General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAbout a white rural voter...
I attend meetings in my very red rural area where I am among many Trump supporters. Politics is not what we are there for, it is a support group for people trying to stay sober, although I have put up with a lot of crap and snide comments, they know I am a Biden supporting Democrat.
Last night after the meeting, I was talking to a man in his early 60's who runs a local auction house. He is an accomplished guitarist, who once went to California at the invitation of Buck Owens, to perform as warm up in a band. He is also a Trump voter.
A week ago, his 13 year old grandson was riding a hay wagon with his mom and brother being pulled by a tractor. The hay wagon rolled, and crushed the boy to death.
We started out talking about guitars. He showed me pictures on his phone of his beautiful Gibson electric, various Fenders and a Gretch. Also, 3 gorgeous hand made acoustics his son made for him.
Others came over to offer condolences for his grandson. He then showed pictures of a tall, tow headed 13 year old with a big smile, standing with his brothers.
I felt my chest heave, and fought to control the emotions. He hasn't been the same since this happened, and you can almost see the weight on him. For 5 minutes, everyone talked to him and their differences with me were unimportant.
How does a con man like Trump manage to fool an otherwise intelligent, big hearted man like this?
I dream of a day when my party finally reaches the hearts of these people, and somehow knocks down the wall of lies that the GOP has built in rural America.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
SWBTATTReg
(26,048 posts)family, such a horrible tragedy, everything else falls by the wayside.
I'm glad that you are at his side, even for little bit. The din and hubbub of politics dies out pretty quickly when something more personal, more direct, happens in our lives.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)This guy doen't seem to have a racist bone in his body, and still supports Trump.
He knows and loves the music of many black and latino artists, and went out of his way to greet and make feel welcome black visitors we have had from the city, when others were cold.
There has to be a way, and I wish my party would work on finding it.
SWBTATTReg
(26,048 posts)eh? Again, my best to you all.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)
TheRickles
(3,172 posts)They don't have much of it, so it registers even more deeply when they experience it, especially from an Other (in this case, a Democrat).
Jon King
(1,910 posts)We need to stop this they are nice people garbage. If they voted for Trump the SECOND time, they are not nice people.
And do not think for a second if Trump had pulled off his coup and told his supporters to turn in their family and friends who openly supported Biden that they would not do it.
This same grandpa would call Trumps gestapo on you if Trump convinced them that Biden supporters would destroy America. No one who voted for Trump the 2nd time is truly a nice person. They are very dangerous because they could be manipulated to turn in the neighbors just like in Nazi Germany.
TheRickles
(3,172 posts)Jon King
(1,910 posts)Look at history, every coup, every cleansing, etc. If history is our guide this grandfather could be persuaded that rounding up Biden voters is the lesser of the 2 evils for the best interests of his remaining grandsons, his entry to heaven, etc.
Tommymac
(7,334 posts)
Elessar Zappa
(16,385 posts)My grandpa and uncle are nice, educated people with seemingly big hearts, but they support the Orange Menace and other Republicans. I don’t get it.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)If these people could be won over, the GOP would cease to exist for all practical purposes.
D vs. R has seemingly been turned into an urban vs. rural war.
leftieNanner
(16,115 posts)In so many ways.
I know two women (mother and daughter) from an animal rescue that I used to work with. They couldn't be kinder and more generous. They are both Trump supporters, with Let's Go Brandon decals on their cars. We never talk politics, but I just don't get it. The mom even confided in me once that she had had an abortion. She doesn't seem to understand that the people she supports politically would like to take that away from all of us.
I agree with you that I hope for a day when we can reach the hearts of these people.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Since I moved out here, this has been my experience over and over.
Weird - there is a lesbian latina in the group, wears mens clothes and haircut, is openly gay, and they all love her and the women are very protective of her.
A trans f to m was a new arrival, and he was greeted with warm welcome and assured that he would not be rejected by anyone, after voicing his concerns over this. It's like their hearts are much bigger than their politics ..
Demobrat
(10,263 posts)Republicans would have forced her to have a baby regardless of what she wanted. She must know that. What is it they offer? Could it be social pressure? Her friends at church are Republicans and she wants to fit in?
