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guillaumeb

(42,649 posts)
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 11:56 AM Feb 2021

How can we reach out to Trump voters?

As I see it, the main issue is that many Trump voters fell for his fantasy of making America great again. That fantasy is based on a vision of the US that never really existed, except, perhaps, in country music videos and revisionist history, but it is an appealing one for conservatives who long for that imagined, but imaginary, past.

And many of these voters know, on a certain level, that they are not doing well, and that their children will do even worse. So when the con man came along with his vision of that perfect past, and promised to bring it back, they believed because they needed to believe.

My view is that Biden and the Democrats must go big. Spend trillions on the Green New Deal, and extended unemployment, and job training, and child tax credits, and student loan forgiveness, and watch the productive economy grow.

The GOP opposed the original New Deal, and the result was Democratic control for many years.

And as we also know, many voted for Trump because he is a racist. Reaching those people might be impossible.

Thoughts?

PS Happy Valentine Day.

Edited to add: Pass a voting rights act to prevent vote suppression.

94 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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How can we reach out to Trump voters? (Original Post) guillaumeb Feb 2021 OP
You can't (nt) Mattgoetznolovefromm Feb 2021 #1
Welcome to DU, and the conversation. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #3
I am going to call it MOMFUDSKI Feb 2021 #63
anti abortionists are racist at heart. Claire Oh Nette Feb 2021 #76
As a volunteer escort for Planned Parenthood NoRethugFriends Feb 2021 #94
With a ten foot pole soothsayer Feb 2021 #2
Agreed. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #5
I agree Walleye Feb 2021 #8
Yep Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Feb 2021 #61
They are now a cult. NameAlreadyTaken Feb 2021 #4
Here's how I did it. It was the easiest thing I ever did when I realized what they believe and value Autumn Feb 2021 #6
Now you're talking. Keep them away from the Dem party... brush Feb 2021 #71
Funny how whenever we talk about appealing to Black and Brown voters, we're shouted down with StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #81
You can but you need to melm00se Feb 2021 #7
Seriously? StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #10
You sure? melm00se Feb 2021 #45
We already picked off the sensible ones in the 2018 Blue wave. brush Feb 2021 #66
Yes, I'm sure StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #75
Those skittish animals attacked our capitol. SlogginThroughIt Feb 2021 #78
We don't StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #9
True, the reach should be policy based. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #16
There is no "reach" as far as I'm concerned StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #26
Yep. Every time we have extended our hand, GoCubsGo Feb 2021 #70
How about with a Sledgehammer? maxrandb Feb 2021 #11
Sledgehammer? guillaumeb Feb 2021 #13
The answer is as you presented. Joe GOES BIG. Irish_Dem Feb 2021 #12
Agreed. eom guillaumeb Feb 2021 #14
You can't teach stupid new tricks! imanamerican63 Feb 2021 #15
True, but actions that lead to progress will speak. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #18
This message was self-deleted by its author brush Feb 2021 #62
Correction: In office 6 days shy of 1 month. He's working hard... brush Feb 2021 #64
I would suggest using dimensional lumber....... lastlib Feb 2021 #17
So true and to the point. brush Feb 2021 #59
There are voters who voted for Obama and Trump andym Feb 2021 #19
Well argued. eom guillaumeb Feb 2021 #21
To me, Beto had an excellent strategy for coming so close against Cruz Laura PourMeADrink Feb 2021 #20
Yes, deep canvassing is one method we must use. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #23
Let it go. We already picked off the reachable ones in the 2018 Blue wave. brush Feb 2021 #55
What do you think they want? Guess any of them? Cuz I agree Laura PourMeADrink Feb 2021 #67
We can't reach out to them calguy Feb 2021 #22
This! StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #30
So ture. brush Feb 2021 #53
Free university or technical college for their kids and lower Medicare age to 60 and increase LaMouffette Feb 2021 #24
Excellent additions. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #25
Those are Democratic policies which help the 99%, which includes... brush Feb 2021 #52
"They'll surely take the benefits" llmart Feb 2021 #69
