"Democrats won't win sacrificing one constituency for another," Rekha Basu's Nov. 17 column headline read. As a self-professed working-class old white guy, I couldn't agree more. I suggest that has been an undercurrent within the party in the past 10 to 15 years directed toward working-class white males.

With the exception of one very short period during an Iowa gubernatorial primary, I have been a registered Democrat my entire adult life. My father was a union plumber for than more than 50 years. I grew up identifying with the bonds between the Democratic Party and union members. I grew up in the '60s and identified strongly with the social and justice reforms promoted by Democrats during those times. I have even run for public office as a Democrat. Lately, however, I feel my party has discarded me. Not that I feel the Republican party has stepped up to represent my values.

Old white working-class males have become pariahs in many Democratic party circles. Increasingly, much of the rhetoric coming from Democratic candidates, who do not fall into the category with which I identify, openly vilify people such as myself simply because they are lumping us into a group that they have labeled oppressors. Much hard work and sacrifices have gone into fighting prejudice based in group identities, yet my own Democratic Party has condoned or permitted such prejudice when it comes to old working-class white guys.

Am I claiming to be oppressed? Absolutely not! I recognize that I have benefitted from privilege afforded me by my gender and ethnicity. I support equity in all areas of life for all individuals. I work to support equity for marginalized groups daily and I recognize the battle isn't over. But I'm losing support for a party that permits me to be vilified by its many of its members, based upon the combination of my age, race, gender, and working-class roots. Recent electoral results tend to show that I'm not the only one feeling slighted.

This feeling of abandonment and vilification isn't new to the past four years. A couple of years ago I contacted an acquaintance who is a member of the Legislature to ask her why the party would allow those in my group to be treated this way when we know that a hint of criticism or disparagement based on being a non-male or a person of color would (rightfully) be met with a storm of condemnation. Her response was "It's our turn now." I asked her how she could expect me to continue to support a party that does not appear to respect or support me, as an individual. Her answer was that I still have more in common with Democratic ideals than those of the Republican Party. While that might be true, I'm not enthusiastic about supporting the Democratic Party by default.

Basu's column hints of talk that some marginalized groups should be abandoned in order to curry the favor and support of white working-class males. Certainly, that is unnecessary. Support for a constituency that includes many white males is not mutually exclusive with support for minorities and other marginalized groups. The party shouldn't abandon those groups, but it should stop acting like it's necessary to ignore or denigrate white men to support those historically marginalized.

If our party (Democrats) hopes to win elections and regain a hand in our representative government, then it better get back to its foundation of supporting working class people. We have to be the party that supports equity for everyone under the law, in employment, in education, in economic opportunity, and in social opportunity. Working class isn't "white male" class. Until our party stops condoning ideation that all white working-class males are misogynistic, racially prejudiced throwbacks to the '40s and '50s, we won't receive the support from this constituency necessary to win elections.

Kent A. Balduchi lives in Des Moines.