General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: We Just Didn't Know [View all]regnaD kciN
(26,044 posts)...which was, in itself, a refinement of Tricky Dick's own strategy during the McCarthy years. As hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when politicians, even on the right, could have sharp differences of opinion on issues without impugning the patriotism and personal character of anyone who disagreed with them.
Thirty years ago, after Bush 41 defeated Dukakis, one pundit was asked if we now had a "permanent conservative majority." He replied that he didn't know if there was a conservative majority, but that, due to Republican propaganda, there was unquestionably an anti-liberal majority and this was before Fox News. Now, that "majority" has obviously shrunk to a rather-large minority (otherwise, Obama could never have been elected), but there are still enough voters out there who respond to "liberal" much as Pavlov's dogs responded to the ringing bell it sends them into a frenzy of anger and fear that makes them reflexively vote against that candidate, no matter how manifestly-unworthy the alternative is. And, as we've seen, if enough of those voters happen to fall in certain geographic regions, they can give that unworthy candidate the victory, even if the alleged "liberal" gets more votes nationwide.