The only thing that hits home to Republicans is high gas prices & tax cuts

[mtnsnake]

I honestly believe that whichever one influences them the most, gas prices or tax cuts, it will determine which way they vote during the next election.

Anything else that REALLY matters does not sink in. It doesn't matter if Bush's approval rating goes down to 1%...It doesn't matter if he nominates a Supreme asshole to the Court....it doesn't matter if they agree the war sucks....It doesn't matter if the deficit has reached obscene proportions...It doesn't matter if they secretly side with the pro-choice people. It just doesn't matter. They'll still vote Republican as long as they get their perceived tax breaks, whether it's a break of millions of dollars for the richest or whether it's a measley couple hundred bucks that the majority of the sheep get.

The commoners are whining & moaning now, not because of anything they want us to believe they're whining about in public, but because they're getting hit in their pocketbooks and wallets with high energy prices like everyone else, and it infuriates them. You can rest assured that either energy prices will mysteriously drop in time for next year's elections, or they'll be promised even more tax cuts.

Whatever happens, we have to somehow find a way to convince a percentage of these morons that they're better off financially with Democrats running the show. So far, we have failed MISERABLY in explaining that to them during political campaigns. We have to explain to them that they've lost X amount of dollars out of their pockets, as opposed to what they would've had IN their pockets, had Democrats been in power. We have to let them know that their tax cuts have cost them dearly in more ways than just financially. We have to explain it to them in terms a 2-year old could understand, or it will not sink in.

It's all about the almighty dollar with these people, and they're getting bought out for a couple hundred bucks on the average.

[ThoughtCriminal]

1. Even in terms a 2-year old can understand

doesn't work when you are dealing with people who figure we will never have to pay back the money we've borrowed because the Rapture is coming.

Fortunately, the ones that dense are not a majority - only a majority of Republican voters. The GOP is stuck with these losers and have a hard time getting nominated without pandering to them.

[Neil Lisst]

3. The RUPTURE is more like it

I like your thinking.

The Rapture is the only plausible explanation for the way these fools are spending money that belongs to the next two generations of Americans.

[Lexingtonian]

2. now, now....

That's a little too crass, in my humble little opinion.

About 1/4 of Republicans are pretty sincere, straight up people whose essential criterion is a pretty objective cost/benefit analysis. But their party and the pressure of Modernity created an atmosphere in which they biased strongly, were easy to lead to ignore high costs and accept poor returns for a long time. But they're coming to the end of their rope as they've recognized that they may never see proper returns on their 'investment' of their money, votes, and hope in the Party. These are the 'moderates'.

About 3/4 of Republicans can, for lack of information or deficient mental powers or ideological blindnesses (all summarizing to magical thinking), not overcome the biases and prejudices that put them in the Republican camp. When, but only when, the Republican leadership contradicts itself on the really major claims and undermine the belief system, they do revolt.

They're Simply That Way about taxes, about social programs, about cheap gasoline and other forms of subsidization, about ethics, and social privilege for themselves. And about Iraq, about the War On Terror, on overseas alliances.

[zanne]

4. Especially in local politics

You could advocate puppy-kicking and still win if you promised to lower taxes.