STILL wondering when Americans are going to fall out of love with Republicans.

[HughBeaumont]

In May, I posted this.

And after November 8th, I'm still left wondering.

How, after

* Nixon and his tenure of incompetence and illegal shenanigans,
* Tone-Deaf and bumbling Jerry Ford,
* Reagan and all of the scandal and ruin that happened during and because of him,
* Bush Sr and his recession and war,
* documented and data-backed evidence that Republican economic policy leads to awful periods of contraction, stock market crashes and joblessness,
* The obstructionist 104th Gingrich Congress,
* The DimSon and his reign of stupidity, incompetence, war and TWO recessions (the latter being the worst this country had seen in seven decades),
* The obstructionist Boehner and then Ryan Congress,
* Mitch McConnell, just about the most useless Senate leader in Modern American History,

. . . how, after ALL of this, with all of this information and visual evidence at their hands can people STILL be so vexingly in love with Republican politicians? WHY ARE THEY LIKED MORE???

How do they STILL see them as these heroes, these strong leaders who care for their needs? I DON'T have an answer to this. All the narrative control in the world shouldn't hold precedent over your eyes, your bank accounts and your futures.

I'm extremely disappointed in this country. I seriously thought we would grow up and get smarter by now.

You say I'm wrong? Pretty soon, with the control of that precious Judicial branch, the Plutocracy will be complete. They have most of the states, governorships and legislatures. They have the media. They have religion. Corporate America has them. Where am I wrong here?

The worst part about it all is . . . they don't even have to work nearly as hard to convince voters that their side is better as we do with ours. They just get away with selling them hope dope/religious fear. We have to have extensive ground game, county/state strategy, perfect messaging, politicians without an OUNCE of flaw whatsoever, etc. etc. etc.

All they have to do is bring a popular brand name, bring a few wedge issues and cooked-up conspiracies, disguise themselves as a populist and they win. The public believes them without an ounce of question and it's fucking ridiculous that they fall for it.

[Fast Walker 52]

1. this is EXACTLY my huge frustration. It's insane. But a HUGE PART of it is the news media

Not only the rightwing media, but also the centrist pundit industry, who thrive on "maintaining balance", no matter how horrible and evil and treasonous the GOP are. It's a sick sick system. I don't know what will change it.


The media is corporate, and the GOP still is pro-corporate, so that's part of it.

Another part of it is education (which they undercut to keep the system going for them) and human psychology (that is biased towards fear and distrust of "the other" (minorities, city folk, gays, etc). Religion also reinforces a conservative viewpoint.

One ray of hope is the younger generation which seems to be remarkably liberal.

[HughBeaumont]

3. You know what they say about balance . . . .

"Half a kitten isn't half as cute, it's a bloody mess."

Proof positive is the fact that this Putin Hack-A-Thon scandal is going to disappear faster than you can say "Iran-Contra" because it makes Republicans look bad.

[Fast Walker 52]

4. Yep-- both sides!

[yeoman6987]

10. Baby boomers were liberal in the 60's and then conservative in the 80's and beyond

I hope millenials don't fall in the same routine.

[Fast Walker 52]

12. yes-- my worry too!

[Willie Pep]

32. I suspect that they will as they get older.

I hate to be a downer but I do think that many people become more conservative as they get older. I don't think it is because they become wiser but because the Republican message that all of the people below you are out to steal your hard-earned money resonates with a lot of people once they are in full career/family mode. The GOP has a powerful message that seems like common sense if you don't look at it too hard.

[kag]

42. Not sure about that.

In the 80's I was a repub like my parents, but as soon as I moved away from them and saw what the "real world" was like, I switched quickly to the Dem party. My brothers figured it out while they were still at home, always taking the "liberal" side of arguments against my dad (yeah, I'm a little slow) . We are all four still hard-core liberals, and so far all of our kids are as well.

I grew up in Texas and all three of my brothers are still there, not exactly an environment that reinforces liberal beliefs.

I think the stakes are higher for today's kids and young adults, and I get the sense that they understand that.

I know I'm being a little pollyanna-ish, but I guess a girl can dream...

[retread]

39. My memory tells me liberal baby boomers were a distinct minority.

I do recall in both '68 and '72 elections there was much noise made about the "youth vote". Nixon was elected both times!!

[D_Master81]

14. Honestly...

i live in 1 of the deepest red areas of 1 of the reddest states in America, Indiana. I think it wouldnt matter what the republican party does, many people will vote AGAINST the Dems b/c of pro-life, pro- traditional social issues, etc and wanting the "govt to stay out of their life". It wouldnt matter to many what the Repubs do...their family has voted republican for the past 70 years. I imagine this is true across wide swaths of the country. Instead of beating your head against the wall trying to figure it out, just accept it.

