Why do so many suffering economically vote Republican?

[BillZBubb]

WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS?
How Conservatives
Won the Heart of America.
By Thomas Frank.
Metropolitan Books, 306 pp. $24.

There is a review of this book at the link below. Author Thomas Frank has sought an answer to a question that baffles anyone with any intelligence. Looks like it might be a good read.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/ae/books/reviews/2620513

[porphyrian]

1. Ignorance and Faith

If you don't need facts to believe in something, you can believe in anything despite the facts.

[Warpy]

16. Sorry, but that's not the whole story

Poor folks vote for Bush because he offered them tax cuts. They don't vote for Democrats because all the Democrats offer them is business as usual: the same rotten tax code, stagnant wages, offshored jobs, disappearing benefits, and a generally procorporate and antilabor bias. Add to that the perception that the Democrats are a bunch of college boys who don't know what a real day's work looks like, and you can well see why these guys vote GOP if they're not evangelical nutcases.

Evangelical nutcases vote GOP because, well, they're nutcases.

[Eloriel]

48. Ya know, Warpy, I'm going to ask you to document all that

Because it reads exactly like rightwing spin (aka: shit) to me. IOW: I don't think it's true. Cite(s)?

Thanks in advance.

[ladjf]

65. Warpy, you must be living in a different country than the U.S.A.

[Worst Username Ever]

The answer,

simplified, is that generally speaking the lower economic classes hold religion and the military in very. very high regard. GENERALLY speaking, democrats do not hold these highly, and therefor the right appeals to these voters more. Also, I think less education = more gullible?

[Ripley]

6. That is not true.

I bet there are more Democrats who are veterans (especially in Congress) than Repukes. Got a link for "generally, Dems don't hold military and religion highly"? Or is that just something you heard someone like Rush say?

[Worst Username Ever]

14. Not a Rush fan

Who is more likely to have a son or daughter in the military, lower class or middle-to-upper? Also, which administration is historically more likely to give MASSIVE funding to the military (see: Reagan, Bush Sr, Bush Jr)? Repugs.

[tandot]

18. "democrats do not hold these highly" ... over-generalization

Some Democrats just prefer not to wear religion on their sleeves. We have enough sense to know that not all people are Christians and prefer not to disrespect people based on their religious beliefs.

Counting all the religions across the world, Christianity adds up to only about 33%.

http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

[Worst Username Ever]

30. Of course it was a generalization

That is why I put the phrase "generally speaking" in my post. Of the working poor in the US, who account for the majority or the lower-class republican vote, I am sure you will find that the prevalence christianity is a lot higher than 33%. Again, I am not saying that democrats are not christian, just that the repugs DO wear it on their sleeve, and the lower economic-class people see this and identify with it.

[ladjf]

66. I believe that you are correct.

Could it be that as part of the lower income class, they have endured generations of abuse and are , therefore, more afraid of being attacked. In that case, the military and religion would be likely to assuage their fears.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. I don't know what the book says as I have not read it, but...........

average Americans with average incomes vote conservatively because they are MORONS.

[sweetness]

22. isn't it....

Morans?

[Peregrine]

3. Repub policies maintain an underclass

and it is always nice to know that no matter how bad off you are, there are those worse off.

[sniffa]

4. they were promised 73 virgins in heaven

[Joanne98]

5. stupid ignorance

I can't believe how many people vote against their own interest. You have to ask them, to their faces. Why are you so stupid?

[markses]

9. Or perhaps they vote the way they do cuz the other guys keep asking them

why they're so stupiud. See how playing on populism works for the GOP? You're helping their strategy.

[lanparty]

76. Exactly ...

This is my only big beef with Janine Garafalo. She keeps talking about how people are dopes. This doesn't exactly help one convert people.

Calling people idiots is not a very good strategy for bringing them over to your side. Rather, you have to emphasize that these people are being deceived, and it's really not their fault.

