40% of the voters in this country support a man who is obviously morally bankrupt.

[milestogo]

Most of us could see that long before he ran for president.

During the past 3.5 years he has demonstrated over and over again how utterly self-serving, hateful, petty, and corrupt he is. He utterly lacks a moral center.

But a huge number of Americans either don't see it or they see it and they don't care. What does this say about our country?

[Eyeball_Kid]

1. He is a charismatic leader for that 40%.

It's the "feeling" they get from listening to him puff out his chest and scream at his opponents. He sells his brand, his persona, and it doesn't matter that he's incompetent or that he's a lying machine or that he's a rapist/sexual abuser. It's the FEELING that he conveys to those who desperately want an authoritarian dictator to make them feel superior and safe.

Some political strategists are telling the Dems to abandon the notion that the 40% cannot be pulled away from the Trumpian spider web. But it can be done by countering that safe and secure "feeling" with fear and doubt, in the same way that Trump keeps his followers in line. The Lincoln Project folks know how to do this, IMO.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. George Carlin said it best.

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of them are stupider than that.”

[Laelth]

3. We are reacting to major social changes.

That’s about the size of it. It’s all backlash.

-Laelth

[jrthin]

4. Can we conclude that 40% of our

citizens are morally bankrupt and/or stupid? I would.

[milestogo]

5. That is fucking scary.

[kentuck]

6. I would conclude that...

...if they haven't been exploited by opportunistic propagandists.

Then we could conclude that they are naive idiots.

[OhZone]

7. I've been mulling on this for a long time -

And I think that a good portion of the people who support him, think they are doing the right thing.

Their morality is not based on core values of right and wrong,or universal fairness, but some weird hierarchical and tribal thing.

And lot of Cons need to be told often what to think. They need excuses and feedback to maintain their tribal hatred.

The tribal leaders (tRump, GOP leaders, Fox News, right wing radio) tells them what is right and wrong, not their internal sense of fairness or morality.

And I've come to believe a lot of them are "selective sociopaths," I like to call it. They can be freaking evil, but only to people outside their group. How else can you treat others, except for your tiny tribe, like shit? I see it in my uncle's conservative friend. He only treats Uncle Nick, and two of his relatives Oh-K. He would cheat or maybe even kill anyone else. Not kidding. He hates me because I'm lez.

Now, I'm not saying don't put your friends and family first. That's fine do to that, but maybe I'm a fool, but I don't get trying to cheat and steal and worse everyone else. It's just not the way I think.


Oh, and, of course, there are others like tRump who seem to be just plain sociopaths who simple have no empathy for ANYONE.

[Demsrule86]

8. I do not believe his support is that high.

He gets much of those numbers from super red states which means in other more moderate states his is underwater. And state polls have shown this to be true.

[Bayard]

9. I'm not buying 40%

That can't be a recent figure.

[NewJeffCT]

10. That's what 25 years of Fox and 30 years of Limbaugh can do

to a mind.

However, I saw some recent polling that says the "strongly support" numbers for Trump have gone down over the past few months - it was typically around 30% that strongly supported Trump and another 10-15% that somewhat supported him.

The strongly suppport numbers are definitely on the downswing and has been around 23/24% the past few weeks.

So, while his overall approval has dropped a little bit, the number who "strongly support" him has definitely gone down.

Unless we get an amazing run of good news, look for that to trickle down into overall polling numbers over the next month to two months.

[dawg]

11. If it makes you feel any better, a significant portion of that 40% knows he's terrible, but ...

they've been brainwashed into believing that all Democrats are anti-Christian, baby-killing, Communists who will actively persecute people like them just as soon as we have the power to do so. A good third of Trump's 40% would probably be much happier voting for someone less disturbing like Marco Rubio, but they got outvoted in the primaries and they can't conceive of ever voting for a Democrat.

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. This!

Exactly!

The right wing of the political spectrum has been very effective in painting liberals as somehow un-American or as you put it, "anti-Christian, baby-killing, Communists". "Libruls want to take my guns, my money and my bible" is not something alien to a common conservative mindset.


This is exactly right, in my observation. Hell, I think for some of them, the only reason they don't shoot or beat liberals on sight is because it's against the law!


If another Dwight Eisenhower came along, many of them wouldn't vote for him because he said nice things about unions and wanted to reduce the size of the military.

[Vogon_Glory]

12. The Religious Right preachers and politicos who endorsed that man

and his policies have forfeited any claim to moral leadership. Those conservative Evangelicals and Liturgicals who have remained silent have sullied themselves and their integrity.