” – a concept that evoked law-abiding, hard- working citizens of humble means and traditional values. Nixon speechwriter William Safire had coined the term “Silent Majority” on the campaign trail, and the White House even established a working group on the idea, headed up by Pat Buchanan. 1 In a response to Cashen, The Budget Bureau stated that there was no clearly identifiable class of “forgotten Americans.” “To single out such people statistically, *Corresponding author: Joseph Lowndes, e-mail: jlowndes@uoregon.edu 1 Memorandum from Henry Cashen from Richard Nathan, Subject: “The Forgotten American,” November 3, 1969, Dent, Box 8, Nixon Presidential Materials, NARA. Authenticated | jlowndes@uoregon.edu author's copy Download Date | 4/25/16 6:16 PM