[Fast Walker 52]

16. Yes I live in central Indiana too and basically they will vote for ANYONE with an R after their name

Still sucks.

[LonePirate]

2. They will never stop supporting them.

It really is all about God, guns and gays along with power, racism and misogyny. There is no hope in ever changing them.

[Cosmocat]

18. Correct

nm

[bdamomma]

20. they are just really mal-informed.

I heard that trump wants all the US to be dixie, they just can't stand free thinking people.

they hate progressive people you can tell just by there labeling of people, democrat party what the they is that, and libral what sick ass people, and they feel entitled to do what they please????? NO this is our country too. They are infringing their sick ideas and making society deteriorate.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

5. Simple. GOP makes them feel okay about their selfishness, racism, and other regressive tendencies.

Why make uncomfortable changes or evolve when you've got a huge support group telling you you're fine the way you are.

[HughBeaumont]

7. "No one's looking out for the white guy anymore."

The joke is, I'm not kidding. That IS how they think.

[bdamomma]

26. I found this article pretty interesting

https://www.thenation.com/article/intersectionality-is-the-only-path-forward-for-the-climate-movement/?print=1 by Naomi Klein

one excerpt whch is true:

When large numbers of white men find themselves hurting and insecure…a lot of them get mad. bingo!

[Cosmocat]

19. YEP

nm

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. People in this country (I'm sure not the only ones) just looove a fake tough guy. Now they

have the ultimate fake tough guy to be the fucked dysfunctional father they crave to have.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. I am really starting to believe it will be another 50-100 years, which is why

we are thinking about leaving.

[Initech]

9. They own the media and denounce anyone who disagrees.

Classic strategy out of a dictator's playbook. They've been holding us hostage and their voters are experiencing Stockholm Syndrome.

[WhiteTara]

11. It's really simple.

Hatred for other. God is just for me and my friends is their religious creed.

[bdamomma]

21. hey do they

know God wasn't of their color (he didn't look like Jeffrey Hunter King of Kings if anyone remembers that movie) , he was a man from the Middle East. Let them choke on that.

[WhiteTara]

29. Come now! You know

that Jesus and Santa are WHITE!

[bdamomma]

35. .......

[SubjectiveLife78]

13. "I seriously thought we would grow up and get smarter by now."

If you don't vote the way I vote, you're a stupid child. Keep saying that, and people aren't going to fall in love with you. They may be that, and they may never listen to a word you say simply because you're on the other side, but I'm guessing people that vote for Democrats don't like when Republicans talk down to them either.

I'm sure the other side can make up a laundry list if things they find obviously wrong with their political opponents too. Not sure that's going to solve anything.

Not that there has to be a solution to this problem. Despite our global infrastructure, we're still a tribal species. The internet has only given us the ability to get ever more trapped inside our own individual heads, and communicate with even more like minded people, and it's easy enough to block out or mute anything that doesn't agree with what's inside our own head already. That goes for all sides in politics.

It's not just an American thing either. You can see dysfunction anywhere you go on this planet. And don't say, but it's 2016 already, as though some random number that means nothing outside of the human imagination is supposed to matter. Is the number of times we've gone around the sun from when we started counting supposed to objectively mean a certain thing? Like we're supposed to be here by now on the ladder of progress? Are we going somewhere? Is there a goal or finish line?

[HughBeaumont]

15. PLEASE.

This isn't about "not voting the way I vote". This is about deciding institutional and systemic racism, blatantly selfish economic policies, not inconveniencing rich people and longstanding & rampant misogyny aren't deal breakers . . . or believing such things even exist. Sometimes, wrong is just plain WRONG and we shouldn't have to kowtow to people's pet hates in order to reach them.

What laundry list of things are they going to find wrong with us? "Oh, I simply HATE the way you want to help everyone but the very rich men!"? "You suck because you think there IS such a thing as racial injustice and oppression!"? "What's so WRONG about wanting to have an occasional war or two?"? REALLY?

Yes, we ARE supposed to be moving past binary thinking by now. We're not living in the cusp of the Neolithic Revolution here.

[SubjectiveLife78]

24. "Yes, we ARE supposed to be moving past binary thinking by now."

Sometimes, wrong is just plain WRONG and we shouldn't have to kowtow to people's pet hates in order to reach them.

We're supposed to have moved past binary thinking, but wrong is also sometimes just wrong? So situational binary thinking, depending on what the thinker thinks is right and wrong?

