General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Many Trump voters are NOT a lost cause... [View all]BainsBane
(53,032 posts)They don't vote Democrat, and it has nothing to do with policy. Political science data shows that people vote based on cultural signfiers rather than issues. And of course race and gender are part of culture. That is as much evident among Democrats as between Democrats and Republicans. To this day, significant numbers of Democrats refuse to even look at what Clinton proposed when she ran for president. They didn't like her, and that's all that mattered. We then see demands to adopt this or that position=-like jobs, when that is what Clinton talked about continually. Only they weren't interested in listening.
The only person I recall calling anyone stupid was not in the GE and it was directed at African Americans. In fact, the very people concerned with any criticism of Trump voters have repeatedly insulted the poorest and most marginalized Americans. Clinton's comment about the deplorables was a gaffe, but when put up against the truly staggering vulgarities Trump engaged in, it can't compare.
Here is what I think is happening with a number of white voters, especially men. They are angry that politicians don't speak exclusively to them. They believe themselves oppressed, despite earning well above the national median income, because some women and people of color have opportunities. They don't like hearing about black lives matter or women's rights. They want a government that centers them and only them. And that view is not restricted to the GOP.
Now how to we address that without again becoming the party of Jim Crow? Perhaps we should stop worrying so much about people who despise the Democratic party and its electorate and focus on standing up for what is morally just rather than catering to the basest elements of the American psyche? Why is there no discussion whatsoever about what is right rather than "brand" and "messaging"?