sincere naive question about Republicans

[steve2470]

Not trolling, been here a very long time, so.... here goes.

I've been blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) with not talking to many Republicans in my life. I'm sure I have and didn't know it, but I generally avoid political discussions because it never ends well with me, unless we're basically on the same side. A growth area for me, no doubt.

Here's the question: do most of them really not give a flying rat's ass if people die or suffer because they want everything to be privatized and/or as little government as possible ? I've heard the standard excuse "Well they need to go to their family/church/synagogue/friends/etc". Do they really think that you're going to get medical care (for example) that easily ? Do they really want people to start begging for adequate medical care ? It simply boggles my mind.

Again, I'm NOT trolling. I host 4 sub-forums here, so my cred is ok. Thanks in advance. I'm going to read and then comment later on. Thanks all.

Steve

[applegrove]

1. Some republicans are sadistic and like taking things away from others.

Last edited Tue Jul 4, 2017, 05:12 AM - Edit history (1)

A few of them. Maybe not Trump. He's just narcissistic and doesn't care about the details of policy. But Ryan comes to mind. Who dreams about taking medical care away from poor people during their kegger days? But they are calling the shots right now. Some are resentful of 'others' 'cheating' and have been conditioned to feel that way about a nation helping the less fortunate. Some really do hate abortion. Some really do not want to share a country with people less $$$$$ endowed because the ceos in the republican party have been conditioned to think they built their fortunes all by themselves. Some ceos are just as capable of being manipulated as the little guy. Some republicans are just afraid of: gun control, Muslims, communism, gays, non whites etc and have been conditioned to fear some or all of these things and in many cases the fear has been nurtured and kept alive. Some truly believe in less regulation to unleash the economy. Some truly believe trump would get all their good jobs back. It is a coalition based on lies and wedge issues rolled out over 50 years. That is a complete coalition. Presto! As easy as 123. These wedges are chosen in ways that work together. ..chosen simple human created fictions or chosen exploitable facts that work in tandem. Democrats deal with real people in ways that sometimes naturally conflict and are complicated because it is real. People really do want to get together and have a good healthcare plan. The numbers show it.

I don't think the people wanted to see union membership collapse but it happened 40 years ago and the resulting powerlessness made people angry and they turned on the 'other's. Which was completely predictable that powerlessness would result in more racism and i think the GOP were counting on that. I guess the payoff for republicans in bad healthcare would be fewer liberal voters over the age of 50, fewer Medicare recipients, fewer middle class people to oppose the GOP agenda. Who knows. But one thing for sure: they really, really, do not want great healthcare for Americans. Like really, really, really.

[BigmanPigman]

2. I have heard many people discussing this on CNN and MSNBC.

Several have the opinion that it depends on the person's individual situation. If they are doing well then they may feel entitled but when they aren't doing well and need help they begin to have a broader view of issues. Most people are self absorbed and until a hardship personally effects them they couldn't give a shit. Also, the Republican Party has changed a lot since the 1960's and values have flipped. Factor in the Tea Party/Freedom Caucus and the Repub Party is really very split.

I just read the reply above since I was typing as it was posted. I agree with it too.

[RDANGELO]

3. Fox News and right wing radio has been conditioning and reinforcing the notion that people view our

society in terms of groups of people opposing one another instead of society as a whole. Hence you have the belief that their are groups of people that do not deserve any empathy, compassion or consideration in our social discourse. In my opinion this started with Rush Limbuagh when no one stood up to him, the left thought it better to ignore him, the Republicans for political expediency or just plain bigotry. It has turned the Republican Party into somewhat of a cult.

[Tiggeroshii]

4. I just don't think they think about it very deeply

They look at it in terms of all the abstract and invisible lives we will be saving over many many years theoretically.

At least the ones I've talked to.

[J_William_Ryan]

5. It is Republicans blind adherence to failed, wrongheaded conservative dogma.

“Do most Republicans really not give a flying rat's ass if people die or suffer because they want everything to be privatized and/or as little government as possible?”

No, they think they’re ‘helping,’ it’s Republicans who are naïve and sophomoric.

They incorrectly believe that government ‘interferes’ with individual initiative, which is as ridiculous as it is wrong.

They also buy into the myth of ‘disincentives,’ that if government provides citizens with education and healthcare, people will become ‘lazy,’ not work hard, and fail to achieve the goals needed for a successful society, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth.

Republicans are, for the most part, blind ideologues, who eschew any and all who fail to abide by sanctioned rightwing dogma, and attack those who dare dissent.

[Botany]

6. At one time Republicans were good people .... Like my dad, Ike, Ray Shafer (Governor of PA),

Margaret Chase Smith, Gerry Ford, Chuck Percy, Betty Ford, and millions of day to day
people all across the country but hate radio, Fox News, Nixon, Agnew, Rove, big $$,
the NRA, conservative think tanks, fossil fuels businesses, right wing Christians, and others
have poisoned their minds to the point that they no longer think and just react to
talking points that are lies.


Trump fed off this ingrained stupidity. Gotta stop Hillary she is d**e b***h with a liberal
agenda.

Also the unending and unneeded hearings into "Hillary's crimes," Benghazi, and B.J.s
helped to poison the well too.

"they" know they can't win on ideas and the demographics are just brutal for them so they
sell hate too. https://www.democraticunderground.com/11041812

[Squinch]

8. Republicans of the past were politically where the more conservative Democrats

are today. The current party bears no resemblance to the party of the fifties or the sixties or beyond.

As you say, it was hijacked by hate.

[Squinch]

7. I think it all boils down to a massive inferiority complex.

I think the key to the mind of the middle and lower income Republican, who always votes against their own interests, is that phrase from Johnson. I don't remember the exact words, but he said that if you can convince a man that he is better than someone else, he will give you everything he has.

The middle and lower income Republican is someone who suspects he's trash and looks outside himself for people who are lower than he so he can feel superior. It creates a cognitive dissonance where the Republican voter at the same time thinks he is woefully inferior and naturally superior.

They need to feel that there are a lot of people below them on the ladder. And they are motivated by the belief that if someone is below him on the ladder, that person deserves to be below the Republican in question because this calms the feelings of inferiority and feeds the feelings of superiority.

So this is where you get all the people on Social Security and Medicare and food stamps complaining about all the OTHER people who are living off the government. This is where you get support for these really expensive investigations into social programs that turn up a fraction of the investigation cost in actual wrongdoing.

These people don't care to go after the big money like farm subsidies to Monsanto or tax cuts and huge payments by the government to oil companies. It's not actually about the money for these people. It's about identifying the people who are lower than the Republican voter and letting the Republican voter point a finger at that person.

No well informed middle or lower income person with a healthy self-image could vote Republican. So what you have are those who are not well informed and who don't have a healthy self-image.