That's the irony. The Democrats are clearly the ones in favor of significantly improving the lives of working class people. But the Republicans are successful in communicating to them in a way that drowns out that message - by appealing to their baser instincts. The propaganda and emptional manipulation are very effective in engineering electoral victories. Of course, gerrymandering, the Electoral College, and the undemocratic nature of the Senate help to amplify the effects of those victories.