Is the division in our country deeper than Dem vs Rep, left vs right?

[ck4829]

How do we address the socioeconomic division in our country?

Think about it... Republicans got elected because the people who vote for them have #1 problems of "Why do I have to press 1 for English?!" or "That guy said Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas!"

The Democrats got their majority in the House because the people who vote for them have #1 problems of "What's going to happen to my healthcare?" or "Hey, it's swell that the Dow Jones broke a new record so why am I even poorer?"

Civility and nice words won't bridge that particular divide.

[el_bryanto]

1. They go low we go high

That said I'm not sure Socioeconomic division is the key indicator - as much as it pains me to admit it, I think that racism and sexism are bigger dividers. Fear of brown people, wanting traditional gender roles and the like motivate trumpoids more than anything else it feels like. That an hatred for Liberals.

Bryant

[ck4829]

2. The socioeconmic division is one out of many indicators

Could probably write a book on all the ways we could be divided and maybe we're starting to experience more and more.

[DownriverDem]

17. Who they are

The repubs have the rich, the haters and the religious nuts. It's who they cater to & it's who they are. Each group wants something - no taxes, no brown people, no catering to black people, keep it white, no abortions & make it a repub Christian country. They have a strong right wing media to push these ideas since all the radio channels were bought up. (I stream Chicago Progressive talk to save my sanity) http://www.wcpt820.com/listen-live/ I'm white and find repubs totally disgusting.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

3. Keep spreading the truth......

No matter how hard it hurts and alienates friends and family members..

Civility is important in how we present our arguments with facts, not attacking the messenger , but discussing the issues. I know, easier said than done. But when I converse with others, I choose my words carefully whilet sticking to the topic without vilifying the oher person. I get vilified all the time. That does not stop me from presenting my opinion backed up with the facts. People reading my comments can decipher who is telling the truth and who is not. Who is being reasonable and who is not.

[marylandblue]

4. The two problems are related.

The people who don't want you to have healthcare are trying to convince you that the war on Christmas is a bigger problem. Nervous people are easily misled. We can calm them down and offer real solutions.

[dalton99a]

5. Division is what the oligarchy uses to keep the hoi polloi from storming the gates

[ck4829]

7. +1. And it couldn't be more obvious today

The poor aren't just divided against each other, but now we have a group that serves that oligarchy in hope of getting a chance that they may get some table scraps in the future, maybe for their children.

And a few even serve that oligarchy not for scraps but just because they want to "own the libs" or "trigger the snowflakes"... it's an oligarch's wet dream.

[JI7]

6. hatred of feminism

[Squinch]

12. Don't you love how no one ever remembers this. 51% of the population, and we see what

the other side wants to do to us, but even our own side never actually digs in on that, gets behind us with a "hell yes I'm a feminist!" feeling and makes it a major talking point.

The closest they come is abortion, which the vast majority of Democrats support, but support quietly for fear of offending anyone.

[JI7]

36. we have seen with the discussions the last few days

there isn't just lack of support but actual resistance .

[scarytomcat]

8. yes the division is huge

we let the right create a world that is false and now we can not put the truth out there and be believed

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. Not sure what all the divisions are but the political schism is just a convenient vessel for it.

[Squinch]

10. The division is NOT socioeconomic. This has been proven in studies over and over and over.

The division is people who are racist and sexist versus people who are neither.

The political division is NOT socioeconomic. We MUST get that through out heads if we are to proceed logically.

Yes, there are socioeconomic issues, and big ones, that mar our society. It is up to Democrats to fix that, because republicans' stated purpose is to enlarge socioeconomic differences.

But appealing on the basis of socioeconomic issues will not win over anyone who we don't already have in our tent.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. This.

This country was built on white supremacy and an election or a candidate isn't going to erase it.

[Ex Lurker]

15. This. People will vote against their own economic interest in favor of racist, homophobic,

transphobic, misogynist policies.

[FailureToCommunicate]

24. THIS! (But doesn't bode well for certain Dem candidates I guess...)

Like the one I currently favor. Two strikes. Oops.

[Kurt V.]

29. you contradict your own self here. but lets put that aside.

i agree a solid 1/3 of the divide is racism. the rest is ppl feeling left behind in a rigged system. Here in rural red Missouri the fastest way to get a repub to agree with me, is to talk about how giant corporations screw us all, through taxes, buying politicians, seed and grain monopolies, eminent domain etc etc

[Hassin Bin Sober]

32. It's happening all around the world.

It’s like people just ignore the history of demagogues seizing power during economic unrest using racism/scapegoats as a weapon and a means to an end.

Racism is always with us.

Global trumpism is nothing new. It’s just the latest flavor.

The people who crashed the economy and received bailouts of their woefully underwater assets are now fighting tooth and nail to avoid paying for their own fuckups. So it’s bailouts for them and austerity for us.

[Kurt V.]

