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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy some of America's poorest counties vote Republican
I know this topic has likely been done to death, so apologies for that.
In my view, the following things explain this phenomenon:
1. The urban-rural political divide.
2. Religious fundamentalism (especially true of the South and its bordering regions).
3. Utter lack of organization of or institutional resources for working-class and poor people in many poor, rural Republican-voting areas.
4. Racial homogeneity (read: white people) and race-based status anxiety.
5. The general kind of cultural stubbornness and suspicion of outsiders or "urban elites" that a lot of rural people seem to have.
These are a few of my guesses. Any others?
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HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Who do you think elects people like Michele Bachman and Sarah Palin?
And racism plays a large factor, especially in their warped sence of entitlement. "We work hard and deserve our welfare, "those people" are lazy criminals and don't deserve it". This is also true all over the US, not just the South.
AlinPA
(15,071 posts)racism factor and the warped sense of entitlement.
atreides1
(16,799 posts)While it's true that religious fundamentalism can be found all over, I tend to think in the cases of Bachmann and Palin that it was the belief in their message of fiscal conservatism that helped to get them elected!
Neither was known for their religious fervor until recently...and racism does seem to play a major part!
As LBJ said:"I'll tell you what's at the bottom of it. If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)summation of the Sanford Decision. https://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/no-rights-which-the-white-man-was-bound-to-respect
pinto
(106,886 posts)
Quantess
(27,630 posts)
RedSpartan
(1,766 posts)Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)Anger and fear are both natural and useful to humanity. They don't necessarily lead to hate and suffering. That said, I appreciated the allusion.
-Laelth
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Obviously, just look at animal behavior. Fight or flight. These are necessary reactions to keep us from being eaten or beaten.
But in the spiritual sense, fear and anger are destructive. This is nothing anybody told me, it is just something that I know.
meow2u3
(25,250 posts)then fear and anger itself.
Republican voters tend to take out their fear and anger on "the other" instead of the people who are actually making them suffer, i.e., greedy corporations and billionaires and the politicians and judges who are in their back pockets.
BlindTiresias
(1,563 posts)A lack of compassion extended to them limiting their own ability to show compassion.
ladjf
(17,320 posts)today.
"Those who aren't getting any, don't want anyone else to get any either."
Over and over, I've seen human behavior that seems to substantiate this statement.
Those who are getting some, should try hard to assist those who haven't succeeded as yet. It would benefit everyone.
Yet, all over the World, rich people are doing everything possible to hinder the efforts of the less fortunate.
By the way, when I used the word "any", I meant that to be whatever people feel that they needed.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)I have, and continue to, run into those exact dynamics when around conservatives from my own spectrum and lower income.
If there's any more to be said, it would be further detailing of each of those 5 reasons.
valerief
(53,235 posts)BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)A lot of rural people are simply not used to people constantly lying to them as a daily occurrence.
It takes some time for someone to develop "street smarts" which is just a way of saying...filtering out the lies and bullshit.
Again, most rural people don't develop the Filter that city-folks do...and consequently are easier fooled.
At least, that's this person's take on it
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)god, thump the bible, wave the flag and most of them fall into line never questioning one who uses such tactics ... it's like believing all well dressed people are honest and respectable, or that the pastor is a man of god and superb wisdom. They often have no street smarts and seem to have little concept of propaganda and misinformation. In short, they are naive and gullible!
dem in texas
(2,681 posts)Shows example over and over of these church going ,naïve and gullible people, all eager to give their life savings to some Bible thumping shyster.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)marriage! And that the frightening Gays are a Nazi Movement! 
Laelth
(32,017 posts)
And then this ...
-Laelth
Historic NY
(40,003 posts)
AndyTiedye
(23,538 posts)and that is all that matters.
GeorgeGist
(25,570 posts)BAD
chrisstopher
(152 posts)What the hell do they even need a brain for?
TBF
(36,573 posts)The religious component is huge all over the heartland (including areas that used to be strongly union). Some are true believers, but many are really into the social aspect of belonging to a church. That is strong in suburban areas as well as rural.
Marie Marie
(11,256 posts)2pooped2pop
(5,420 posts)They don't take the time to educate themselves on the matters but they do understand those short phrases. Republicans use commercial marketing techniques and they are effective at making the people vote against their own best interest.