Response to leftieNanner (Reply #3)
Demobrat This message was self-deleted by its author.
Tetrachloride
(9,386 posts)I haven’t been back for a couple years.
My imaginary conversations with possible purple voters includes these kinds of phrases:
A. You are good at (example: mechanics). I am good at computers and general science. Certain kinds of blah blah. These are my areas of interest.
B. Come over anytime. Salsa , …. various snacks
C. We can agree that China is doing (such and such)
Low blood pressure sentences to cool down fire in conversation
H2O Man
(78,645 posts)Thank you for this.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Tetrachloride
(9,386 posts)elderly outreach, movie nights, music every weekend, board game nights.
Egg delivery, green beans, etc
mcar
(45,675 posts)and am surrounded by Trump voters, including my neighbors who would give us the shirts off their backs.
It's been getting more and more difficult for me to understand how these hard working, kind, good neighbors could go from being regular Republicans to full-on Trump supporters. And yet they are still good, kind neighbors. And that's just one example.
Honestly my neck hurts from shaking my damn head so much.
maxrandb
(17,170 posts)that you showed him.
I would almost guarantee you that he gave not one fuck about George Floyd, or his family.
If it impacts them, they give a shut, if not....
andym
(6,052 posts)did in the Music Man using appeals to traditional values that he believes in not at all. Once you are fooled, it is difficult to be unfooled.
JoeOtterbein
(7,864 posts)I'm sorry.
KPN
(17,144 posts)sharing.
Pepsidog
(6,353 posts)
Bread and Circuses
(1,576 posts)No.
Trump Voters were not fooled by his circus act.
They are like him. He displayed the thoughts and feelings inside them.
He reflects the bombastic violence and hatred that they want to be able to scream out loud, too.
So, No.
Trump Voters don't get a pass. They knew what he was. He is them.
ecstatic
(35,012 posts)Starting with the birth certificate nonsense, continuing through the evil emotional attacks on fellow citizens, and then his behavior before and during the covid outbreak. What type of president finds enjoyment in insulting and hurting his own people? Hundreds of thousands died--people who didn't have to die. Then there were the constant lies, chaos and the coup attempt. They knew exactly who he was, and they liked it.
aggiesal
(10,543 posts)The wall of lies will stop when the GOP knocks down the rural radio stations running RW propaganda.
It will never happen.
Kaleva
(40,194 posts)75% of his vote came from counties classified as urban or mostly urban.
Mariana
(15,613 posts)Plenty of churches have incorporated loyalty to Trump as a tenet of their Christian faith.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Glad someone else noticed.
Tikki
(15,033 posts)Some churches bless guns..and then bless children and don't feel the irony.
Tikki
Joinfortmill
(20,091 posts)
peppertree
(23,132 posts)"He then showed pictures of a tall, tow headed 13 year old with a big smile, standing with his brothers..."
For many - probably most - Republicans, their party is now the symbol of the "white, northern European" America they believe they've lost.
The rest is window dressing.
Bread and Circuses
(1,576 posts)No.
Trump Voters were not fooled by his circus act.
They are like him. He displayed the thoughts and feelings inside them.
He reflects the bombastic violence and hatred that they want to be able to scream out loud, too.
So, No.
Trump Voters don't get a pass. They knew what he was. He is them.
multigraincracker
(36,996 posts)Some folks are just trying to fit in with the group.
That's the way it is around here. I love to ask them "what did Hillary do" and they can never come up with a thing. It's just what they say around here. No thinking about it.
llmart
(17,324 posts)The answer I usually get from people is "well, I just don't like her, that's all."
You cannot get anything specific out of them about why they hated her so much. It's not like any of them knew her on a personal basis. Plus, this is what I get mostly from women voters that I know.
tulipsandroses
(8,131 posts)It’s a terrible loss, but to address the question of how could trump manage to fool someone like him. My answer is. I don’t think he was fooled. 7 years since trump came down that escalator, if you still support him, you co-sign all of it. Your morals are in question if you still support him.
