JoeB131
Diamond Member
And painting with a broad brush only reinforces the problem. Obviously many Republicans are racists. Many are simply out to protect "white privilege". But many aren't. Many have valid concerns and reasonable complaints about the direction our country is taking. Ignoring their concerns, and focusing solely on the deplorable aspects of Trump's support, actually "feeds the trolls". It pushes otherwise reasonable Republicans to "pick sides" and support people and causes they'd ordinarly reject.
That argument would be fine if some of them actually objected to Trump's worst behavior. Kill half a million people through sheer incompetence? Still with you, buddy. Have an angry mob of rednecks storm the capital demanding to kill your Vice-President? Yup. What, Liz Cheney is objecting? Throw her out of the party!!!
Replace her with a guy who knocked up his 14 year old girlfriend who later killed herself. Because you know, Family Values.
If, instead, Democrats re-tooled their agenda to actually take some of the concerns of rural Republicans seriously, they could pull the rug out from underneath Trump's populism and break his stranglehold on the Republican party. They'd be doing all of us a favor if they did. But sadly, they don't seem interested. They're busy licking their chops at the thought of single-party rule, fantasizing about eliminating the Republican party instead of attending to the needs of the nation.
Again, I have to call shenanigans. Democrats funnel tons of money into the rural areas. Our whole agricultural system is based on federal subsidies. For 50 years, these people have been voting against their own economic interests because the GOP has played on their racial, religious and sexual fears. The Democrats should never pander to THAT.