Agreed. Same here. brush Feb 2021 #72
I suspect you are right about them still voting Republican. It's very hard to fight party loyalty. LaMouffette Feb 2021 #93
Ever see the movie Malcolm X DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2021 #27
Some do, but not all. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #28
With all due respect, bullshit StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #32
Well said. Such a strategy greatly risks alienating Black and POC voters... brush Feb 2021 #43
If Trumpism isn't a cult, it's a religion to his supporters. DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2021 #44
Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2021 #34
Yes. For some reason they fear Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #88
I value llashram Feb 2021 #29
I won't. They don't deserve any outreach. Ferrets are Cool Feb 2021 #31
They deserve ridicule and scorn. roamer65 Feb 2021 #33
Trump was not a transformative figure... Moostache Feb 2021 #35
Thank you. So well said. brush Feb 2021 #42
We might disagree on the percentages. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #47
Reach out with what? Facts? Reality? Truth? Ideas? Words? History? hatrack Feb 2021 #36
We already picked off in 2018 most of the sensible trump voters. brush Feb 2021 #37
+ Clearly fogged in Feb 2021 #92
I really don't think we can reach "Trump voters" who are raging hypocrites. And we can try to CTyankee Feb 2021 #38
Agreed. And those are exactly the ones that we might reach. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #49
I grew up in segregated Dallas, Texas. Went to segregated schools. CTyankee Feb 2021 #56
You can reach some people who voted for Trump by fixing the economy. Poiuyt Feb 2021 #39
100% agreed. eom guillaumeb Feb 2021 #50
Republicans, stay away from me. EndlessWire Feb 2021 #40
Pitchforks? KatyMan Feb 2021 #41
"Reach out to Trump voters"? Really? Bettie Feb 2021 #46
The research indicates the primary source of anxiety DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2021 #48
Demonstrating the difficulty. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #51
LGTBQ people and POC had no or virtually no power in the thirties and forties. DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2021 #54
I agree, we should go big. Let our actions speak for us. JudyM Feb 2021 #57
Not a GD thing GOPistheEnemy Feb 2021 #58
I'm writing a booklet Mersky Feb 2021 #60
Funny, and well written. eom guillaumeb Feb 2021 #82
We govern well Sympthsical Feb 2021 #65
They think HRC ate babies. LizBeth Feb 2021 #68
I have a Brother in Law who is a biker, 2nd amendment is everything type ismnotwasm Feb 2021 #73
Yeah, I know similar such people Mersky Feb 2021 #74
Yes, those and non voters ismnotwasm Feb 2021 #79
That is truly sad. guillaumeb Feb 2021 #83
I think people who are culturally intrenched like that are unreachable politically ismnotwasm Feb 2021 #89
Witha fist and a right hook? SlogginThroughIt Feb 2021 #77
We need to bring back the part of the past where we got things done. gulliver Feb 2021 #80
One part of the problem is "the Hastert rule". guillaumeb Feb 2021 #84
Psychotropic drugs? Until they emerge from fantasyland, they're lost forever. Vinca Feb 2021 #85
If they are too stupid to understand what a disaster Trump was Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #86
Domesticated turkeys, looking up at the rain? eom guillaumeb Feb 2021 #87
We could agree to become racists. Racism explains most of them. n/t. NNadir Feb 2021 #90
A fist Ani Yun Wiya Feb 2021 #91

guillaumeb

(42,649 posts)
3. Welcome to DU, and the conversation.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 11:59 AM
Feb 2021

I feel that some are reachable.

I feel that many, but not all, are racists.

I feel that if we reach them with an economic message of inclusion, and real prosperity, we can keep them. The GOP has nothing to offer except for tax cuts for the rich and austerity for the rest. Thus the GOP must use racism and fear to motivate.

 

MOMFUDSKI

(7,080 posts)
63. I am going to call it
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:59 PM
Feb 2021

95% racist as their main idealogy and 5% anti-abortion. And I believe the racist crap might have stayed much further underground but for the Obama election. That is what drove them out from under their rocks. My friend of 30 years just lost it over Obama and that is how I discovered her racism and hatred of blacks. Then she hung up on me and we didn't speak for 5 years. After Obama was gone she called and I was kind enough to take up the friendship again. But she is super pro trump and will forever hate the blacks. And there are 72 million of those folks walking amongst us.

Claire Oh Nette

(2,636 posts)
76. anti abortionists are racist at heart.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:45 PM
Feb 2021

They don't care how many Black or Latinas abort their unintended pregnancies. They only care how many white women might be aborting...male white embryos.

It's about racism, too.

NoRethugFriends

(2,961 posts)
94. As a volunteer escort for Planned Parenthood
Sat Feb 27, 2021, 02:57 PM
Feb 2021

for 30 years, I can sat un-categorically your statement is not true

soothsayer

(38,601 posts)
2. With a ten foot pole
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 11:58 AM
Feb 2021

Just let Biden keep delivering the goods. Ensure election security and voting rights. Stop/ fix gerrymandering.

NameAlreadyTaken

(1,456 posts)
4. They are now a cult.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 11:59 AM
Feb 2021

They have been hopelessly brainwashed for decades by right-wing news media, radio, Fox news and now internet groups and sites. How can you reach out to a cult? Can you reach out to Scientologists? It's hopeless. We can only move om without them.

Autumn

(46,045 posts)
6. Here's how I did it. It was the easiest thing I ever did when I realized what they believe and value
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:01 PM
Feb 2021

I cut off 3 family members, my sisters, and no longer have any contact with them, don't miss them or their bullshit. Fuck Trump and fuck his supporters.

brush

(57,250 posts)
71. Now you're talking. Keep them away from the Dem party...
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:20 PM
Feb 2021

as to attract however few of them we get, we have to move right and thus lose way more of our base of Blacks, other POCs, progressive whites and LGBTQ base.

We don't need them. We just won the Senate and WH, and with our Blue Wave 2018 takeover of the House, we now have a Dem-dominated government. And we did it without them.

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
81. Funny how whenever we talk about appealing to Black and Brown voters, we're shouted down with
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 02:23 PM
Feb 2021

accusations of "playing identity politics" - yet we're supposed to go out of our way to try appealing to white supremacists and that's just "reaching out."

melm00se

(5,045 posts)
7. You can but you need to
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:02 PM
Feb 2021

treat them like a skittish animal. Say the wrong thing, in the wrong way and they are gone.

Find other common ground and discuss those.

Avoid using words/phrases like:

Cheetoh man
The orange bastard
Drumpenfurher

and the like.

Then, realize that there are certain members who you will never reach. It happens.

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
10. Seriously?
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:04 PM
Feb 2021

No. They are not skittish animals. They are people who have made choices.

I'm fine with them staying right where they are. We don't need them.

melm00se

(5,045 posts)
45. You sure?
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:38 PM
Feb 2021

They came a hell of lot closer than anyone cares to think in putting him back in the White House. It would not have taken too much to tip the scales in Trump's favor. There were not that many votes that separated Biden from Trump in AZ, GA, WI, PA and MI. It could have just as easily gone for Trump.

Now, I am not saying that you aim at the hardcore extreme right MAGATs. You will never move them more than a couple of steps to the left but seeing they are several hundred steps away from reality even those small steps wouldn't have matter (and would never stick).

But the more centrist Republicans? (yes Virginia, they do exist). I would go after them because shifting them from the center-right to the center-left is a lot more likely.

I doubt that this will happen because so many Democrats (including many here) are so likely to just outright insult them (like they do with Christians). Then all that happens is they get driven into the arms of Republicans.

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
9. We don't
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:02 PM
Feb 2021

That train has left the station.

Anyone who is still supporting Trump at this point in time isn't worth the effort and I don't want them in my party.

Now, if they come around on their own and are willing to get with our program, fine - they're welcome to come in the tent as long as they behave themselves and don't expect anyone else in the tent to take a backseat to them.

But I don't think we need to waste any more time, resources or effort on trying to "reach" these people. We need to devote every ounce of effort to building up and supporting and enfranchising other voters who don't have to be convinced not to support or engage in white supremacy.

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
26. There is no "reach" as far as I'm concerned
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:15 PM
Feb 2021

We do what we're going to do and if they want to come along, fine.

