Tribalism run amok: Now Donald Trump voters are worried he might take their Obamacare away

[DonViejo]

Rural whites should have figured out that the GOP will slash their benefits -- now they'll find out the hard way

GARY LEGUM

Sarah Kliff had a fascinating story in Vox on Tuesday about Donald Trump voters in Kentucky who are very concerned to learn that the president-elect plans to follow through on his campaign promise to repeal Obamacare. Wait, you are probably screaming right now as you wipe coffee off your computer screen, these voters didn’t think he would really repeal Obamacare?

Well, no, they apparently did not.

Kliff spent a few days in southeastern Kentucky talking to Trump voters who have been able to sign up for health insurance under Obamacare. Along the way she drops some great informational nuggets, such as that the uninsured rate in Whitley County dropped from 25 percent in 2013 to 10 percent now, and that overall Kentucky is tied with West Virginia for the largest drop in the uninsured rate among all 50 states. Such facts seem designed to drive anyone mad who wonders why rural dwellers voted “against their own interests” by pulling the lever in large numbers for the carrot-colored menace. (Trump won 82 percent of the vote in that same Whitley County.)

Seen through the eyes of the people Kliff highlights, though, voting for Trump seems almost rational. These voters all had multiple reasons for supporting the Republican candidate, some of which had to do with Obamacare and some of which did not.

There was an assumption that Trump was lying about repealing the healthcare law, because so many politicians make promises they have no intention of keeping. There was a belief that he would never get rid a program that had genuinely helped them. There was anger at the high premiums and huge deductibles of their plans and an assumption that Trump, with his business background, would figure out how to fix them. And there were those who figured a change at the top was needed to help their little strip of Kentucky, which has been battered by recession and the closing of coal mines, rebound economically.

more
http://www.salon.com/2016/12/15/tribalism-run-amok-donald-trump-voters-on-obamacare-are-now-worried-that-hell-repeal-it/

[underpants]

1. We should rename them the "Combover states"

Instead of the "Fly over states"

[RKP5637]

2. And many are where they are because of the logic of their reasoning. Trump, is one more example. n/t

[TXCritter]

3. "poor life choices"

The right loves to persecute poor people saying they deserve to be where they are because of "poor life choices". This case makes me sympathetic to that argument.

[RKP5637]

10. What I really fault them for is being proud of their ignorance and their refusal to listen

to anything other than what they have been programmed to believe. They've brought this all on themselves and sadly also the rest of the nation.

[Docreed2003]

8. Not a fair assessment...

These extremely rural areas like Eastern Kentucky and even in rural areas within an hour of Nashville, TN, have an extreme disadvantage when it comes to education, news media, and upward economic progression. Certainly there are people who are able to rise up and better themselves from the ingrained dogma of these rural communities but many can't or won't. Ignorance is only a part of this problem. If you had a rudimentary education and lived in a world where the evangelical authoritarian church is Gods own word...even when they're spewing GOP dogma from the pulpit but you don't know any better because it's all you've ever known, and you feel like the political elites have ignored your plight, and the only news you get is evening news at best and Fox News at worst, it's easy to see how so many could be hoodwinked into following Trump. They are victims of their own circumstances and to dismiss them as ignorant fools is not only counterproductive but it confirms the suspicions many of these people have of "liberals". We need politicians who are willing to go to these areas and meet people directly and speak to the issues they are facing. The last time I can point to a politician doing something this meaningful and not just a simple photo op would be RFK in 68 and his Appalachian outreach.

[RKP5637]

12. All good points, especially, we need outreach like JFK did. I feel the democrats have abandoned

them for a long time.

[hollowdweller]

15. I live in rural wv and I think religion has very little to do with it.

It is more branding. In these rural areas FOX, talk radio and the gun culture have created branding that Democrats are only for minorities, want to take guns and are weak on crime and defense. It's more like a club or something or being a republican is a religion in itself relying on faith rather than facts. Also these folks view themselves as opressed. They think it's by the EPA and political correctness but it's really by big companies.

[Docreed2003]

17. That's certainly a part of it as well...

The gun issue is a big part of party affiliations in rural TN and KY. I can only speak for what I know and where I was raised but here religion is a huge part of the problem, so to speak. The Religious Right has skillfully infiltrated evangelical congregations here to the point that the message from the pulpit could very well be read on Fox News. I saw this in its infancy in the 80's in the little southern Baptist church where I was raised. That message is now so malignant that many evangelicals identify only with the GOP as God's representatives to America and view and Democrats as being aligned with Satan himself. That's the dynamic that is affecting rural areas across the south. Until the DNC can build up a grassroots movement to reach out, understand the concerns of these communities, and then represent them faithfullly in DC, then there is no hope for changing minds.

[Hortensis]

18. Thanks for the local report, Hol. Well said.

Agree.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

4. Stories like these allow us to ignore the issue

When we think about it, we know good and well that those people in this article didn't really care about losing ObamaCare at all. Just like the people in Mississippi will vote for legislators who look them in their faces and tell them they won't repair the roads and just like people in Alabama will vote for legislators who look them in their faces and tell them that they won't fund their public schools.

The republicans are able to use dog whistle racism and bigotry, and it works. Given the chance, these people will vote for Trump again. Oddly, this issue is even danced around on DU.

[unblock]

5. in the right-wing bubble, they didn't realize they were voting for policy changes.

they thought they were just voting to get someone on the nightly news to entertain them with bigoted jokes and insults.

[DetlefK]

6. The conclusion of the article overlooks one minor thing:

What it has not done is present any coherent strategy to counter voting behavior that seems irrational.

You cannot use logic on something that is illogic, just as you cannot play football by basketball-rules. There is no way, no argument, that would convince these voters. Because that would be rational.

If you want to convince irrational voters, be irrational. Scream, holler, fabulize, lie, threaten, cajole, romance. That will work. Trump is living proof for that.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Jesus would be upset if I said they deserve it and I will revel in their misery.

That is the only reason I won't.

[strongermessage]

9. These are the same stupid people. ...

who keep re-electing Mitch McConnell.

[WhiteTara]

11. Wait until their SSI checks are reduced.

Then they will really panic. Of course, they won't vote Democratic, and will probably blame President Obama, but shocked they will be.

[hollowdweller]

13. Disability / SSI is a real target of the GOP

They have this theory based on the workforce participation rate that there are all these people out there who if they torture enough will go back to work.

They want everybody to work for low wages and to work till they are 70, even though really, we should be working on people being able to have a secure retirement earlier so young people can get some of the jobs old people are having to hold onto due to necessity.

It's hard to see how this all plays out given the #1 thing most people voted for Trump for was the illusion he would bring back living wage jobs with benefits like their parents had, when 90% of the GOP's ideas would reduce wages and working conditions.

[WhiteTara]

20. Medicaid is right up there too.

Food stamps or SNAP in our state have already been reduced...I have a friend with 2 children and their SNAP benefits are $300 a month. She is unable to work and their SSDI check is around $700 a month. Who can live on that with 2 children? Her life is spent going between food banks to feed her family.

[gohuskies]

14. Falls under the title 'Stupid is as stupid does'

I feel very little sympathy for these people. They swallowed every lie the Rethugs offered up as truth while chanting Benghazi, Crooked Hillary, Lock her up ad nauseum. This is the benefit or lack thereof for their buying the corrupt Orange Man's lies. Let them wallow in it.

[hollowdweller]

16. It's interesting they think of Trump as pro coal but the CHINESE buy a HELL of a lot of coal.

Trump wants to fight with China which could cut coal imports in retaliation, really hurting appalachia.

He wants to move closer to Russia that has plenty of energy.

[ck4829]

19. It's all fun and games when minorities are the ones being threatened, but it stops when it's YOU

[Lifelong Protester]

22. THIS

[brer cat]

21. Ok, so they voted for him

because they didn't believe he would do what he says. That is some mixed up shit. There is also the fact that many of them thought Obamacare was something different from the ACA.

[DavidDvorkin]

23. To hell with them