Forgiveness is golden. You have to FORGIVE them for being duped just like Jesus would ;-)

I'm sure that we've all had the wool pulled over our eyes for one issue or another. I'm sure a LOT of us got duped with that whole world trade argument about "helping people in foreign countries". Hell, I still run across liberals that are bulldozed by this argument. BILL CLINTON was snowed by this and he STILL believes it!!!!!

So try not to be so judgemental about people who got duped by the wing-nuts. Appeal to their humanity. Plant the seeds of doubt in their head. Let them grow there.

[markses]

7. Frank is asking a restricted version of the question that has occupied

political thought since Marx: Why do those exploited by capitalism desire capitalism, or, why do people desire their own repression. People have given up on the "They're dupes" - or "ideology" - answer quite a while ago (for a variety of good reasons), and moved on to others. Frank continues on with a variety of the same.

Have you read "The Conquest of Cool" and "One Market Under God"? Both pretty interesting reads, IMHO.

[rfranklin]

8. Because they hate black people, and gay people...

and anyone who they suspect might be having it "easier" than them--and they resent those who might be having more fun than them, especially sexually.

The Democrats had them until they let those damn coloreds have their way.

It's most apparent in the Freepers who cut their own throats and side with the ultra wealthy while chortling about how they're making those damn libruls cry.

[redqueen]

20. Yep, this is it

Sad, but I've heard it FAR too many times to think it's NOT the usual reason.

:(

[stavka]

75. I agree it's a big reason for many, and one the author makes...

though not in as blunt terms. I think they also have a USA is better than everybody else attitude, that allows them to be tricked into having to defend positions that they would not normally take in a vacuum

[Bluebear]

29. Bingo.

[Az]

40. Its not that they hate

Its that they do not have direct experience. They often do not know many minorities and thus only can go by the popular representations of them. They simply have no basis for understanding the plight some people have to go through. They are given images of welfare queens and drag queens and from this they are expected to form a realistic picture of life for people they never actually meet.

As we progress in this society we uncover increasingly hidden prejudices. As we unearth these they have a corespondingly lower impact on those that make up the bulk of society. This doesn't mean its any less wrong but it becomes increasingly difficult to communicate the nature of these wrongs to those that do not directly experience them. Thus when they are called on to shoulder the burden of correcting the matter they simply do not have an understanding of why they have to shoulder the burden.

[redqueen]

52. I disagree

I've been trying to get out the vote for Democrats in TX, and it's not hate, it's more resentment. They resent what they perceive as unconstitutional favor (college entry exams being the most popular example) being given to minorities. Really just Blacks, because they've told me (and I really don't care to check), Asisans don't get favorable treatment so it's not just minorities - it's Blacks and Mexicans.

Also there is the phenomenon by which they manage to only notice the situations that fit their preconceived notions. They notice Black people when they behave in the ways that back up what they want to think, then conveniently don't consider those Blacks who don't fit the stereotype they want to believe.

It's sickening and frustrating and has me just about ready to throw my hands up and give in.

[Az]

54. Lack of experience would lead to resentment

The resentment is directed towards their being required to carry part of the burden for something they have no experience with. Thus there can be hatred involved but it does not come from hating minorities (focus on blacks and mexicans). It comes from the inconvienience they are put through because of these factors. The burden becomes the motivator of their resentment.

[redqueen]

56. I see what you're saying

but honestly... I've discussed this at length with too many people, too many times, to think otherwise. They've worked with blacks, for blacks, around hispanics, have gay friends, etc. etc. etc. It's not that gay day parades are inconvenient, it's that they have to tolerate them AT ALL.

It's not that they think all black people are lazy and undeserving, neither is it that they dislike black people automatically... it's that they think things like: 'until there are quotas for keeping sports teams at least 70 percent white, black people shouldn't complain about the ratio of black coaches!' and other such stimulating thoughts. The eensiest weensiest tiny teeny speck of unfairness in favor of minority groups negates any need for anything to 'level the playing field', because obviously (to them) the playing field is slanted in minorities' favor in certain areas.

