If the bottom line were the bottom line, every state would be blue.

[Garrett78]

Last edited Sun Nov 3, 2019, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)

Dear nation,

Stop already with this nonsense about how Trump or Republicans more generally win because of pocketbook or kitchen table issues. Stop already with this nonsense about how Clinton's message wasn't focused on economics. It was, heavily so.

It's the racism, stupid.

If economics were truly every person's bottom line, so to speak, the Republican Party wouldn't survive. It would cease to be a viable party absent racism and sexism.

Sincerely,
Garrett

P.S. Kiss my ass, Brokaw.

[Igel]

1. In other words, it's all about $.

That's the problem with cultural diversity: Not everybody shares the same cultural values.

There's also the problem of which facts are considered true versus those which are veridical, which are partial, and which are false--and which are functionally false because they're partial and skew the syllogism. Different echo chambers "resonate" to reinforce different facts and arguments.

[Garrett78]

3. No, it isn't all about money. But if Republican voters were truly driven by...

..."kitchen table issues," hardly any of them would vote Republican. Some still would out of sheer ignorance, but my point is that Republicans aren't in power because Democrats don't focus enough on economics or because right wing economic policy is in the best interests of your average voter. The uber-wealthy and some who don't know any better would vote Republican, but they wouldn't constitute a large enough electorate to sustain the GOP. Racism and sexism sustains the GOP. Absent bigotry, the GOP simply wouldn't be a viable party.

Economics dominated Clinton's message in 2016. Any suggestion to the contrary is disproved. And any suggestion that Democrats should shy away from talking about systemic racism or sexism, or shouldn't impeach Trump, because "kitchen table issues" are the only thing that matters to people (in North Dakota or anywhere else) is an asinine notion.

[dchill]

2. Plus, Hillary actually won, anyway.

So there's that.

[world wide wally]

4. A little dose of truth shouldn't hurt anybody...

Unless their soul is corrupt

[KPN]

5. Broad generalizations make good broad generalizations.

I agree regarding racism (but it’s also bigotry), and I also agree that it’s kitchen table issues. They aren’t mutually exclusive, especially as generalizations.

Oh, I also agree with your sentiment re: Brokaw.

[Garrett78]

6. Bigotry more broadly, yes. But racism is the single most important tool in their tool box.

As I wrote in the thread about Brokaw's comment, we aren't going to win North Dakota and it doesn't have a damn thing to do with impeachment. Nor does it have a damn thing to do with soybeans, or economic policy more broadly. It has to do with cultural/social biases.

There was a story about how a white male Trump supporter with no health insurance was fine with dying (dying!) so long as "those people" didn't get health insurance that they "didn't deserve." That was the gist of his message. And, yeah, he died.

[MineralMan]

7. If the subjunctive mood were dead, surely someone would have informed me.

It's not dead yet, but is surely experiencing an excruciating mortal illness.

Just a little grammar Nazi humor...