[Ticonderoga34]

No, I don’t think the blue bloods are chauvinists, I think they are elitists.

They don’t feel comfortable with populist politics, where you speak what you believe in a non apologetic manner. They are about “manners”, “civility” and not rubbing someone the wrong way.

They are about apologizing for what we believe, and Sarah doesn’t do that.

I get the sense that it's white collar vs. blue collar. People like Jeb Bush and Ronmey are white collar. And Sarah Palin is pure unapologetic blue collar. And like you said, the blue bloods don't feel comfortable with members of the working class.

[patriciaruth]

Elitism is not just a problem of the privileged class.

JEB and Romney are not white collar (middle managerial class). They are from wealthy backgrounds and privilege.

George W never bought into all that because he was the first born and lived a fairly middle class life in his early years when his Dad was working to build financial security. JEB came later and was much more immersed in financial security and the milieu of well off friends that come with that.

Elitism can be based not on money but on a feeling of intellectual superiority, that you know better what’s good for people. This is the fault that JEB and Romney seem to be falling into now. And it is a combination of financial privilege and a feeling of intellectual superiority that creates this elitistic attitude.

Or it can just be a feeling of intellectual superiority. Communists don’t all come from the financially privileged. Some just feel morally and/or intellectually superior and forge ahead with their beliefs about how to rise to the top (probably more for fulfilling their own ambitions than for the benefit of their fellow humans - a la Obama)