[Az]

59. Well of course

The people they meet are in their social circles. That means they are likely at similar levels economically and educationally. Thus this just further exasterbates the issue. They figure if these individuals could lift themself up to their level there is no reason others can't either.

They are not exposed to the numbing conditions that large numbers still exist within. Poverty and descrimination combine together to form a devestating effect on communities. Due to the biological natures of our brains its not a simple matter of tossing the books in front of the kids and expecting them to get it. Without nutrition and a positive healthy environment their brains simply will not have adequate conditions to develop fully. If they have not made significant progress by their teens the brain begins pruning itself leaving behind only that which it can determine it needs to function into adulthood. If their learning skills and development are not in place by that time there is little hope and they may become economically untouchable.

The problems are far removed even from the minority members that escape the trap. They may be unaware of the crushing conditions their fellow members experience. They simply cannot convey the realities of the worst effects of discrimination and poverty.

[redqueen]

64. Ah but this is not the case

I'm talking about talking to POOR republican voters. They know economic disparity. They know it firsthand. And they can't for the life of them get over the fact that their kids will not get an extra 10 points on a college entrance exam. This despite the nearly undeniable fact that their kids won't even make it through high school. It's so sad. So very sad.

:(

However! Light at the end of the tunnel: Jesse Jackson has written an editorial about Appalachia and is touring the region trying to draw attention to the plight of the poor there. This one effort by him has done more to get certain poor people to open their minds to the thought of voting Democratic than anything else I have tried.

[lanparty]

79. I remember when I was small ...

Like you said, I had no experience with people of color. So when I encountered them, I was somewhat scared.

It takes exposure and common experience to break down these walls of ignorance and fear.

[daligirrl]

49. You're very correct. . .

I think people underestimate how much race has to do with the Repub appeal to the white underclass. It's a "nod nod, wink wink" kind of thing. "Look, we don't cater to those people. We don't say it right out, but you know what the deal is." Everything is coded.

[ladjf]

67. This Republican strategy that you so accurately describe

started when Reagan realized that the Southern strategy was the answer for the Republican party. He kicked off his campaign in Philadelphia, Ms., the infamous site of the recent murder of several civil rights workers. I'm from the South and can verify this first hand. Racist Democrats switched to the Republican Party (1) for racial reasons, (2) religious reasons and (3) the perception that they would also gain financially.

The joke of them is that the Pubs got elected, shut out the minorities and BOOM, started the practice of off shoring the jobs.
I'm moving into a subdivision containing 1,100 houses. During all of this construction, I saw not one Caucasian, nor one black doing construction work. Where are all of them working now, the ones that built the houses fifteen years ago?

[yankeedem]

72. Ding Ding Ding

They need someone to blame for their predicament, and as Rosalyn Carter said about St Reagan "he makes people feel comfortable with their prejudices". Pardon me if I blew the quote, correct me if I'm wrong.

[lanparty]

78. No ... they're AFRAID of brown people !!!!

Fear leads to hate,
hate leads to suffering!!!!


They've been taught to FEAR. For a more precise explanation, see "Bowling for Columbine". ;-)

This is NOT a new strategy. It is as old as reconstruction. Turn poor white folk and poor black folk against one another. That way, they'll be too distracted to fight for their rights as lower/middle class folks against the aristocracy.


This is why conservatives opposed school integration so desperately. They realized that if white and black kids grew up together, they wouldn't HATE each other out of fear and ignorance.

Both communities suffer from this. The black community is so hung up on "reparations" that they cannot see that poor white folk are NOT their real problem. They have much more in common with poor white folk than they know. Poverty is NOT a race issue!!!!!!

[anelson]

10. Hey...they are rich....

and when I get rich too, I WANT MINE. Screw everyone else....When I GET RICH.

Its the lottery mentality. Its the "when I grow up I am gonna play in the NBA" fantasy...The Cons milk this fantasy for everything its worth, so these folks will vote against their own immediate and ultimately long term interests, in the name of a fantasy. Oh yeah, Born Agains are just intellectually lazy....can't forget that, too!

[ladjf]

68. All of the above posts together answer the question.

[vetwife]

74. They love them Guns and since that is all they really have are convinced

We are going to take them away ! Also if you have an R by your name you get Faith based grants and get away with all kinds of things in the court system. Can't be locking up a voter now can they? Felon roll call..Dems and independents that is who is on the roll !
Blacks, browns, gays, and people of any religion other than christian just don't fit the puritan lifestyle. And love them guns !

[lanparty]

80. We register cars ...

But nobody takes THOSE away... even when we SHOULD!!!!!

[vetwife]

85. I know..I know but they don't get it ! Too Mush Rush and Falwell

[arissa]

11. It's really simple: both parties use wedge issues

To split the lower class against itself. Guns, abortion, gay marriage, whatever - you name it. This pits the majority of the country, the working class, against itself - neutralizing it's danger as a force for real progressive change.

Both parties are complicit in this scam, and most people fall for it. That is why the Republicans are scared to death of "class war," and use every opportunity they can get to accuse their Democratic opponents of using it. This keeps giving it a bad name, because they know if there ever was a real class war, they'd get their asses whooped.

So it's really quite simple: wedge issues. Do you really think Bush and Cheney give a crap about gun rights? Hell no, they just use it to suck up votes of people that would otherwise have no reason to vote for them. The same goes for most other wedge issues.

[BillZBubb]

23. True, but why are wedge issues SO successful?

Even with the Repugs controlling all of government, their wedge bug-a-boos don't get fixed. Seems like the average people out there would quickly catch on to the scam.

As for class warfare, the Republicans have been successfully and unrelentingly waging it since Reagan. The rich are handily winning a stealth class war. The Democrats, unfortunately, have either been complicit or afraid to call them on it.

[stickdog]

35. Xenophobia is the oldest political trick in the book.

Dumb fucks eat it up.

Always have, and seemingly, always will.

[lanparty]

81. I'm hoping Howard Dean ...

I hope Howard Dean's organization successfully resurrects a DEFENSE against the class warfare that has been largely abandoned since Truman left office. Roosevelt fought a class war and eventually WON!!!! He brought about the "golden age" of the fifties when workers were well paid in union organizations.

The Democrats have become partial sellouts. And they even now pander to the shallower aspects of minority topics that ends up splitting their real demographic, the lower/middle class. Basically, they help turn poor white folk and poor black folk against one another. Jesse Jackson DOESN'T HELP!!!!!

My god, when o when will Dr King come again????? He was the last genuine "UNITER" that our country had!!!!

[Nimble_Idea]

12. SIMPLE ANSWER = Minorities.

I don't have to explain it here, you all know.

[phillybri]

44. I agree wholeheartedly...

There is a pervasive sentiment among many whites (rich and poor) that the Democratic party "gives away too much to the blacks."

The GOP plays on people's fears, insecurities, and prejudices...

[Az]

13. Burden

They do not see the benefits of creating a society that lifts all. They see it as a burden. They work and struggle and do not see the sense of bending to help anothers burden. They see taxes as stealing from them to pay off people that do not work as hard as they do. They see rich politicians padding their own accounts and mucking up the works for them.

The problem is not that they do not have it in them to help another. It is that the society has become so complex that they have lost track of exactly how they are helping others. So much of their tax dollars go to help people who they will never meet. They cannot be aware of the good they are contributing too. At the same time they see their life as being full of stress from immediate surroundings and pressures. There is an apparent inequity as they see things. As they cannot know the suffering they are helping to allieviate they have nothing to compare their own suffering with.

It is in this complex arena the right offers a seemingly easy answer of cutting taxes. They create the illusion that by getting rid of these programs and cutting the taxes the common people will reap a great financial benefit. But there are all manner of hidden costs and consequences. As they cut the infrastructute out from under the people the loss of benefits no where near compares to the tax cuts the people recieve.

[shadu]

15. they always look down and they never look up

They are all concerned about people getting SSI for
doing nothing when they have to work hard for the minimum wage.
They do not inderstand the bigger picture.
They are easily led around with concepts like religion,
military, patriotism and nationalism.
They don't understand the world and they don't really want to know.

[indepat]

17. The ignorant,, the apathetic, the brainwashed, and the brain-dead will

account for most.

[Liberal Classic]

19. What ever the reasons are

From reading these posts, it would seem that it cannot be because they've made up their own minds. Sheesh.

[redqueen]

21. If they were actually USING those minds

they might realize that voting for the guy who's against letting blacks have an advantage in college admissions tests means they vote for the guy who's cutting taxes on the rich and forcing the sacrifice on them.

[Liberal Classic]

26. Good grief, man

I don't agree with the Republican party platform, but this thread smacks of elitism and condescension.

[redqueen]

27. Reality right now smacks of a return to the bad old days

of two classes - upper and lower.

It's one thing to disagree about how to deal with pollution and conservation issues.

It's another thing altogether to hold an idea in your mind that the poor should shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of maintaining the commons.

[Liberal Classic]

32. non sequitur

People wonder why a lot of poor rural whites vote Republican and then turn around and call them stupid beer-swilling racists who are incapable of making the right decision on their own.

Duh.

[redqueen]

34. I'm not pulling this out of thin air

I've been out in the trenches talking to people about what they expect from the GOP, especially now that they're so OBVIOUSLY incompetent.

Amazingly, these repub voters agree with me about corporate welfare, corporate corruption, healthcare reform, etc. etc. etc... the sticking point? AFFIRMATIVE ACTION and GAY DAY parades. On edit, there is another reason: ABORTION.

Of all the poor people you've talked to who still support the con men in the GOP today, why do most tell you they do it?

[BillZBubb]

38. Maybe elitism and condescension are warranted.

There is certainly something beyond reasoning and logic at work in poor people voting against their own material interests and for empty, deceptive, or vague platitudes.

[Liberal Classic]

39. That will win people over for sure

Elitism and condescension are warranted.

:eyes:

[redqueen]

41. In most cases, I wholeheartedly agree

I've yet to hear a rational reason (unless seething resentment over blacks and gays is rational) for the poor to side with those that have for decades been running an all out war against the poor.

For those that DO put those issues over the interests of poor children (because it's inevitably the children of the poor who suffer the most), I think they're certainly worthy of contempt. The only exception is the abortion issue. Since that's literally a life and death issue, I can't fault them for falling for that canard.

However, the failure to do much about abortion in the 20 years since Reagan first started baiting them with that schtick should have tipped even the densest off by now.

[luaneryder]

24. Most of the above plus

at least in this neck of the woods (east TN) one of the great appeals of Bush is that he speaks everyman's language. You know, he talks like he ain't got no sense. There is also the well rooted pattern of voting Repulbican generation after generation here. It does absolutely no good to point out that this administration lies through their teeth; all that is heard is that the president talks like they do and Clinton was a bad man cause he cheated on his wife. I am continually amazed at the lack of critical thinking.

[LostInAnomie]

25. Marx called it "false consciousness"

To be able to maintain the luxury of higher thinking/consciousness you have to have physiological needs being met. You begin to develop your consciousness based on how you achieve these needs.

The cons are dependent on the rich business owners for meeting their needs/maintaining consciousness. This means that they have developed the mentality that what is good for the owner is good for them because it will help them maintain the luxury of consciousness. This is a false consciousness because what is in the best interest of the owner is not necessarily in their best interest (lower taxes for the rich, cuts in education, cuts in public housing).

They have became alienated from themselves, and have traded real consciousness for material safety.

[Hoping4Change]

28. Sublimated submissive masochistic wish.

Rupugs desire to be dominated by powerful big demanding father figures.