DemocraticWing
(1,290 posts)Southeast Kentucky is an extremely poor area that has voted heavily Republican since the Civil War, for presumably very different reasons than they vote that way today. A lot of people who don't know a lot about politics simply vote however their parents, grandparents, etc. voted and just assume whatever party they belonged to is right even when the message has changed drastically over the years.
riseabove
(70 posts)
Ghost in the Machine
(14,912 posts)mention. My parents moved me to this town when I was 13 years old, during the summer between 7th and 8th grade. Back then, there were only 2 counties smaller than ours in the whole State. We moved here from Miami, Florida... talk about 'Culture Shock'! It seemed like they rolled up the sidewalks at 6pm!
I wasn't into State or National politics then, but local politics was a different animal altogether. I mean, hell, I went to school with the City and County Mayors' daughters! I might as well say I went to school with *everyone*. as our school taught from Kindergarten thru 12th grade, with a total of a little over 500 students in the whole school. Everyone knew everyone, and half of them were related. By 10th grade, I figured out I was still considered an 'outsider' here because I wasn't born here and I couldn't wait to graduate and move away! I moved back to Miami within a week after I graduated.
Flash forward 25 years, I had decided to get my small children out of Miami and wound up back up here because we still had property here. I got involved in canvassing for the 2006 elections, and all I heard was how "Democrats want to take our guns away!!!" I tried explaining the logistical impossibilities of a Nationwide ban and confiscation, I showed them where the Democratic Party Platform *supported* the 2nd Amendment and anything else I could do. Even showing them, in writing, how the Republicans wanted to do away with their Social Security, Welfare and foodstamps, I still couldn't get through.... and the worst part is that most of them are on welfare, foodstamps, disability, SSI and/or have our State provided medical benefits. Several even live in the Government housing projects.
My breaking point came when I had one guy tell me "my Grandpappy would come up out of his grave and get me if'n I ever voted for a Democrat!!" The fools will get what they deserve for voting against their own best interests, as far as I am concerned now. I won't waste any more of my time talking to a generation of ignorant fools who were raised by ignorant fools, who were also raised by ignorant fools. I hope the cycle breaks one day soon, but I have a low tolerance for ignorance and just can't subject myself to talking to these fools anymore. They make me want to smack some sense into them and I don't trust myself not to anymore. They piss me off that much!! I find it easier to just vote, then hang around with the few like-minded people I've met around here.
Good luck to the rest of you who find yourselves in a situation like mine, and may you be strong enough to handle it differently than I have. I'm permanently physically disabled, and also suffer from stress/anxiety, and these people can't be reached and just aren't worth the toll it takes on me mentally and physically.
Peace,
Ghost
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)While my "beating my head against the wall" situation is not as bad as yours, your post accurrately describes what we're up against.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)Because in those days, Southern Dems were the supporters of Jim Crow, and Repubs were still "The Party of Lincoln". Unless, of course, they had short times between generations (which would not surprise me either).
get the red out
(14,031 posts)I agree with everything you said. I go even further, though born there I have an absolute hatred of the culture to the point that I can't stand to eat like that culture eats. I was born there and was an outsider anyway. Conformity is demanded and differences will get you will shunned. It is a closed system that places little value and even suspicion on education. Too many people want their children to stay "home" no matter if they have no opportunity.
I hate it when some liberals wax poetically about Appalachia and I have been scolded on a different liberal web site for not understanding the wonders of this culture.
To put it bluntly; it is part the fault of liberals for seeing this culture as beautiful and in need if preservation like a lost Amazonian tribe or something. These are people that pride themselves in their own ignorance, maybe the young can be reached through education, but not the adults.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Georgia town from Southern California, the local supermarket was purchased by a slightly more "cosmopolitan" one that stocked a handful of suspicious, foreign things like fresh ginger and Napa cabbage, which presented an opportunity for some (only some) checkers to display that peculiar pride in their ignorance -- or rather, lack of corruption by outside, un-Godly influences. Having them smell how good and chatting about my favorite recipes didn't persuade them to give up their posturing, but frowning at being "inconvenienced" and recommending they find their way to the produce section to get acquainted did.