I am sure trump also would be devastated if something happened to one of his grand kids. It’s easy to love and care for your own.
It’s how you care for others, that’s a better test of your character and morals. Did your heart break when a black kid not much older than your own grandchild was murdered. Did the wails of the kids taken from their parents make you want to cry or scream in anger that anyone could be this cruel to any child.
paleotn
(21,563 posts)llmart
(17,324 posts)More and more people in our country care only about what affects them and their loved ones. It's a total lack of empathy and it's fairly rampant in our country, but especially in rural areas where people rarely meet and get to know anybody outside their core group of mostly white rural people.
PXR-5
(565 posts)away????
This is something I hear around here.
It's the "news" they listen to.
Unfortunately the lies will continue, so will the division between us.
Duppers
(28,464 posts)And ReichWing broadcasting enabling idiots to feel important.
paleotn
(21,563 posts)Now matter how intelligent or big hearted they are, they just can't share it with people who aren't exactly like them. I don't get it either.
Jon King
(1,910 posts)Not sure I even get the story. So a white grandfather used to play guitar and be cool and loved his white grandson who died.
But the fact he voted for Trump the 2nd time makes him a POS.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Scares the crap out of you, doesn't it?
I wonder why?
Warpy
(114,391 posts)being stuck in the mindset that they could somehow work with Evangelical Republicans. They sorely disappointed a lot of people for a very long time as Republicans just walked right over them. I spent the entirety of the 90s and 00s wanting to slap the snot out of most of them, myself, but I knew the alternative was voting for fascism. Whether they called themselves DLC, Third Way, Blue Dog or (shudder) fiscal conservatives, they were all enemies of working people as they worked with the GOP to keep fattening the rich and building monopolies while depressing wages.
So yeah, I can see why compassionate, talented, and otherwise rational people fell for a populist demagogue, it happens. We were lucky this time, because this one is clumsy, arrogant, and not nearly as smart as he claims. If they were going to follow an asshole to the edge of the cliff, we were fortunate they chose such an incompetent one.
So stay sane, stay sober, and stay tolerant as one by one they start to fall silent about the virtues of TFG and his GQP.
Cozmo
(1,402 posts)czarjak
(13,437 posts)
drray23
(8,589 posts)Many Republicans, especially magats are completely unable to feel compassion for anybody but their own family or friends. Unless something affects them directly they don't care.
They can be very nice with people they consider part of their tribe ( church members, maybe their neighbors, etc..) but don't give a Damm about minorities, LGBT, democrats and others.
Jon King
(1,910 posts)Many stories from Nazi Germany tell how even former best friends turned on their neighbors and co-workers.
IronLionZion
(50,823 posts)These crooks pretend they're going to help these people when they are actually lying and making it worse. They want someone to blame. So it's easy for many white rural folks to blame me for stealing their jobs.
Jon King
(1,910 posts)Anyone who voted for Trump the 2nd time is very dangerous. They may seem nice when you speak to them, maybe even give you a ride if your car broke down, etc.
But if Trump had pulled off his coup and become a dictator these same people could be convinced to turn in their Biden voting family and friends. Trump could easily convince them it was for the good of their grandchildren and the 'godly' thing to do.
So stop thinking they are nice people because if it came down to it they would walk by while we were led into train cars, just like neighbors and co-workers did in Germany.
Liberty Belle
(9,701 posts)While I don't understand anyone supporting Trump, I do see a lack of respect among some local county and state Dem leaders for issues in rural areas.
Dems need to really listen to rural needs and find solutions, not create problems.
Examples:
Blowing off concerns about long-time residents losing fire insurance or having rates quadrupled
Imposing a per-mile tax meant to encourage less driving, but urban dwellers ignore the fact that there is no mass transit in rural areas, and many rural residents have to commute long ways to their jobs. They can't afford an extra thousand bucks or so a year, in a state that already has the highest gasoline prices.
During COVID shutdowns, while much attention was paid by politicians to help restaurants in urban areas, they ignored the needs of farmers in rural areas who had just lost their main market for selling goods locally.