But I'm tired of hearing about how we "reach out" to these people. They've been reached out to constantly for years and they still are where they are. I'm not interested in having "dialogue" with people who have consistently and knowingly supported people who want me and my people marginalized, disenfranchised and, in some cases, destroyed. These people aren't innocent victims. They know what they're voting for and they're doing it because agree with it.

Leave them there and focus on people who deserve the effort. We don't need them.

GoCubsGo

(32,937 posts)
70. Yep. Every time we have extended our hand,
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:19 PM
Feb 2021

they slapped it away, or spit on it, or deposited their shit on it. Enough already.

Irish_Dem

(56,047 posts)
12. The answer is as you presented. Joe GOES BIG.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:06 PM
Feb 2021

On the issues you list.

I would add to the list, free junior college for all.
The poorly educated would benefit.

imanamerican63

(14,406 posts)
15. You can't teach stupid new tricks!
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:08 PM
Feb 2021

Last edited Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:00 PM - Edit history (1)

This goes for my GOPer family members! Although Biden has been in office for less than a month! They are now blaming Biden for things that Trump, the Bushes and Reagan did!

Response to imanamerican63 (Reply #15)

brush

(57,250 posts)
64. Correction: In office 6 days shy of 1 month. He's working hard...
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:03 PM
Feb 2021

and with the disgrace of the republican senators letting trump go unpunished yet again after being impeached, he can get on with getting his agenda passed in the Senate.

lastlib

(24,799 posts)
17. I would suggest using dimensional lumber.......
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:09 PM
Feb 2021

As I've said several times here: "Never extend your hand to a rabid dog unless you are prepared to club it into submission." Substitute "republiQan" for "rabid dog," and it still works. It is proven beyond question that if you could reason with AnusMouth supporters, they wouldn't be AnusMouth supporters. So just forget about bringing them into the non-fascist fold, and run over them.

andym

(5,642 posts)
19. There are voters who voted for Obama and Trump
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:11 PM
Feb 2021

Perhaps they can be reached. Most of the others are unreachable-- they have bought into the Trump club of social grievances and victimhood-- which the GOP has fostered.

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
20. To me, Beto had an excellent strategy for coming so close against Cruz
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:11 PM
Feb 2021

He traveled all over and just listened to people. He never trashed them for being republican. He then tried to appeal to their sense of pride. For instance if they said they needed better schools, he would mention that TX ranked low in education, we can do better, right?

I would love to hear a reporter drill down to ask trump supporters what they don't like or what they want, beyond the overcharged rhetoric. Goal - a specific list of policies they want to see happen.

Someone said that they complained Obama would take their guns away, but in 8 years he didn't

guillaumeb

(42,649 posts)
23. Yes, deep canvassing is one method we must use.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:13 PM
Feb 2021

And we all know it will not work with all of them, but it might help with the reachable ones.

Do not ask me what percent are reachable, but I feel that the Q types are unreachable.

brush

(57,250 posts)
55. Let it go. We already picked off the reachable ones in the 2018 Blue wave.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:48 PM
Feb 2021

We lost a few in 2020 because of the foolish "defund the police" slogan and our two, resident socialists. We don't want the magat/white supremacists and Q idiots that are left.

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
67. What do you think they want? Guess any of them? Cuz I agree
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:12 PM
Feb 2021

there are different types of them. Being in finance, I know there are many decent people who lean liberal socially but are driven by low taxes because it helps their business and vote accordingly.

So if you translate that to "how do we appeal to them" - it's gotta be low business taxes right? Not something we typically support right?

My only point it that you have to boil it all down to policy. And be willing to somehow provide that if we want to expand our base.

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
30. This!
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:19 PM
Feb 2021

This kind of attitude is one of the reasons the insurrection occurred. Law enforcement didn't see those people as a threat - they just thought they were confused, but harmless people who looked like their family and neighbors who just wanted to get a few things off their chests, when, in reality, they were a dangerous mob of white supremacist criminals.

Continuing to treat Trump supporters like they're just misguided but ultimately reachable fellow Americans who only need understanding and support to come around is maddening to me and deeply insulting. Anyone who is still supporting Trump now knows EXACTLY what they're supporting and it's not about economic anxiety or just a little feeling of marginalization. These are white supremacists and white supremacist sympathizers. Period.