A lot of the people around here have the term "conservative" itself very deep seated as an identity, right after and closely tied to Christian for the majority who are devout. Although like conservatives in general they can't really explain what conservatism is, they know it is not "liberal" or "progressive" and are thus assured they are always the good guys by default. It says so on their label, no need to do their homework.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)B Calm
(28,762 posts)
alp227
(33,272 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)People are scared of these changes. The ones that are most frightened tend to vote for conservatives.
-Laelth
get the red out
(14,031 posts)
Native
(7,349 posts)I'm in Florida where there are more registered democrats than republicans, and yet....
ileus
(15,396 posts)If our party would stop being regressive on the 2A we could sweep all 50 states.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)The two biggest reasons. The people there are deliberately kept ignorant and brainwashed.
Zambero
(9,977 posts)When one's world is still a very small place, and any suggestion of change or outside influence is perceived as a threat, then the seeds of conservatism will take root and any other considerations, economic or otherwise, are quickly discarded. In tribal societies, fear of the unknown was the norm, and was employed as a means of survival. Any suggestion of cultural change was resisted, and if it took place at all it was through a slow evolutionary process, short of a hostile takeover by enemy tribes. The hereditary manifestation of ancient tribalism remains omnipresent in today's human gene pool, and while it serves very little purpose in modern society, it enforces ignorance to the point of opposing one's best interests in a complex society. Fear works, while persuasion does not work. A few will have a personal epiphany and wake up to reality, but it will on their own initiative. However, the majority will hold onto ignorance as a safety blanket, much to the delight of the corporatists and religious zealots who will exploit their fears at every turn.
nobodyspecial
(2,286 posts)but a lot of people are just fucking stupid.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)All socially conservative, to put it nicely.
Mayberry Machiavelli
(21,096 posts)I don't get the impression that any of the poor and working class GOP voters I've met are people who expect to ever get rich. I've found most of them go with the GOP because Fox and the rest of the GOP play on shared resentments, i.e. "we hate the same stuff as you", which is primarily racism but also antiintellectualism, resentment against people who are not religious, who are gay, etc.
Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)Everything else is secondary.
The South was Democratic until the Civil Rights Act passed. They weren't Democrats as one would recognise Democrats today; most Southern members of Congress were just as conservative then as they were now. They voted Democratic because the Republicans were the party of Lincoln; the solid Democratic South was in part lingering resentment over the Civil War (Southern Democrats were a significant part of the so-called "Conservative Coalition" in Congress from the 30's-60's).
With the Republicans casting the Democrats as the party of welfare, handouts and affirmative action? A lot of rural whites vote Republican because "I don't want my tax dollars going to those people". Other cultural issues like abortion, gay marriage, guns, and immigration play a significant part as well, but racism is the number one reason for the Republican Party's electoral success with rural voters, especially in the South.
moondust
(21,283 posts)Culture of carrots and sticks used to produce conformity and loyalty and ostracize "weirdos."
tblue37
(68,422 posts)GOLGO 13
(1,681 posts)Only the young & the coming Latino tsunami wave will affect change in red states. It's happening little by little. The Gay rights movement in this country gives me hope for further change.
I hope I'm around when Texas goes blue.
merrily
(45,251 posts)Religion--the kind that stands the words about judging and taking care of the poor, etc. attributed to Christ on their head-- has indeed played a role, as has deliberate race baiting, but you have already mentioned those.
So has messaging, and without adequate response from the left. Poor people been convinced that it's somehow unfair to begrudge rich people their god given right to get richer, to own politicians, to pollute the air, to get tax breaks, etc. Yes, talk radio is part of the messaging, but it started even before FOX News and talk radio.
Weakening of unions. The strongest and largest unions are not necessarily in the private sector. And unions of first responders have gone more Republican than Democratic, perhaps because of different views of what "being tough on crime" means in practical terms.
Changes within the the Democratic Party. It is not the party of the poor and the unions in the way that it was once--or maybe the way that it was once seen. "Limousine liberals" was not a catch phrase in Truman's day.
And so on.
sendero
(28,552 posts).... I don't really give a shit why the unwashed doofuses vote the way they do. They are sowing the wind and they will reap the whirlwind and I will laugh my ass off.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)more than they worry about actual policies. Tell rural white Protestants a rural white Protestant man is screwing them over, and it passes through like wind. Tell them a black man or a Democrat (or godforbid both) is trying to get them healthcare or infrastructure, and they are suspicious, even if those things actually appear.