On the SOTU, we must ask this question: why do republicans hate us?

[Initech]

And I think I've figured it out - they hate us, because they ain't us. You can argue facts and statistics and all that other bullshit until you're blue in the face. But you'll never turn the GOP in favor of us because of one number: the intelligence quotient. Yes, the IQ. The republicans hate us, because we're smarter than them.

Want proof? The GOP worked to expose Hillary Clinton because she's smarter than them. See, we know that hate and white supremacism, and sexism, and misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia are wrong. They don't. We know that Donald Trump is wrong, and that highly concentrated wealth is wrong. And the systematic destruction of some of our oldest institutions, and never ending war is wrong. They don't. They attack public universities and institutions on this very premise because they don't know what they are doing is wrong. And if you point it out to them, they'll change the subject and start talking about safe spaces. They hate colleges because they couldn't pass the tests required to get in! You know the states that voted the most for Trump are the states with the worst education policies, like Alabama, Kentucky and Florida.

As Dean Wormer once said on the classic movie Animal House: "Fat, drunk, and stupid, is no way to go through life." Let's break it down a bit further.

You ever get in an argument with a Trump supporter over the Bible or the Constitution? It's because they haven't read and fully understood these things. They don't know that the Constitution is a huge document that contains a lot of laws that apply to everybody. They only see 4 words - "shall not be infringed". And those words were an addendum that was added after the Constitution was ratified. And if you try to explain that to them, and that the only amendment they think matters, besides free speech, contains the word "regularly", they will get pissed at you and look at you like you're speaking a foreign language. Ever try to quote the Bible to them? Same deal. They haven't read it.

Ever wonder why white supremacists are so hung up on genetics? They don't understand how genetics works, because they never passed a science class. And if you quote them research from real scientists, you might as well be speaking a foreign language. They think that evolution should be replaced with the Bible, but they haven't read that either.

We like facts. They like symbols and slogans. Flags, guns, Bibles, children. But in reality, if you told them how badly politicians treat these things, they wouldn't care. Because the politicians who passed these laws isn't an icky liberal. Who they're told to hate because their pastor said so. Or whoever they listen to on the radio. "These colors don't run!!!!". They don't run, because they can't run.

We get our news from reliable news sources, where actual journalists perform real world, fact based research. Journalists who aren't afraid to use big words and call out bullshit when they see it. Whereas they only get their news from bullshit sources that water it down, filter out big words and cater to their intellect. Places like Breitbart, Fox News, Infowars, and Rush Limbaugh. You want to know the truth? Alex Jones is a community college dropout. Same with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Andrew Breitbart was a drug addict who died from overdosing on cocaine while he was taking a shit. Someone tells them their talking points, so they can dumb it down further for the people who don't bother to read. But their fans don't know that. And if you tell them that, they'll change the subject. They hate Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, and Trevor Noah because these guys are intelligent and aren't afraid to call out bullshit when they see it.

I could go on all day. But in short, they hate us, because they are dumber than us. If they would read a few books and get out of their comfort zone a bit more, they would realize what they are doing is wrong. They have a fondness for a nostalgia that never existed, because they live and thrive on TV. Their president is a reality TV star. If they would read, they would realize that the $1,000 bonus is just a small reminder of how much income inequality is fucking over the entire world. But they don't. They'll just turn on Fox News, drown out life, and not bother to read. Why do republicans hate us? They ain't us, and they couldn't pass the test.

[C_U_L8R]

1. It's all in a word.... liberal.

It's who we are. And as conservatives, they aren't. And that enrages them.
Liberal = free, thoughtful, smart, progressive, creative, giving, empathic, spiritual, curious, forward-thinking, entrepreneurial, open-minded, fair, generous, flexible, successful, educated, poetic, innovative, fun, sociable, energetic, optimistic, successful and so much more !!!

[PoorMonger]

2. They are also naturally selfish

There are republican intellectuals out there; my grandfather is one. I know he isn’t a dumb person. But he hates liberals now because he thinks we are foolish for caring about others who aren’t in our immediate family. They think they are superior and that it entitles them to something.

[dchill]

3. They hate us because we don't automatically grant them...

the authority, position and genuflection to which they are genetically entitled.

[democratisphere]

4. redumbliCONs are about me, myself and I.

Democrats are about we, us and them.

[dalton99a]

5. Because they are vile hateful despicable assholes

[disalitervisum]

6. So who is responsible for their education?

Time and again, I see the focus groups who support Trump say that he is what they want precisely because they are sick and tired of suave and polish. They say they've had that and didn't get any benefit from it. They make their simplistic arguments because they don't know any other argument to make. If they don't value education and sophistication, it is because they can't understand what good it would do them, and they have been actively harmed by those things, at least in their own minds. Is there some reason that we who call ourselves the party of inclusion can't make any effort to show these people what the benefits of reading books, a college education, or having an open mind with which to explore new ideas can be a good thing? They fear what they don't understand, so maybe we should try to help them understand without prejudice, rather than simply dismissing them as useless. When we ignore them as being useless, we show ourselves to be hypocritical to our own values rather than of being willing to embrace and practice them.

[NCDem777]

9. Take it from me

with all due respect, it's a waste of energy to reach out to Trump supporters. It's not that they can't understand, it's that they don't want to.

I have a Trump supporting mother and father. One's a Christian conservative. The other is an anarchist who basically had one too many bad experiences with dirty cops and inept government officials. They claim that everything would be better left to the private sector/charity. This is in spite of the fact I exist.

I have cerebral palsy. I am a direct refutation of GOP/Libertarian ideas. The private schools wouldn't go near me. So I went to public school. Went to college too. The private sector barely did shit for me health wise. Church and charity? The former was useless entirely. The latter provided sports but not really anything useful for immediate needs. Medicaid came through. But they don't want to give up this "All government is evvvvvvvvillll" shit despite evidence in front of their face.

One of the first things you learn when you deal with an addict is that you can't help people who don't wanna be helped. And these people are straight-up fucking addicted. They're addicted to this alternative reality where everyone who works for the government, every non-white, non-Christian, LGBT, or anyone from an urban area, is out to get them and kill them for being a Christian and/or straight or whatever the fuck reason Alex Jones is ranting about this week.

And much like addicts, you can't explain to Trump voters why their ideas are going to hurt them. You can't explain to the person babbling about how environmentalism is some grand conspiracy why having toxic waste everywhere is a bad idea for example. It has to affect him personally.

They have to hit rock bottom. And even then, there's no guarantee.

Even as people on Intervention run into more and more problems caused by their addiction, they'll always have an excuse. And most redhats will likewise always have an excuse (the college kid was mean to them, civil war statues, her emails, etc)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. Florida didnt vote the most for Trump.

He won with just a little over 100,000 votes, which I believe was under 2 percent of the vote here.

Just correcting the record.

[Cosmocat]

8. It isn't "intelligence," and this does a disservice to difficult challenge we face

If I know 100 people with engineering degrees, 99 of them are Rs.

I know plenty of other extremely intelligent people who are Rs.

It isn't "intellect."

[Initech]

10. There are intelligent republicans out there.

But for every intelligent republican, there's a thousand of them who just regurgitate what they hear on Fox News and AM radio. They are the ones we need to worry about - the ones who don't do any research and don't think for themselves. They are the most dangerous.