[KittyWampus]

31. Because Only Republicans Talk About Family Values

and the overwhelming majority of human beings on the planet care more about their families than they do about money.

Wes Clark had it right in his stump speech.

Family Values is making sure American Workers make enough to feed, house, educate and keep healthy their kids. And the GOP uses empty rhetoric.

Now, I'll go read the book review. :)

[stickdog]

33. The type of people who fall for empty Repuke "Culture War" rhetoric

are typically self-righteous enough that they are more concerned with revenge, xenophobia and other people's religious, sexual and reproductive choices than their own pocketbooks.

[redqueen]

36. Good observation

I had one person tell me that he would be happy to vote for the guys protecting the Enron'ers, starting wars of aggression, etc., because at least 'his (white) daughters would not have a disadvantage getting into college'.

:puke:

[Iris]

37. Perhaps they think they are voting for the greater good.

I just blew someone at Zogby's mind, I'm sure, because I answered "no" to all their questions about if I am worse off than I was 5 years ago. I'm not, but I don't really vote for my pocketbook; I vote based on the kind of world I want to live in and Bush's version ain't it.

I'm certain that's what the low-income Republicans are doing. I can sort of understand it.

What I can't understand is my friend the librarian who used to vote Democrat but will probably vote Republican now that she is married because it is good for her "place in life right now."

[gpandas]

42. guns and gods n/t

[bushwakker]

43. They hate black people and gays

It's pretty simple.

[sendero]

45. Read this article...

.... posted here a couple days ago. It is spot on IMHO, and it addresses your question.


http://www.nypress.com/17/23/news&columns/MarkAmes.cfm

[wuushew]

50. Excellent a must read...thankyou

One look at Bush and you'll know why: Bush is the privileged frat-boy/jock asshole that every spiteful male recognizes from his school days. Spiteful males may have supported him in the past, but only because Bush's cartoonish stupidity gave a daily dose of stomach cramps to the responsible, concerned Americans who voted for Gore. And really, what white male in his spiteful mind could possibly have voted for Al Gore, with that pained "Am I pleasing you?" smile he beamed at you? Spiteful white males don't want to be pleased—they want other people to be displeased.

[Eloriel]

46. Not NEARLY as insightful as this article

Let Them Eat War, By Arlie Hochschild, tomdispatch.com, January 15, 2004
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16885

Another interesting one: The F Scale
(Measures one's authoritarian personality profile, which makes one receptive to fascism, based on research done after WW2)
http://www.anesi.com/fscale.htm

[ermoore]

47. You think they'd do better voting Dem?

Like it'd make a difference?

[BillZBubb]

51. Hmm, Judge Moore is in the house?!

I've always noticed the standard of living for most Americans being BETTER with the Democrats in charge. Economically, the Repugs are uniformly bad for the lower and middle classes.

So, yes it would make a difference. Your question is a little like the "there's no difference between Bush* and Gore" statements of 2000. Only someone living in a cave for 4 years could make that statement now.

[Jane Austin]

53. Blame

when you're out of a job or haven't lived up to any of your dreams, it's hard to admit you just didn't have it, or that shit happens.

It's much more human to blame somebody else, and that's what the RW is good at.

If you can stand it, listen to Rush for ten minutes and count the number of times he blames somebody else for his listeners' problems. That gives them comfort.

Then, listen to Franken and see if he doesn't dissect the issues rather than just blaming somebody and try to make you feel sorry for yourself.

[Cat Atomic]

55. Stupidity. Next question... uhh... Stretch.

[moondust]

57. Umm, dumbness.

[Davis_X_Machina]

58. Why do people vote against...

...their manifest self-interest?

Because they're not defining their self-interest in narrowly economic terms (unless they're actually starving, and by that point they've probably de-politicized themselves entirely).

The Wal-Mart cashier, or the wheel-alignment guy, knows, or thinks he knows, that when he or she votes Republican she or he is voting for someone who will work to ensure:

• that at Jesus' name every knee shall bend
  
• that taxes will never go up, and services will never go down
  
• that foreigners will tremble when they see our might
  
• that they'll get to 'keep their guns'
  
• that The Other -- women, fags, liberals, coloreds -- won't 'get them'?
  

