In the run-up to the 2016 election, Republicans are trying to position themselves as the party of the middle class. It may well work, but not because Republicans are in fact reformist, but rather because voters and pundits blow off facts and instead focus on rhetoric. When it comes to actual empirical evidence, the answer is indisputable: Democrats preside over far more income growth for the middle class than Republicans.
Princeton University's Larry Bartels has two studies on politics and income distribution, and together they encompass almost a century. His finding: under Republicans, the poor and middle class see almost no income growth, while under Democrats, they see dramatic growth (see charts)
Every Republican president in the past 60 years has presided over increasing income inequality, including Dwight Eisenhower
In another recent study, Alan Blinder and Mark Watson find that on a number of economic indicators, the country fares far better when a Democrat is in office. GDP growth is 1.8 point higher under a Democratic presidency, unemployment is lower, corporate profits are higher, the S&P grows faster and wages grow faster.
With my right wing friends, I've found that facts are often an anathema for them.
I found out long ago that fact do go well with either the left or right. It is really easy to deflect responsibility to the other side, thus there is no need to fix a thing, just blame the other guy and carry on down the same path.