Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Sanders defends Trump voters: I don't think they're racists, sexists or homophobes [View all]betsuni
(25,462 posts)"Consistent with a long line of research showing that group interests are more potent politically than self-interest, economic anxiety was channeled more through white identity politics than it was through Trump supporters' concern for their own personal well-being."
Republican voters do not vote because of policy. "Trump's campaign surprised and dismayed many Republicans for another reason: it revealed that many rank-and-file Republicans were not movement conservatives. One conservative analyst ... described how Republican leaders had often thought abut their voters: 'These are conservative voters, anti-Obama voters. We'll give them the same polices we've always given them.' What Republican leaders discovered, however, was that those polices were not what all Republican voters wanted. Most voters, even primary voters, are not ideologues. In 2016, those voters finally had someone to vote for." (From "Identity Crisis" )
Bernie thinks if he just has a chance to explain his policies to people, they will stop being Republicans. That it's about policy, not identity, that Democrats don't have any policies helping the working/middle classes and that's why white people do not vote for them.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden