Silent Majority politics fused working and middle class whites via taxpayer and meritocratic identity.

Evidence

At the national level, the mobilization of the Silent Majority depended upon a populist discourse that obscured the divisions between working-class and middle-class white voters and defined Middle America through an identity politics based on taxpayer status, consumer rights, and meritocratic individualism. — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 80

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the substance of ‘color-blind’ conservatism as an identity politics of taxpayer status and meritocratic individualism rather than avowed race.
• XREF: connects to: Colorblind conservatism rebranded white residential privilege as neutral meritocracy. — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 8; Busing opponents inverted civil rights language to cast white taxpayers as an aggrieved majority — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 41; Working class people rationalize the status quo through meritocratic beliefs — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2232 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Busing opponents inverted civil rights language to cast white taxpayers as an aggrieved majority #exemplifies (0.83) — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 41
• Postwar tax exemptions for employer benefits expanded coverage down to white working-class taxpayers #expands (0.78) — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 357
• Working class people rationalize the status quo through meritocratic beliefs #expands (0.76) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2232