You're so right. But the original sin was extremely specific and earlier than Carter. The New Left made a conscious decision in the late 60's to walk away from economic issues that concerned every working American and focus on "A Rainbow Coalition" i.e. social justice issues. IMO, that was both politically foolish and bizarrely racist, as it deeply presumes that people are first and foremost their race. It's not true, and never really was. We each have a race, sure, but class is the overwhelming driver of political sentiment in America and each race is a class-divided as America as a whole is. Back in the day, "The Trump Base" was critical to any governing majority, and was more Democrat than Republican. Until the late 60's the Trump Base was our base! Today, they have come to hate the Democrats bitterly because the Democrats vilify them and despise them. The blue-state intellectual and media establishment despises the working person on a visceral class level and only gives a pass to working people of ethnic minorities that, ironically, they think of very much as the Victorians thought of their imperialist charges. It's an attitude remarkably similar to "the white man's burden" of yesteryear. I see no reason to think this arrogant attitude will change--in fact, it seems to be getting rapidly worse as the Dems increasingly focus on racism and ignore the wholesale transfer of wealth to the already rich that has been going on for forty years.