General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Tell me I'm wrong about the messages Virginia voters sent [View all]Lonestarblue
(9,881 posts)It wasnt black parents protesting at school board meetings about CRT. Republicans are masters at using emotions and fear in their campaigns. We all know, and I suspect that many of Youngkins voters also know, that schools are not teaching CRT. Parents against masks for their children were part of this whole parents rights issue, but much of it centers on white backlash to what they see as the attempt by minorities to gain power at their expense. Perhaps some of them see the issue as Democrats trying to erase their history by bringing up the true horrors of slavery. The removal of Confederate statues, the term defunding the police, the huge protests after George Floyds murder, the census data showing a decrease in whites as a percentage of the total populationall have been used by Republicans to instill determination in their voters to maintain their privilege. Most of them do not recognize it as privilege because they simply want to continue their advantages and they do not care what happens to anyone else. As for exit polls, people lie. No one will say they voted because of racial resentment.
Obviously that wasnt the only reason that people voted for Youngkin, but I think it was a big one because white parents in the rural areas and the burbs thought theyand not the stateshould determine what their children are taught. Its part of the anti-government attitude that Republicans have been cultivating since Reagan. Its evident in Republicans refusing to wear masks or be vaccinated because the government has no right to tell them what to do. By promising that he would ensure that CRT was never taught in Virginia schools, Youngkin was promising voters that he was on their side and would not allow liberals to indoctrinate their children with a history that makes white people look guilty of heinous crimesand its an easy promise for Youngkin to keep because CRT is not taught in any public school. What will happen, though, is that Virginia will do what Texas is doing now and insist that books on racial injustice be removed from libraries and classrooms.
We Democrats (or at least this Democrat) underestimated the significance of the whole CRT issue because we knew it wasnt actually taught. But Republicans are very good at manipulating people and rousing them to anger with fabricated issues. We would do well to address the reality that Republicans win elections on emotions, and Democrats lose them by not appealing to emotions. Policies are good, but Republicans have no policies other than maintaining white privilege through their support of loose gun laws, anti-government rhetoric around personal freedom, and few restrictions on businesses to make as much money as possible on the backs of their workers.
The 2020 election was not a rejection of Republicans, it was a rejection only of Trump because he had done a terrible job with the virus. Without the pandemic, I believe Trump would have been re-elected. And in 2024, barring another wave of infections, he stands a strong chance of being elected again because he appeals to those who want nothing to do with resurrecting the history of slavery and those who want to enact their religious beliefs into law. Along with those who just dont care what happens to the country so long as they get tax cuts and no restraints on whatever they want to do, that is a strong enough base to re-elect Trump. Im not saying we should give up by any means, but I think we need to recognize the motivations of the other side and not just attribute our losses to the economy.