I want them to stay their asses away from my party.

LaMouffette

(2,236 posts)
24. Free university or technical college for their kids and lower Medicare age to 60 and increase
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:14 PM
Feb 2021

Social Security monthly payments and raise the federal minimum wage and empower the labor unions and make it a national goal to manufacture THE best electric cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles in the world with ALL parts crafted at USA factories with union labor.

Just a few that came to mind!

brush

(57,250 posts)
52. Those are Democratic policies which help the 99%, which includes...
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:42 PM
Feb 2021

Last edited Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:21 PM - Edit history (1)

most magats. They'll surely take the benefits of a more robust social safety net but most will still vote republican because that's who they are and always will be. We might pull a few but it's not worth the effort if we move right and lose our Black and POC base.

llmart

(16,328 posts)
69. "They'll surely take the benefits"
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:17 PM
Feb 2021

So true. Just see how they mail those stimulus checks back to Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden when they get them. Trump supporters wanted to murder her - tried to murder her. If anyone thinks they'll be grateful to the Dems for getting them financial assistance during the pandemic, they're delusional.

I won't be reaching out to any of them. In fact, I won't have any of them in my life.

LaMouffette

(2,236 posts)
93. I suspect you are right about them still voting Republican. It's very hard to fight party loyalty.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 07:08 PM
Feb 2021

We need to find a way to make them see that by voting Republican, they are voting against their own self-interest. I honestly don't know how they can be so blind to this fact. Oh, wait, I do know: Fox News and other right-wing messaging convincing them that government is bad, Democrats are socialists, etc.

DemocratSinceBirth

(100,097 posts)
27. Ever see the movie Malcolm X
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:15 PM
Feb 2021

Ever see the movie Malcolm X when the well- intentioned white young woman asks what she can do to help the movement and Malcolm says nothing. Of course he moved past that stance but there is nothing we can do to attract Trump voters because they hate the same people he does, i.e. assertive people of color, lgtbbq people, and liberals.

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
32. With all due respect, bullshit
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:20 PM
Feb 2021

At this point in time, anyone who is supporting Trump is perfectly happy with white supremacists in power. And the reason they're perfectly happy with that is that they support it.

Please stop treating them like innocent victims. They are not. Or at least please stop trying to foist these people on us, especially us black and brown people who are their primary victims and targets. It's insulting.

brush

(57,250 posts)
43. Well said. Such a strategy greatly risks alienating Black and POC voters...
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:35 PM
Feb 2021

who might just chose to stay home and not voting because we sure wouldn't be switching to the republican party.

DemocratSinceBirth

(100,097 posts)
34. Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:22 PM
Feb 2021
Last year, a Public Religion Research Institute survey of more than 3,000 people also found that Mr. Trump’s appeal could better be explained by a fear of cultural displacement.

...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/politics/trump-economic-anxiety.html

llashram

(6,269 posts)
29. I value
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:19 PM
Feb 2021

my hands too much to reach toward lethal venomous snakes. I do respect your OP. Proper politics and civil discourse is a necessary tool. Peace and goodwill one day. Maybe but probably not before I die of old age maladies.

Moostache

(10,135 posts)
35. Trump was not a transformative figure...
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:23 PM
Feb 2021

He was an ugly mirror. 75 million pigs looked into it and said, "Yup...more please"....82 million (+ those who did not vote) looked into it and recoiled in horror.

When you premise that these people were duped or mislead, I believe you give them too much credit. Those who stormed the Capitol and broke windows, doors and shattered our collective image of reverence for the building and the institution. That was not a group of dupes, they would not be swayed by reason or facts, they do not want co-citizenship and democratic representation. They want the return of the Confederacy and the Antebellum South in tone and rhetoric if not in fact.

They want to be free of consequences in their 'free speech'. They want to say the N-word loudly, in public and free of the repercussions of doing so (including ostracization for such thoughts and words or a well deserved punch in the mouth).

They want to jail MORE families, separate and torture them in cages, as a perverse "message" to the desperate and downtrodden that they are no longer welcomed as huddled masses yearning to breathe free, but rather as slandered invaders by people afraid of their own shadows and the loss of white power in general.

