It is indeed a striking feature of the American political discourse: In determining whether or not something counts as extravagant or aloof, the socio-economic dimension is almost entirely ignored - all that counts are the cultural sensibilities of conservative white people.
https://twitter.com/vabvox/status/1464283160494100487
In that sense, the latest Kamala Harris “scandal” is not just a predictable bad-faith attack from the rightwing outrage machine; it’s also well in line with the established parameters of who gets derided as “arrogant elite” and who gets celebrated as “regular folks.”
The terms “blue collar” and “working class,” for instance, almost always refer to either a type of professional occupation or certain reactionary cultural sensibilities of white people - not class or socio-economic status.
Parading expensive tactical gear and weaponry in public? Must be “regular folks” demonstrating their love of freedom and frustration with the liberal elite-run Big Government infringing on their right to be left alone.
Interestingly, my impression is that the foregrounding of cultural and political sensibilities over class and status is more widely acknowledged when it comes to the term “redneck” - and not only since the rise of the Duck Dynasty madness.
Most people, I think, are well aware that the term “redneck” doesn’t / does no longer imply poor - you can absolutely be wealthy and well-educated, as long as you display certain reactionary political and cultural attitudes.
But when some dude can afford to invest in a collection of kevlar vests and all sorts of weaponry, this is seldom discussed as the extravagant lifestyle of white conservatives (as opposed to, say, liberal elites indulging in “luxury items” like e-bikes).
In that way, the conventions of political terminology are often entirely in line with the self-description of white conservatives - not coincidentally creating and perpetuating the idea of “regular folks” as a clearly racialized category of specific political valence.
This, of course, has been one specific version of the American promise since before the country was even founded: A nation in which white Christian men would get to define what counts as “American,” who does and who does not belong. It’s now the core promise of Trumpism.
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