33. the lack of inflation and the movement of capital has created this vortex that sucks

Everything inward towards the 1%.

[Squinch]

34. Except that's not what all the studies since 2016 on voter motivation have said.

[PTWB]

13. It seems like we are very close to Good vs Evil territory.

I wouldn’t have thought that before Trump. But his supporters - not all, but many - seem to just be pure evil. They relish in causing pain, causing chaos and tearing good people apart. The more hurt they cause, the better, in their minds.

[blur256]

27. Yet they are the "Christians"

Not like any Christ I imagine though. They are the worst humans as far as I'm concerned.

[Firestorm49]

14. It's going to be a long rough road.

What would it take to put aside our partisan differences? An intergalactic alien landing at a Starbucks for a cup of Joe? A storm so big that it destroys nearly everything? A nuclear war waged between two “comrades”?

Stupid? Yes. But can anybody see a clear path to bridging the acrimonious gap in which we exist?
Does anybody remotely think that with the path that we are now on, that there is a simple solution? Can it get any worse before it gets better?

A whole new chapter needs to (and eventually will) be written in the history of America, and I only hope that I’ll still be alive to see it.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Severe income&wealth inequality like now is always fixed. Best to do by legislation, not revolution.

[Still In Wisconsin]

18. Republicans are basically rage addicts.

They are very, very angry because Limbaugh and Hannity tell them they should be, and they have gotten very used to that condition. So many of them don't know how to do anything else BUT be angry.

[moondust]

19. Maher had a good rant last night.

He asked why doesn't Amazon move its HQ2 to West Virginia or one of the many other places that actually NEEDS an economic shot in the arm with new jobs and new industry? Instead of NY, VA, and the other places that are already doing pretty well.

The panel made some good points about the urban/rural divide and the political implications.

Corporations focused on maximizing profits for shareholders are generally not going to locate their facilities in rural areas. Cities are where all the labor, the money, and the shoppers are.

And the voters. A democratic system is naturally going to try to serve a majority of the population, and that means the cities. The urban/rural divide is probably what led to the electoral college--trying to give rural areas a little extra kick so they would not be totally ignored by politicians seeking the biggest numbers at election time.

More corporatization --> more urbanization.

[crazycatlady]

38. Upstate NY would have been perfect

The district I worked in during last year's primary has what Amazon wants-- access to interstates, access to educated people (an Ivy League college within an hour's drive) and needs the economic boom.

[Dan]

20. I sometimes wonder

If we shouldn’t have a national election - with the question as to whether we should just split the nation. I never thought I would have said this, but maybe it is just time to let the Red states go their own way and pay their own way. Truly build that Wall.

Then at least, they can hate and feel good about their hating, without being judged.

Plus restrict immigration from the Red States.

[OxQQme]

21. "Ecotopia" is a novel that describes aftermath of 'the wall'

that split the nation, as the mountain ranges of the Sierras and the Cascades separating the far right 'Corporate/Profit' states from the far left 'democratic-socialist' segments of society.

The vigilance needed to prevent ideological leakage crossing 'the border' either way, as a description of restricting immigration, is a major theme of a possible future following big-time secession.

The upper left coast, from San Fran to Vancouver as the main geographical location of Ecotopia.
Bernie, Elizabeth, Kamala, Nancy, AOC, would be prominent 'speakers' for Ecoptopian beliefs as depicted in the novel.

[Dan]

31. Sounds interesting, will check it out. Thanks.

[oldsoftie]

35. Ridiculous.

And EXACTLY what the Chinese and Russians would LOVE to see happen.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

22. I'm starting to think it's fux spews watchers vs fux avoiders.

Kool aid vs coffee, Fake World vs Reality.

[Mr.Bill]

23. I don't think I'm simplifying the division

when I draw the line at people who care about others and people who only care about themselves. Not much else really matters when it comes down to it.

[FailureToCommunicate]

25. Yup. The missing 'empathy' factor.

(Agree with you)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. The late '60s, early '70s -

in a different way, but the division was enormous. And there was a lot of violence.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

28. Democrats KNOW who they are....Can't say that for the Republicans....

Democrats have been consistent for the past 55 years where they stand on issues.

Republicans on the other hand, are all over the place. They do not know what the hell they stand for other than less Government and make the Rich richer.

[The_jackalope]

30. The division is between authoritarian and non-authoritarian personality types.

Check out this site for a good look at it:
https://www.theauthoritarians.org/

The theory is based on Bob Altemeyer's book:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

It's really a psychological gulf between authoritarianism on one side and us on the other.

[TomCADem]

37. Think at the margins "left" and "right" populists sound similar.

Anti-immigrant, anti-trade, isolationist anti-NATO, anti-Fed and pro-Russia.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

39. What does right and left even MEAN anymore - sometimes language has to change to reflect a

new reality, and IMHO, this is one of those times.


Its more like some or most of center + some or most of left VS. whatever that mess is on the other side.