Why Republicans Are Turning Against Vaccines

[brooklynite]

Bloomberg

My fourth answer is a bit more complicated. It has to do with internal Republican dynamics — with the True Conservative game.

It works like this. A fringe group of the party seeks to differentiate itself from the mainstream. To do that, its members set out to prove that they are the True Conservatives and everyone else is a wishy-washy Republican in Name Only at best, and a collaborating liberal at worst. However, by now the mainstream of the party has become so conservative that there are no easy moves to make that involve pushing one or another policy preference. Notice that the Democrats are different on this score, even though their mainstream has become quite liberal. There are still plenty of policy moves available to Bernie Sanders in the Senate or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House of Representatives to differentiate them from the rest of their caucuses. Not only does there appear to be less room for fringe Republicans to find ground, but the truth is that few of them are willing to put in the work to find real policy differences.

There’s another problem for the fringe, which is that mainstream conservative Republican politicians are paranoid about failing litmus tests, getting portrayed as moderates or worse, and then getting defeated in primary elections. Again, for a variety of reasons, it’s different on the Democratic side, where quite a few mainstream liberals are happy to have someone out there making them look moderate.

What is available to those wishing to differentiate themselves from mainstream conservatives are nonsense and nihilism. Come up with something crazy enough, or destructive (including self-destructive) enough, and maybe the bulk of the party won’t follow them, allowing them to “win” the True Conservative game. This has been going on for some time, with partisan polarization turning the party more and more conservative, and removing first the liberal Republicans and then the moderates and eventually anyone but the very conservative, forcing the fringers to find more and more dubious ways to prove that they and only they are True.

[milestogo]

1. They are Truly Stupid

to expose themselves, their families, and everyone around them to COVID-19 when vaccinations are available.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. When asked "How stupid can you get?" Republicans take it as a challenge

[Thomas Hurt]

2. why? owning the libs, that's why.

[Chainfire]

3. Republican politics are now simply, the crazier the better.

Ignorance is king and truth is the enemy. The next time you are out in public see if you can pick the one in three Americans who are fully on board with the Party.

[leftstreet]

4. A smart Republican would run on Medicare For All

The GOP has moved so far right, it's the only direction

[LiberalLovinLug]

8. Thing is, if presented right, any GOP candidate that proposed it would win in a landslilde

Especially if he was running against a more establishment Democrat who refused to commit to M4A.

Just highlight what Conservatives like about it in other western democracies. The biggest is that any employer does not have to worry about either providing health insurance or that employees will leave for some other competitor who does. They can still incentivize employment with private add ons, but if basic health care is already covered by government, most smaller companies and start ups, have one less thing to worry about.

For bidding on international contracts, which in a global economy is increasingly common, every other developed country has one advantage that American bidders don't......they do not have to calculate into their bids the cost to them of employee health care insurance costs. Assuming the US companies who could bid internationally are large enough companies who would already be providing it.

Present it as a way to fund healthcare the same as the "USA USA USA!!! Troops!" Differentiate this from actual "socialism". That there are some things of such national interest, such as defence, (and health care) that taxpayers fund because its is an essential service, much like public education as well. With the knowledge that citizens pooling their money together, and taking out the private profit middle men in certain instances, to get the best deal for everyone, is the smartest way to fund it.

But shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh don't tell any of them

[Elessar Zappa]

11. No way in hell

any modern Republican will be for Medicare for All. It’s the opposite of what they stand for.

[JHB]

14. That would instantly pinch them off from the donor network

Rich ideologues with too much money and eager to crush any successful government program. Successful government programs argue for more, which argues for more tax revenue to pay for them, which means they face higher taxes, and they will burn everything before letting that happen.

[IronLionZion]

5. If they have to own themselves to own the libs

does that mean they're so far right they have come full circle and are now libs?

Some of the all natural organic crowd are anti-vaxx on the left so I suppose they have something in common.

[Wounded Bear]

6. One True Scotsman agument gone Reductio ad absurdum...

[Crowman2009]

7. Because they need a faster way to get raptured.

End-times BS had turned a lot of Christianity into a murder suicide cult.

[Hestia]

12. Even dominionists are losing followers

In an article last week, it was intimated that the mask- & vax-holes "leaders" aren't about ideology but it's about how much money can be milked from the followers.

I've been hearing that we are supposed to be these idiot's fluffers, that we need to listen to them and assuage their fears.

Not no but hello no. We've been doing this for 40 years and we are now in 2nd & 3rd generation idiots.

[Botany]

9. No they are turning against vaccines because they work.

and "they" can't give Biden a win .

[lame54]

10. But they didn't...

They are ALL fully vaccinated