They want Charlottesville.
They want Pittsburgh.
They want Dylan Roof.
They want McDonalds for them and bullets in the back for any one of darker than pasty complexion.
They want Donald Trump, their empty vessel of hate.
They want January 6th. Every day.

I have no idea how to compromise with the people who rather see people here killed or jailed than compromise on anything.

guillaumeb

(42,649 posts)
47. We might disagree on the percentages.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:39 PM
Feb 2021

My hope is that the percent of Q cultists is lower than Trump might hope.

hatrack

(60,708 posts)
36. Reach out with what? Facts? Reality? Truth? Ideas? Words? History?
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:23 PM
Feb 2021

Any of those approaches paid off yet?

No, because when Owning Teh Libtards is your reason for being, along with generous daily applications of Butthurt Cream, none of these things matter.

I'd suggest reaching out to them with stick-figure cartoons in primary colors, combined with a pounding techno soundtrack.

brush

(57,250 posts)
37. We already picked off in 2018 most of the sensible trump voters.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:25 PM
Feb 2021

Last edited Sun Feb 14, 2021, 11:04 PM - Edit history (1)

We lost some back in 2020 because of the foolish "defund the police" slogan as well as because of our two very prominent, resident socialists.

The rest of the trump voters who remain loyal to him, the magats/white supremacists and Q idiots, we definitely do not want. WTF could we possibly advocate to appeal to white fucking supremacists that's not going to totally alienate our base of Black voters and other POC? Black voters have saved our asses so many times IMO it's disgraceful to even contemplate going after the trump voters who remain. Sanders has pushed this in two losing presidential runs, going after white, working class voters—which translates as the very people we just saw in the attempted putsch on Jan. 6

Are you kidding me?

We don't want those voters. They are anathema to the Democratic Party.

Don't even try it. Getting out potential voters in our communities is a continual and necessary effort because the voters you're advocating going after are the very ones who are continually trying to suppress the Black and POC votes.

No. Absolutely not. I can't think of a worse non-starter than that.

Get Stacey Abrams on the job. She'll show you how to get our voters out and it won't be going after magats.

CTyankee

(64,884 posts)
38. I really don't think we can reach "Trump voters" who are raging hypocrites. And we can try to
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:25 PM
Feb 2021

reach the salvable republicans. Let me explain, my neighbor is probably salvageble. He is extremely kind and helpful, as is his whole family, to my husband and me. But here is what is just plain weird: he "saw things" that weren't happening i.e. videos purporting that, he said, Dems were cheating at the polls, changing votes from R to D, and other chicanery. A couple of his friends on Facebook said things like "Gary, we need to talk, please call me, I don't think you saw what you said you did. Please call me..." That took me aback. Some of his friends were actually saying he might be hallucinating.

He and his family continue to be helpful to us as we're elderly. I feel so badly for them. They are good people in other ways."

CTyankee

(64,884 posts)
56. I grew up in segregated Dallas, Texas. Went to segregated schools.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:48 PM
Feb 2021

But Dallas became modern and, as a banking and mercantile base, had to be welcome to Yankees from NYC and other northern cities. We had Neiman-Marcus and were proud of it. The old Texas, as least as far as Dallas-Ft Worth was concerned, was a thing of the past. I saw that transition.

I'm not saying racial issues didn't exist, just that Dallas avoided a lot of it. I don't think the JFK assassination didn't hurt Dallas's reputation, just that it was a very different thing from the old segregation thing.

Poiuyt

(18,272 posts)
39. You can reach some people who voted for Trump by fixing the economy.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:26 PM
Feb 2021

The Democrats need to do what's necessary to get the economy going, specifically getting to full employment. This would generate substantial social benefits that would translate to satisfaction with the current administration. Biden's stimulus package should go a long way to reversing Reagan's neoliberal economic philosophy that created the tremendous economic inequality that we have now.

BTW, you'll never reach his cultists.

EndlessWire

(7,194 posts)
40. Republicans, stay away from me.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:28 PM
Feb 2021

I am ashamed of you, and I want nothing to do with you.

I am going to engage in the business of the Nation and vaccinate every human that sticks out their arm. If you want to be friends with me, you will wear your masks, wash your hands, and keep 8 feet from me. But, I am never going to eat a meal with you.