State leaders have allowed utilities to shut off power to prevent wildfires, but have not required that people harmed by this be compensated; for instance when planned outages occurred over Thanksgiving, many lost refrigerators and freezers full of food. Some lost food several times with as many as 32 outages in one community over a few months, yet they got nothing. And when power is shut off, electric well pumps don't work, so they can't get water to their livestock, or fight spot fires if a stray ember blows onto their property. The outages have disrupted people working at home or kids studying at home during COVID.
Our county recently made it prohibitively expensive to build homes in rural areas, too, to encourage devleopment along trolley lines. Sounds good but now rural areas are suddenly having trouble attracting new businesses/employers, since there is no more affordable workplace housing for them.
At a townhall this week in a mountain town, residents complained that formal rental housing has all been converted to Air BnBs, but the supervisors don't care because most live near the beach and their constituents WANt to be able to keep cashing in on the Air BnB craze.
All of the major industrial scale wind and solar projects locally have been foisted into rural communities, putting 500 foot tall wind turbines to surround homes and kill off birds of prey, also raising noise and infrastructure issues and even exploding to cause small wildfires that nearly burned down homes here (each turbine has 1,000 gallons or so of flammable lubricating oil for the gears). Solar fields can cause annoying glare and pave over wildlife habitat and wetlands. While wind and solar is important to address climate change, the rural folks have a point about urban folks who use the most power not having any of the negative impacts. We should do like European countries where there are small scale wind turbines on homes, and consider things like solar covers over highways or other areas that have no negative impact on rural residents. One desert town here has been decimated by dust storms just like the Dust Bowl after a wind developer scraped bare 12,000 acres of topsoil, which would never have been allowed to happen in a wealthy coastal enclave.
It all boils down to a general disrespect for rural residents. Dems should reach out and hold town halls in rural areas, even if they don't live there, to really learn what the problems including some caused by their policies, and work to fix them.
Instead, rural residents are listening to Republicans who do nothing for them, but demonize Dems by stoking fear of the government meddling in their lives and businesses....and to some degree that unfortunately is true. Republicans also stoke of fears of immigrants and anyone who isn't white, male, and Evangelical Christian. When people are hurting economically, it's sadly too easy to blame someone else and listen to anyone who promises to protect them.
MarcA
(2,195 posts)Can you provide a few specifics, e.g. locations, dates, etc. Seem like the $$$ crowd doesn't care who they hurt, urban or rural.
sammythecat
(3,593 posts)I agree with all you said.
SharonClark
(10,497 posts)red state where the rural minority controls the legislature and dictates a “screw the cities” and right wing legislation. Our tale of woe is the exact opposite of yours.
Kaleva
(40,194 posts)In Michigan they are.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Thank you!
betsuni
(28,722 posts)I don't care for the Blame Democrats thing when everyone knows Republicans are a radical post-policy nutty party. Why blame Democrats?
modrepub
(3,997 posts)from a cost benefit analysis, if costs more resources per capital to maintain basic infrastructure in rural areas than suburban or urban areas. Rural tax receipts rarely cover the cost of the roads, schools, electric grid, cable et cetera. So government tax receipts and special requirements cover their costs.
Here's one example, my family owns a vacation camp in downeast Maine. I've lost track how many times the electric line to the camp has been damaged by trees. But every time we notify the power company they've sent a crew out to fix the problem at no cost to us. The electric bill for the place runs about $24/mo. There are about a dozen camps on that road probably with the same problem and paying about the same monthly bill. The power company has probably lost tens of thousands of dollars over the decades keeping those camps connected to the grid. For our privilege others must pay higher rates.
And another, my state has built about 100 miles of interstate grade roads basically to connect State College to the main interstate highway system. In essence, these roads were built to make it easier for 100,000 people to attend about a dozen football games a year. Meanwhile in my neck of the woods I sit on congested roads that are basically the same as when they were designed and built in the 1960s.
I could go on and on about the disparity between rural and suburban and urban resource allocation. It's mind numbing sometimes how well connected politicians can direct government resources to create infrastructure that is not supportable by local tax revenue. When that happens it becomes a long standing drain on resources from other areas that will now have to support things that don't help them and more importantly divert resources where they are truly needed.
