Woodstock Allen
 | |
| Era | The Modern Era |
|---|---|
| Age | 68-78 |
| Home | Burlington, VT |
| Demographic | white, aging boomer progressive, retired |
| Lean | Strong Democrat |
| Race | white |
| Predecessor | Berkeley Leonard |
Woodstock Allen is a retired social worker in Burlington, Vermont, who marched with the New Left in the 1960s and now lives on Medicare and a disability cheque. He is a Democratic base voter who has to keep defending the benefits he already receives.
Who they stand for
Allen stands for the older white progressives of New England. This generation marched against the Vietnam War and now makes Vermont the most reliably pro-Sanders state in the country. Bernie Sanders was mayor of Burlington through the 1980s, and he won 86 per cent of the vote in Vermont's 2016 Democratic primary. Maine and Vermont have among the oldest populations of any state by median age, so this group's politics centre on Medicare, Social Security and disability benefits. The decade brought a new threat to those programmes almost every year. These threats include the Ryan budget plans for Medicare premium support, the 2017 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the 2025 cuts to Medicaid and to the staff of the Social Security Administration.
Castro Marty, an earlier persona, fought for the lives of friends during the AIDS epidemic. Berkeley Leonard, another earlier persona, fought for a marriage that California first granted and then took away. Allen has already won those fights and now spends his energy defending the benefits he has. He is fighting just as hard as they did, but for less, and this leaves him closer to panic than the anger Marty and Leonard felt.
Playing to them
Allen responds most strongly to a president who protects Social Security, Medicare and his disability cheque, and says so plainly and often. A single-payer health system or a lower Medicare eligibility age wins his support outright, and a well-funded Environmental Protection Agency or a pro-union bill keeps him satisfied. He does not forgive any change to the safety net, whether it is called a bipartisan commission, a means test or a private option. He also does not forgive a president who treats the Republican right as an ordinary partner for negotiation, because he sees today's Republican right as the same movement he marched against in the 1960s, speaking more politely. He is vocal when he feels threatened, so a president who loses his support hears about it every month.
Winning Allen's support costs the support of the people who pay for the programmes he relies on. Spending on entitlement programmes, and the taxes that fund it, cost the support of Country Club Craig, Montana Matt and Military Mike. A single-payer health system alarms Miami Maria. The same protection of Medicare and Medicaid that wins Allen also wins the support of Detroit Denise, Gospel Gloria and Appalachian Amber.
Where they live
The five states where Woodstock Allen makes up the largest share of the electorate in the modern era:
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Massachusetts
- Oregon
Lineage
Castro Marty → Berkeley Leonard → Woodstock Allen
The gay and New Left activist of the AIDS generation, whose political engagement is total because the epidemic forced it on him. What changes is what he is fighting for. Marty is fighting for his friends' lives. Leonard is fighting for his marriage, which was granted and then revoked by the court. Allen has won the marriage fight and is fighting for his own Medicare and health. The politics do not change. The stakes get smaller, and his tone goes from angry to panicked because he is fighting as hard as before for less.