If you are hungry, I'll probably hand you a biscuit. But, that's it. You chose the likes of Trump over our Democracy. Get down on your knees somewhere else. You blew it.

Bettie

(16,916 posts)
46. "Reach out to Trump voters"? Really?
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:39 PM
Feb 2021

Yes, I suppose we must "try to understand them and their economic anxiety"...isn't that the media line?

The one we heard over and over after he was installed?

Why does NO ONE ever wonder how to reach out to Democrats?

I tire of this right wing talking point.

ETA: We can't reach out to them in any real way because they are largely untethered to this thing we call reality.

DemocratSinceBirth

(100,097 posts)
48. The research indicates the primary source of anxiety
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:40 PM
Feb 2021

The research indicates the primary source of anxiety for Trump voters is cultural, not economic. They don't want to share power with POC, lgtbq people and, liberals.

DemocratSinceBirth

(100,097 posts)
54. LGTBQ people and POC had no or virtually no power in the thirties and forties.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:44 PM
Feb 2021

Trumpism is a reaction to those groups accruing it.

JudyM

(29,509 posts)
57. I agree, we should go big. Let our actions speak for us.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:49 PM
Feb 2021

There are boogeyman stereotypes about what we stand for. Let them see who we are. We need to really shine our light. And we need to prosecute the hell out of the ass who finally left... and investigate the lot of them. Let’s shine serious light into the corners they crawl around in.

Happy VDay, guillaumeb!

 

GOPistheEnemy

(49 posts)
58. Not a GD thing
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:50 PM
Feb 2021

One can not reason or compromise with those whose goal is white supremacy and fascism and want you DEAD.

Right now the best one can do is cut every last Republican out of your life, don't be friends with them, don't do business with them, don't even be polite to them. At work make them address you formally, Mr. Ms, etc and only interact with you for work reasons only. Don't even justify their existence in your presence. Boycott Red States and Republican/Conservative owned businesses and ones that donate Republicans or Conservative causes and politicians. Exercise your 2nd Amendment Rights if you so choose, I highly recommend it. They do and are preparing themselves.

They are enemies and traitors of America treat them all as such, that is what you can do.

Mersky

(5,163 posts)
60. I'm writing a booklet
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 12:53 PM
Feb 2021

Think expanded, 15 page greeting card with recipes at the back. It’s not a manifesto, no, it’s a freakin’ timesaver. Is to take back the time that republican politicians and rw media are stealing from me. Time is money and they are picking my pockets and needlessly wasting lives.

It would be a full time job if I spent five hours explaining how it is that I’m not a communist, why racism is immoral and stupid, and generally what’s been happening in my life during the missing COVID year. Feel I should remind some folks how Pa was a proud Democrat and a diabetic who made an excellent, zero-carb red eye gravy.

It’s for some family members who might believe that their first cousin narrowly survived COVID due to the grace of their God and not the ventilators and healthcare workers.

It’s for the acquaintances that I’ll likely run into again, who, without semi-regular exposure to a librul like me must think I spend my time mumbling the orange guy’s name while eating avocado toast, and mailing illegal ballots.

It’s to get rid of some of the shadows on the cave wall. And to make sure that if they continue to follow the fascists that they get real specific in who it is they’re hating. Is just to make sure they despise those liberals making gravy with venison breakfast sausage drippings, strong black coffee, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

I put that on my biscuits, y’all — and they can’t stop me.

Sympthsical

(10,036 posts)
65. We govern well
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:08 PM
Feb 2021

You can't reason someone out of what they were never reasoned into in the first place.

If we do a good job, people will see their lives improve. When they start realizing, "Hey, my life is a little better or at least a little less worse with this party in charge than the other one." Biden has such an opportunity here with his Covid relief bill and other matters.

We're never going to reach some critical mass of the ideological. Most people don't stand on their ideology. Most of us here probably do, because we're political types. And there are definitely millions of people out there who define themselves by their race, religion, etc. You can't just tell them, "Hey, that's wrong. Stop that." They've usually spent their whole lives building up those identities. A couple of Twitter posts aren't going to suddenly tear all that down.