There has to be some balance. Rural folks, in my experience, get more than a fair deal and they don't seem to know or care if they drain resources from other areas that have their own needs to address.
JI7
(93,224 posts)and White FArmers sued to prevent black farmers from receiving anything .
https://news.yahoo.com/black-farmer-discrimination-lawsuit-164229062.html
Pluvious
(5,241 posts)It’s from many sources of exposure to influence and conditioning;
warping, shaping, grooming, radicalizing. Call it what you will.
It comes from TV, media, peers, and family.
There is a cancer in our culture, I despair of any cure.
If you’ve not watched it yet, you might find some new knowledge and
understanding from Jen Senko’s documentary, the Brainwashing of My Dad.
Slammer
(714 posts)Most people aren't deliberately monsters. They don't want what's worst for the country. They don't have a huge burning hatred for other racial groups. They don't want poor people to be deliberately screwed over.
What they've seen is decades of political insiders running the country with the country not getting better and in many ways getting worse. What they want is the country to get better.
But the vast majority of people don't pay attention to politics until it's almost literally shoved in their faces.
Most people don't know enough about economics or public policy to be able to evaluate policies to tell whether they would be good or bad. And you can make almost anything sound good to someone who has no way of evaluating whether your statement is accurate or not.
Most people also don't know enough to be able to identify a good source of news from a bad source of news. And they can't tell when a news story isn't being put in an accurate context. They can't evaluate what isn't being said by their news source. And they have no context for economics, public policy, or politics to figure out why something is happening or is being done. If they pay attention to the news at all, most likely they're only finding out that something happened and aren't being exposed to why it's happening, much less being able to figure out why without someone else pointing it out to them (and the person pointing it out to them might or might not know what they're talking about and might or might to choose to be telling the unvarnished truth).
So...you get a heck of a lot of people who are drawn to a political outsider because political insiders haven't been able to fix things or seem to be actively making things worse. Over the years we've seen movements of ordinary people to figures like Ross Perot...and more recently Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders.
A lot of people went directly from "Ron Paul for President" in 2008 and 2012 to "Bernie Sanders for President" in in 2016 and 2020...without seeing any contradiction despite the fact that Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders couldn't be further apart on their political views.
And when Bernie didn't get the Democrat nomination in 2016, some people went from "Bernie for President" to "Trump for President" without seeing any contradiction...because both seemed to be political outsiders...and because those people didn't have the skills to evaluate proposals and weren't involved enough in paying attention to politics to actually read the proposals being made by each candidate.
People make the decision of who they support based on
Does he "talk tough"?
Does he talk about whichever issue interests me? (regardless of whether his proposal is actually feasible to implement or would work if implemented)
Is he strong on national defense (defined as "does he talk like he wants a strong national defense", not whether his policies would create a strong national defense)?
Is he physically attractive or does he look like a possum?
Is the candidate the correct gender (regardless of which gender is considered by that voter to be "correct" )?
Is he running in the correct party?
And once some potential voter decides to support a candidate, they start self-filtering the information they receive about that candidate. Things which are negative about that candidate are downplayed in their minds regardless of how serious the negative happens to be. Things which are positive are magnified in their minds beyond how important the positive factor is.
And that happens because doing anything else would mean admitting that their own decision was wrong. Humans are pre-programmed to avoid coming to that conclusion. You need some level of training or discipline (whether from an outside source or self-taught) to be able to step back and look at something objectively to evaluate accurately whether you yourself screwed up or not in making your decision.
So people are inclined to follow their candidate, regardless of who the candidate might be, further and further down whatever rabbit hole the candidate wants to fall down. They aren't getting accurate information from wherever they're getting their information. They have no skills to be able to evaluate whatever information they do get. And their brains are pre-programmed to accept and magnify positive information and to reject negative information.
For some people, at some point, reality starts to intrude to a degree which they can't ignore. But the further down the rabbit hole someone goes, the more pointed reality has to be before it effectively penetrates their self-constructed bubble.
