I believe that many of the non-rich who vote Republican and consider themselves Republican

[raccoon]

for the most part think of the Democratic Party as the party that favors non-whites and gays. They don't want to identify themselves with either group, so they consider themselves Republicans.

Even if they don't have a pot to piss in, they don't want to be part of the party that they think favors non-whites and gays. :shrug:

[CTyankee]

1. The Repukes have been very successful in turning people against other people, exploiting

racial fears and nativism and touting the idea that anybody can make it rich if they aren't taxed by the government.

Let's face it: innate racism, fear, suspicion of the "other" in our society, can be exploited by clever pols and they promote nothing good. That's very evident right now...it's the oldest con game in the book...

[ejpoeta]

2. I hear what you are saying and it makes sense. I always think there are a couple of reasons why

someone is a republican.

1)they think 'republican' is like republican used to be. conservative, small government, states rights.
2)they want to control what everyone else is doing that they don't like, and the republicans agree with them.
3)they think they are more wealthy than they are and therefore think that tax increases for the wealthy MUST mean them.

I can respect a person who believes something. The problem I have is when they try to force their ideas on the rest of us. To me that is the republican party. They are not small government, though they claim to be. Maybe they once were. But they are now for big government that invades other countries and tries to legislate religious beliefs. I don't understand how anyone besides religious nuts can want to be identified with this party. But I know plenty of people who say they are republican. Maybe there needs to be an actual definition so people can tell us for sure where they stand.

[billyoc]

3. Billionaires and bigots.

[Chulanowa]

4. Not quite

Sure there's a few people who just don't want to "give" brown people, or gays, or women, or whoever, "special rights" - I.e, they're bigots. But we have plenty of those sorts here among the Democrats, too

Most people who are Republicans who have no sane reason to be, are Republicans because they've been lied to and poorly educated about the way things really work. A lot of the non-rich Republicans either believe that htey will be rich someday, or that whatever goes on with the super-wealthy "trickles down" to them. Neither case is true, but they believe with all their heart, just as the Friedmaniacs believe that the only reason deregulation has failed utterly is because there hasn't been enough of it.

Many others are "culture warriors", such as the pro-life movement, who would rather side with a party that takes their money and never touches their issue, other another party that simply disagrees with them.

A piss-poor understanding of economics, civics, and their own issues is what keeps Republicans part of their party

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. How many more decades of lies will it take for the non-rich repugs to finally wake up?

A lot of the non-rich Republicans either believe that they will be rich someday, or that whatever goes on with the super-wealthy "trickles down" to them.


It never works out that way and still they continue too believe it. :silly:

[Chulanowa]

15. Because of the way the school of thought works

Think about it. "Trickle down"

If you mark a line near the bottom of a hill and pour water down the hill, what do you do if the water doesn't reach your line? Pour more water.

You see this in their approach to the free markewt - If it's not a utopia where everyone is wealthy and free, then it's because there's not enough free market policy, not because the concept is flawed. You see it in their approach to their on ideology - If the conservative party is failing in the face of a more liberal party, well, it must be because they're not conservative enough. You even see it in regards to their religion, in a more blatant fashion. If Something in the bible seems wrong, it's only because you're not interpreting it correctly or aren't "open to the spirit"

Basically, if something doesn't work the way a conservative says it should, then it's not because the idea is flawed, but because you're doing it wrong.

How many more decades will it take? Sorry man... Stupidity is eternal

[DinahMoeHum]

5. The only thing they have left is their skin color.

And even that is losing its importance nowadays.

:evilfrown:

[Orsino]

6. They're royalists.

They adore the very rich, and wish to be ruled by them and their heirs. They probably hope to become very rich as well, because that's what happens in America when you work hard, right?

They are the party of equating hereditary wealth with political power.

[ladjf]

8. Good post. It goes right to the heart of Republicanism. nt

[hfojvt]

18. I wonder if they just see the glass as half full?

On DU it is often written as if the life of an American couple making $45,000 a year totally sucks. They are wage-slaves just barely getting by, only one disaster away from homelessness. I wonder if that couple is a Republican, they are more optimistic and happy about how good they have it. In some ways, they ARE rich, and it many ways also a long, long way from being poor. Also, as you go up the income scale to $60,000 and $70,000 and $80,000 you get an increasing percentage of people who a) will vote, and b) will vote Republican.

Meanwhile, down below $30,000, there are not a huge percentage who vote Republican. There is a much larger percentage who do not vote at all. So even though below $30,000 represents about 30% of US families, they are not as big a share of voters as the over $90,000 families who represent less than 20% of families.

[LeftinOH]

7. For *many* of them- the Democrats are the "fag" party; Junior High School mentality rules...n/t

[redqueen]

9. For many of them it's just like religion - they just adopted their parents' affiliation.

If we could talk more about issues and stop the "republicans hate gays and minorities" crap, we might have a lot more success influencing people to question what they're buying into. Sure it may be true for some, but hardly all.

Making it a team sport / us vs. them situation only hardens people's loyalties, reason be damned. It makes people defensive and less thoughtful.

[Catherine Vincent]

10. I totally agree.

And republicans in office know this, that's why they feed them lip service.

[Echo In Light]

12. One can unfortunately find an authoritarian % within any populace

[Tikki]

13. One thing I have noticed...recently... lttes where..

writers are talking about the 'corporate welfare queens and kings'..
and the repugs are having a hard time dispelling the notion....

That term is starting to make an impact on the public consciousness...

Tikki

[leftofthedial]

14. nor do they want to be part of the "pro-abortion" or "anti-gun" party.

two generations of relentless hammering on meaningless wedge issues has paid off. Otherwise, the repuke party would have faded into oblivion in the 40's and 50's.

[hfojvt]

16. but if they are white and non-gay

isn't it likely that they will have the feeling that the Democrat Party isn't going to care about them anyway?

[EstimatedProphet]

17. Well, yes

That's what "special interests" is coded to mean.

[county worker]

19. If you remember the cold war and it's end, you can see that liberals, Democrats, leftists what ever

has taken the place of the communists as the group to fear. The working class conservative reacts to fear and authority. So their authority tells them that the left is the group to fear and that trumps every other thing in their lives.