And finally and most important:

• that all change will stop.
  

I know, and you know, that this is a farrago of impossibilities and surds. I know that all the GOP voter will receive on some of these points is lip service.

But -- since RFK died has anyone made a case as short, sweet, and compelling to be made for voting Democratic?

[ladjf]

70. Outstanding post. So much in so few words. Thanks.

[LibertyorDeath]

60. They are mentally challenged IMO

[Az]

62. This kind of answer does more harm than good

It packages and stuffs the individuals into a nice neat little package that we don't have to think about. But in essense it is claiming that a significant portion of society is mentally challenged. Which of course further implies that being mentally challenged must be a more frequent occurrence than we would suspect.

There are real reasons that so many find themself drawn to the right. If we do not really examine what it is that appeals to them (not to chase after it) then we can never understand how to overcome that draw.

[JayS]

69. "If we do not really examine what it is that appeals to them"

Is this not the truth. No real examination was done, to my knowledge, as to why Democrats were becoming increasingly rare in my state. The Democrats had been doing the driving since Reconstruction. We even had to invite one Republican Governor to leave by using shotguns as he felt that losing the election was not a good excuse to give up his job.

Now the state has gone Republican. I guess people got tired of pushing the "D" button and not getting results and started pushing the "R" button instead.

[LibertyorDeath]

84. A significant portion of society is spoon fed

Ask any Teacher at DU about the Critical Thinking Skills of the Students they encounter on a daily basis.

It's pathetic.

People who vote Republican but can't articulate why

People who blindly support War "because we should support our pResident"

People who repeat right wing talking points because they are to dumb or to lazy to do their own analysis of current events.

People who choose blind faith over logic & common sense.

America has been intentionally dumbed down to the point where a hate filled piece of shit like Rush has the largest radio audience

Where 50 million plus Citizens thought voting for a born again coke head alcoholic with zero foreign policy experience was just fine with them.

I understand your point & I stand by my contention that these people are mentally challenged IMO by their inability or choice not to think critically.

[mac56]

61. Stockholm syndrome?

Indentification and infatuation with their captors?

Maybe also: to do so would require that they identify themselves as "suffering economically". Call it optimism or denial: many people in that situation see their predicament as being a temporary setback, not a long-term or systemic condition. It's harder to get too riled up about a temporary setback.

[Tight_rope]

63. Ignorance is a disease!

It's obvious that the people are suffering from sever case of ignorance and fear.

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear." - Harry S. Truman, Aug. 8, 1950

[tedzbear]

71. They believe in "the American dream" and its promise of...

...unlimited wealth for everyone. Even though the odds of the average middle class American becoming the next Bill Gates is astronomically low, plain old greed deludes its followers into buying into this charade. So they vote Republican because the GOP protect the selfish agenda of the self made man. The self made man would include not only Bill Gates but also the unemployed factory worker who is hoping to strike it rich selling Amway or Avon.

:kick:

[lanparty]

73. LIES !!!!

Pure and simple. They've been lied to serially for so long by Limbaugh and the likes.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

77. Most Americans want to think they are 'upper class'.

Nobody wants to think of themselves as 'poor' or 'lower middle class', so when Democrats talk about helping those people, many who actually are poor or lower middle class think someone else is being discussed.

[Auntie Bush]

82. Because they are stupid!

Stupid people don't do well economically...unless you are related to the Bush family!

[Disturbed]

86. College

"at least his (white) daughters would not have a disadvantage getting into college."

College tuition is increasing dramaticaly and subsidies are decreasing even more so.

Logic is a rare thing.

There obviously is not only one answer to the topic question. It is a combination of many factors.

A two party system is obviously unsatisfying.

[leftofthedial]

83. we gave way too much money to churches

and not enough money to public schools

for the last 40 years.