Sorry that I can't do a "tldr" version. That is the extremely condensed version.
kacekwl
(8,884 posts)who would rather agree with those around him than to take the time to actually listen to information. Easy to follow the crowd than think about it. If he's as nice a person as you think he is.
mopinko
(73,316 posts)met in '15 when this whole thing was a joke. i was the other woman.
he doesnt have a racist bone is his bone either. he collects winter coats, makes go bags, and hands them out under the bridges in the middle of the night when it gets below zero. lives in a mexican hood, and loves it.
he's as decent a man as i know.
he was a bernie fan. and we know they were targeted.
he is likewise very intelligent. a defrocked laywer. for growing weed. his life was one long hustle, still paying student loans on a gold plated sheepskin he only got to use for a few yrs.
the lady is a barely treated bipolar. i have axis 1 ppl in my life. they're hard to love. and if you dont draw a line and say- this much and no more- you lose yourself. i never thought of him as a cheater.
we split up 1/20. hadnt seen him til recently. i know a lot of his friends, and none of them speak to him any more. i almost feel responsible, cuz i know if i dont kick him out, he doesnt fall all the way down that hole.
but he seems in a good space. he's still working mostly remote, he isnt the ball of stress he was. we had too much catching up to do to get into any of that. but 1 friend told me to tell him to call. said he would, but i figured he wouldnt so i poked his friend to do so, him, he'll talk to.
i dont think ppl can keep up that nonsense unless they are in a steady state of stress. he seemed at peace, and got much healthier. not sure if i'll see him again, but our paths do cross.
he's used to being the smartest guy in the room, but he knew if i was in the room, it was even, at best. he also knows i walk the walk. he respects me. i think if anyone can reach him, i can.
were good friends, an old pair of shoes.
i have hope. i'll let y'all know.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)JI7
(93,224 posts)or something else.
betsuni
(28,722 posts)orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Response to orangecrush (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
betsuni
(28,722 posts)What does that mean? Blaming Democrats for not having the just the right magic messaging? Doesn't matter how many town halls Democrats have, or explain policies. That's not why Republicans vote.
Response to orangecrush (Original post)
JI7 This message was self-deleted by its author.
Pelosi Pepperment
(12 posts)Smartest man I know - but Loves Trump - I’ve tried to help him but he only gets news from fox and epoch times - sends articles from them almost everyday. I asked him about the latest news and his response was “our country is over - we are going to make it possible to live off the grid at the cabin” it’s so sad - and it makes me livid at the brainwashing that has happened.
JI7
(93,224 posts)which is post 68 now in this thread .
Just making this note so your comment can be understood in context .
milestogo
(22,592 posts)She drove through the rural areas of the state. At one point during her visit she asked me: Do all those people living on beautiful farms in the countryside really vote for Trump? Their lives are so different from his.
And I told her yes, pretty much.
Tommymac
(7,334 posts)This guy would turn on his Democratic neighbors in a heartbeat if TFG or one of his lieutenants asked him too.
I'm just all out of fucks to give - these People are TRYING TO DESTROY MY DEMOCRACY.
FUCK EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM - and I include my brother-in-law, my brother, 3 sisters-in-law, 1 niece and 1 nephew & his wife, at least 2 cousins and a constellation of former friends.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)But, I feel the division is exactly what Trump and Russia want, and I feel working against that hurts them more than anything.
Random Boomer
(4,386 posts)This is a "good" man within his own social group, within the circle of who he defines as "us." And like all too many in this country, that is a very small circle, often confined to people he has met personally or who (like the musicians you mentioned) specifically cross over into an area of interest to him.
Everyone outside that circle, everyone else who is "other", is a stranger and is someone to be feared. Trump makes people feel good about hating the Other, he validates their fears of anyone outside the "us" circle. Even if they cringe at his vulgar, obnoxious behavior, they still feel like he talks for them in a distrust of the Other Who Would Destroy Us.
Lib/Dems tend to have a much larger definition of "us", which can expand to include all of humanity, not just the people we meet, until they exhibit behavior we find intolerable. So for this group, "other" is based on observed bad behavior and whereas for conservatives, "other" is based on just being different.