Should or shouldn't are always fun words. A lot of binary in there. Shouldn't have to kowtow to this or that group to win in politics. I guess that's accurate, but at the same time, there's a reality of the situation we all live in, and everyone has to adapt to it. Adaptation isn't always easy. I don't know if there's a good answer. Shouldn't have to. There's a lot of things that shouldn't happen, but they do. To use a current topic, should people lose their job to automation? I don't know. No? What will they do? Yes? I mean, progress must advance, even if it leaves people behind.

What laundry list of things are they going to find wrong with us?

I don't know, but I'm sure they have them. You can think their list is wrong, but they don't. Who's right? I don't know, in a non-binary thinking world, who gets to choose who is right and wrong? Unless we do still think in binary terms. Do we? Yes or no? Maybe only some people?

We're not living in the cusp of the Neolithic Revolution here.

No, but, the number of times we spin around the sun doesn't change all that much(does the spin start on January 1st?), and the never ending battle between the Individual vs. the Collective rages on. Most people will fall into either category depending on what the context of the debate is. Some like the collective approach, unless it's, say, one person trying to get out of a religion. Then what the individual wants matters most. On the other hand, you can be for all sort of individuality, where you can pick and choose who you want to be in life, until it comes to paying taxes to support the greater community. Then the needs of the many outweigh your small personal wants or desires.

So I guess humans are situational non-binary binary thinkers. Or something like that.

[DonCoquixote]

37. it's one thing to say "what is truth?"

and try to wash one's hands of hard questions. However, when the actual results stack up, you can see that at the very least, certain things do not add up. Whenever they run for office, the GOP rails about the deficit. The last GOP that got into office (from Reagan to both Bushes) ran up the deficit horribly. Trump's current plan adds 4 Trillion to the deficit.

You can go on and on with the GOP, from the War in Iraq, to Healthcare, where frankly the results of giving the GOP what they want results in harm. Even if the only crime of the GOP is to fail on their promises, they have done so in a spectacular fashion. It is not wrong to ask how come one party gets held to account on everything, and the other seems to get an endless amount of free passes.

Now, you may be trying to be a realist, trying to tell liberals that they need to stop assuming humans are logical at all. If so, I can see that, however, I would say there is something more at work, namely that one party is able to manipulate the culture of "red states" better, and a lot of that is because of an ugly truth Obama got pilloried for saying, that the rural folks in America do cling to their guns and god. Of course, there is room to speak to rural America without being patronizing, but when you have a culture that wants to defend the right to use ak-47s to shoot deer, or to sell said guns to whoever they want to regardless of criminal record (like whoever sold the guns to Dylann Roof) then we cannot just do a Pontious Pilate and say "what is truth?"

[bdamomma]

23. Welcome to DU

yes it is certainly sad some people just can't grasp anything.

[Iggo]

17. They'll stop when they quit seeing politics and government as team sports.

When they stop loving their party more than they love their country.

Don't know when that'll be.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

22. I don't know how well they are actually liked

but their people always get out to vote for them. Ours don't in the same numbers most of the time. That is part of the problem, along with people not wanting to participate in "politics"- like it's just a part-time "hobby".

[ileus]

25. Why there is even another side of politics makes no sense.

Our ideas and ideals are perfect in every way, why is that so hard to understand. Why can't we get our message across to these people...we need a way to outlaw their way of thinking.

[Paladin]

28. Give it a rest. (nt)

[HughBeaumont]

30. If "outlawing" racism, misogyny, homophobia, and rampant & damaging greed is a thing . . .

. . . . sorry if it angers you, I'm kind of on board with that.

Nice false dilemma.

Name ONE positive contribution the GOP has made to America in 20 years. NAME. ONE. /in before "do not call list . ."

[ileus]

34. Isn't that what I said?

[unblock]

27. the very day greed and hate fall out of fashion.

[COLGATE4]

31. About 2024 nt

[pansypoo53219]

33. sadly when the media gets over REAGAN.

still licking his dead ass. the are TOOO RICH NOW to give a shit.

[HughBeaumont]

36. If churches could canonize that bastard, they would.

So naming everything after him is the next best thing.

[StevieM]

41. In many ways Reagan was worse than George W. Bush. His presidency was a real turning point

in our country, and not for the better.

[Warren DeMontague]

38. Our party is bigger, and more popular.

Theirs is just more spread out, and due to the nature of our system, that translates to more power.

[Different Drummer]

40. Never. The GOP has appropriated flag, guns, and Bible and

made those "issues." Most Americans can understand and relate to these "issues" and anyone who doesn't regard such things as being of the utmost importance (which many assume to be Democrats) is regarded as "the other" and is to be feared and mistrusted.