Non-poor Whites and the Republican Party

This is an astonishing statistic:

Here's a story about a report that argues that Democrats have lost the votes of the white middle class.

Among the five principal findings are that white middle-income voters supported President Bush by 22 percentage points. The study concluded that the "economic tipping point -- the income level above which white voters were more likely to vote Republican than Democrat -- was $23,700."

The federal poverty guideline for a family of four is currently $19,350, so I don't think of $23,700 as middle class. I'd put it this way: the moment you get out of what might reasonably be defined as poverty, you become likely, if you're white, to vote Republican.

(Internal links omittedited because of my laziness.)

Hat tip to Southern Appeal.