Master Jah-Remi
(40 posts)He's intelligent, loves his family, and probably also a bigot. These can both be true. I personally think that being loving to those like you and hateful to everyone else does not make you a good person.
If you really want to know who he is; ask who he considers the enemy. Ask him who and what are America's true enemy..as if you don't already know. Then maybe recalculate your estimation of his character based on his answers.
He's human. He loves. That doesn't make him "good". Or decent. Or fair.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)And healing the division.
Welcome to D.U.
Response to Master Jah-Remi (Reply #76)
Demsrule86 This message was self-deleted by its author.
IbogaProject
(5,622 posts)The GOP lie but their stories are plausible to The gullible. Our side ends up cleaning up their mess and we ckean up their defecits so we get blamed on taxes even though Regan and Trump did the most damage. But here we are and just read a post where ebay sellers will now get 1099 for as little as $600 revenue, so some hand to mouth fool won't see the ACA benefits. Won't appreciate the domestic investments and just see that on top of the huge 2017 Trump tax hikes that will now hit the middle class harder and harder every odd tax year. The Simpsom-Boules things every budget year w limits on domestic spending during the normal budget. This is a long game to weaken us all. We need to do more populace things like bringing back the standard exemption and reversing the millionaire tax cuts. I wish the defence budget had a 20-30 year draw down where the slow incremental cuts went to domestic high tech to keep those engineers and techs busy and we'll employed.
Bernardo de La Paz
(60,320 posts)jaxexpat
(7,794 posts)
leftyladyfrommo
(19,956 posts)orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Hate jocks, who are professional manipulators.
leftyladyfrommo
(19,956 posts)techniques like lack of sleep. Not this cult. They do their own brainwashing. It's the damnest thing.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)But Trump had support from russia, and they are masters of influence and propaganda.
sellitman
(11,740 posts)I'll never understand how, but their back ass political brain is separated from their hearts and I still consider them my dear friends. It's frustrating beyond all reason but it's true. At least for me. It's not easy being me as Rodney said.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)
Wingus Dingus
(9,173 posts)be Republicans?" The answer is, they're kind to YOU. They're generous to YOU. They either like you personally as a fellow tribe member (white? Coworker? neighbor?) or they're on their best behavior when you're around. But no, they're not necessarily decent, kind people. You can't be a Republican in the Trump era without some ugliness or maladjustment in your psyche. I could have said ten years ago that Republicans could be good people who just think differently about a range of topics, but I no longer believe it now--after all that has happened since 2016. They are nice to the people they deem worthy, and maybe you are a beneficiary--and you're not seeing their ugliness. End of story.
Heather MC
(8,084 posts)🤷🏾♀️
Ask that sweet old man what he thinks about immigrants coming to this country from the Mexican border and you'll start to see his true nature
Wingus Dingus
(9,173 posts)I guarantee it.
orangecrush
(28,420 posts)Wasn't old enough to vote, and probably didn't have a clue about politics.
Demovictory9
(37,113 posts)
The Mouth
(3,411 posts)The vast number of white rural and blue collar voters DON'T WANT CHANGE.
Change is bad to them. Change means people taking things away from them, change means government restricting their actions, change means telling them everything they believe, most especially the RULES OF THE GAME THEY HAVE PLAYED BY ALL THEIR LIVES is false, unfair, and unjust.
They don't want to learn new pronouns,
They don't believe in the need or want to pay for reparations,
They don't like immigrants who don't come here the lawful way,
They don't like rioters, period (and don't bother with the 'whatabout 1/6 it won't work and will just make them dig in); most of them think rioters and looters should be shot, then and there.
They like their guns and will NEVER vote for someone who wants to restrict them more if at all.
And if you use the phrase 'White Privilege' you *have* made yourself the enemy, right there and then, and forever.
And most Democrats are utterly contemptuous of anyone who feels they way I've described them. I mean *DRIPPING* with contempt, get them fired, doxxed, branded a Nazi the second they opine any of the above.
We haven't 'lost' those people, we have told them to 'fuck off and die' and labeled them 'racist', 'Gun humper', and 'redneck' then we wonder why they vote against us, even their own self interest?