But if we say, "Look, I hate what you stand for, but I want your life to be better anyway. So here's how I'm going to do that. We're all Americans and all deserve a better life, so I'm going to bring you along with me even if you hate me."

We talk a lot about a prison system, for example. And I think most liberals will agree that we should strive for the rehabilitative vs the punitive. Right now, our politics are geared towards the punitive. "I hate what you stand for, so I will get you in some way." It's part of our current hyper-partisanship at the moment.

It's just going to harden battle lines. There's no winning here. We're stuck in this country together, like or not. And if you want to win by sheer force, well, that roads leads to authoritarianism no matter how well-intentioned. We can push and we can pull, but we can't pummel. A lot of people are in pummel mode, and I absolutely get why. But it will ultimately make us worse instead of better.

I think Biden instinctively understands this. That's why you never get vitriol out of him. He kills with warmth. He's no squish. He's hard when he needs to be.

But he's not going to start a knife fight when a beer with someone would do just as well.

ismnotwasm

(42,433 posts)
73. I have a Brother in Law who is a biker, 2nd amendment is everything type
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:30 PM
Feb 2021

Thinks not using racist language is interfering with his right to speak, hates our Governor Jay Inslee, but I’m not sure why, calls Joe Biden “Pedo Joe” and Kamala Harris “Kamaltoe”. Claims Kamala is a “wh***”

There is no reaching out to him. His wife, who crochets and sews things for charity and volunteers at the food bank, and claims to not care about “politics” used the word “Sand N*****” to my husband the other day when referring to another human being. My BIL often volunteers for his community, is generous and good hearted in most areas. His adult kids are the exact same way.

Politically and socially they are not going to change, and mostly I ignore their existence. There is no there there. No focal point to reach out to. They despise the libs, it’s part of an intrenched persona. All their friends are the same way.

Mersky

(5,163 posts)
74. Yeah, I know similar such people
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:42 PM
Feb 2021

And I’m not messing with them.

I’m more concerned with regaining some familiarity with the ones who just tip over to tRump because of abortion, etc. or those that knee-jerk support the pResident no matter what.

And then, there’s this huge swath of people who don’t follow politics at all, but sometimes vote - I know where to find a couple of them.

guillaumeb

(42,649 posts)
83. That is truly sad.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 03:07 PM
Feb 2021

We all know such people.

But my view is that we must act, and if our actions resonant with some GOP voters, so much the better.

ismnotwasm

(42,433 posts)
89. I think people who are culturally intrenched like that are unreachable politically
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 03:51 PM
Feb 2021

But there are tons of people who aren’t as rigid. For instance, I had a patient who voted for Trump the first time, ‘because he was a business man’ and was absolutely appalled at Trumps behavior. That guy changed his own mind

 

SlogginThroughIt

(1,977 posts)
77. Witha fist and a right hook?
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 01:51 PM
Feb 2021

Sorry I shouldn’t promote violence. I have a couple old friends who occasionally text me with abusive messages.

I don’t know how we reach out to them anymore than we have. If they aren’t interested in policy designed to improve their quality of life then what is there for us to do? They WANT to fight with us. The WANT to live the hard life and claim the glory of fighting through the struggle. It is a strange theatric that they engage in and for what?

gulliver

(13,319 posts)
80. We need to bring back the part of the past where we got things done.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 02:17 PM
Feb 2021

Talk is cheap. Biden's on the right track in a big way, imo.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Trump traumatized McConnell cooperate a lot more than he did with Obama.

Vinca

(50,932 posts)
85. Psychotropic drugs? Until they emerge from fantasyland, they're lost forever.
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 03:13 PM
Feb 2021

A few will find there way back to normal. Unfortunately, some will be felons who can't vote. Picture them sitting in their cells for years on end as a result of their Trump adventure. No doubt it will occur to them that their god left them in the lurch staring at metal bars while he's down in Palm Beach sitting around a pool.

Mr.Bill

(24,753 posts)
86. If they are too stupid to understand what a disaster Trump was
Sun Feb 14, 2021, 03:15 PM
Feb 2021

as they stand in the middle of the wreckage he left behind, they are not even worthy of me recognizing their existence.

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