The Party Of The People Is...

...NOT the Democrat party.  Michael G. Franc's illuminating column at NRO shatters this myth by looking at presidential campaign fundraising statistics through this point in the year.  Read the whole article for more background, but I've summarized the key numbers into a comparison of the giving by career segment and how it broke down for the winning party:

CEOs: $5.7 million to $2.3 million (Dem)
Presidents: $7.2 million to $6.1 million (Dem)
CFOs, CIOs, general counsels, directors: 2:1 margin (Dem)
Wall Street: 2:1 margin (Dem)
University professors: $3.7 million to $430,000 (Dem)
University students: $4.1 million to $1.4 million (Dem)
Doctors: $8 million to $4 million (Dem)
Lawyers, teachers, accountants, journalists and writers: 'enormous' advantage (Dem)
Biologists, chemists, physicists, and plain old scientists: 'solid' advantage (Dem)
Rocket scientists: 'slender' advantage (Rep)
Media: 'heavy' advantage (Dem)
Unemployed: $14.6 million to $9,775 (Dem)

So who contributes to Republicans?

The white-shirt/red-tie brigade of Republican presidential aspirants holds a nearly three-to-one edge among janitors, custodians, cleaners, sanitation workers, factory workers, truckers, bus drivers, barbers, security guards, and secretaries. While Democrats command the financial loyalty of architects, Republicans successfully woo contributions from the skilled craftsmen who turn their blueprints into reality — specifically, contractors, hardhats, plumbers, stonemasons, electricians, carpenters mechanics, and roofers. This trend extends to the saloons, where the Democrats carry the bartenders and the Republicans the waitresses. The GOP field even secures more financial support from teamsters, steelworkers, bricklayers, and autoworkers.

This is a prime example of where perception doesn't match reality.  The public sees the Democrats as the party of the poor, the minority, and the working man.  The reality, based on these numbers, is precisely the opposite.

There's my two cents.