It just shows that they can’t tell fact from fiction. That they fall for his dog-and-pony show–his shtick. If they really believe that about a lazy, fat-ass fraudster, they’ll swallow anything.
I’m curious why the Barry example gets dismissed out of hand. I remember being stunned that someone with his documented history of inappropriate and criminal behavior could not only be considered a credible candidate but actually win – even as “just” a big-city mayor. Trump’s election despite his own despicable background was just as shocking, but of course the impact is broader and more devastating.
Both cases seem to involve an electorate supporting someone who’s “one of them” over any consideration of competence or likely outcomes. I don’t see how pointing out the short-sightedness of Barry’s supporters in any way excuses the same deficiency in Trump’s.
Context, proportionality, relevance, venue…?
Yeah who the fuck cares! Everything is the same!!
Drawing a parallel between a few thousand mostly African-American voters and 63 million mostly white Americans in no way excuses Trump voters.
The scope and impact of Barry’s re-election was infinitesimal compared to Trump’s 2016 election. The only thing that’s “the same” is that in both cases, people elected a candidate whose record should have – in any sane evaluation – disqualified them from public office.
Just because there’s a similar phenomenon at work doesn’t give Trump supporters the right to say “See, you did it, too!” In fact, the disproportion only makes that argument lamer.
…Hand-waving?
Regards,
Shodan
Probably. I don’t salute.
Maybe you aren’t a good audience for this, or maybe you are, but when it comes to black people trying to get electoral influence in the US? They get a pass from me, certainly at the mayoral level, in making such a binary choice.
I’ve often speculated on the question asked in the OP. I can think of a few different reasons Trump supporters might not be moved by the scandals and gaffes and such:
- They never hear about it from the media they consume.
- They hear about it, but think it’s opposition lying/distorting
- They hear about it, but don’t understand its complexities or why it’s important
- They hear about it, but they like what he did
- They hear about it, but just don’t care
I wonder how the possibilities play out proportionally among his voters.
I don’t recall the particulars of the Barry re-election. What was binary about it? All I recall was thinking What the fuck is wrong with these people voting for such an obvious crook?
I never imagined I’d be saying the same thing about 63 million Americans who didn’t even have 400 years of racial discrimination as motivation.
All elections are binary.
The DC mayoral election of 1994 had three black democrats vying for the win, Barry beat incumbent mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, and councilman John Ray.
It depends on the state of mind of the electorate, the context again.
I’d need to dig deeper on any elections in which there are multiple african american candidates. I’m not black.
Most likely, it’s simply that their fear and loathing of the D’s has risen to such an extreme level that virtually everything else is irrelevant. They have single-minded focus on getting Trump reelected and preventing a Democrat from capturing the presidency.
I mean, four years ago, Trumpers went with the article, “The Flight 93 Election.” If you imagine yourselves to be the passengers trying to retake the controls from the hijackers, are you going to think, *“I want to storm this cockpit, but the passenger who is helping me pound through the locked door is an adulterer with three mistresses and also cheated on his taxes?” * Of course not. You’re fighting for your political lives.
My tipping point was a little later than yours, but still pre-Trump. It was the rise of the Tea Party and their myriad idiocies that made me realize that the GOP was no longer the party I’d voted for since 1990, and had gone off the benighted, ignorant hillbilly deep-end.
The advent of Trump was just confirmation that they’ve collectively lost their minds, and the real nail in the coffin was when Trump harassed the family of Captain Humayun Khan about their Islamic faith and their statements rebuking him for his proposed treatment of Muslims. That marked him as an asshole with no boundaries, and when they refused to condemn him or extract an apology, it cemented my thinking of the rest of his party as some motley combination of ignorant fools and assholes.
Not exactly. They want to live a life with zero consequences. Just like Trump. He is their hero, not someone to scorn.
Give healthcare to the undeserving?
I had a conversation with a dude on here 5 years ago. He was convinced that Canada had only about 2 -3 more years left as a viable country, due to our foolish idea of universal single-payer healthcare; an idea that was clearly doomed to failure and would destroy Canada.
<looks around> Hasn’t happened yet.
No, no I wouldn’t.
Perhaps this is what I’m missing. I don’t want to see people enraged. That isn’t a driving force for me - I’ve absolutely no interest in seeing conservatives angered.
What I want is people fed, and housed, and safe, and physically (and mentally and emotionally) well, and participants in the society, and thriving. Enraged doesn’t do me (or the country, or them) any good.
Why would I want that?
What leads a person to want that? That seems psychologically unhealthy.
I think you have just given me an idea. If I ever get back to the USA I will get a comfort animal that really gets the right people foaming at the mouth for hours. Owning the other side sounds like a lovely amateur sport. Perhaps a skunk? I might dye the white strips pink. A rainbow coloured unicorn might be even better, if I can find one.
Or I might just draw a short comic about it. Would be safer. For me. :dubious:
This is an identity. You can’t expect people to give it up because of a leadership defect.
Most supporters, in China, of the Chinese Communist Party, seem to have disliked it when the term limit, for the General Secretary, was removed in 2018. It was an embarrassment. But extremely few thought that now he’s gone too far. They are not becoming, even in private discussions with family and trusted friends, democracy supporters (something that isn’t really dangerous as I describe it, just as virtually no one there is jailed for having a VPN). Maybe if a loved one dies of the new disease, they will change. It takes something on that order to upset an identity.
Republicans have not yet swallowed anything as bad as what the Chinese communists, and hundreds of millions of middle-ground Chinese regime supporters, have. I wouldn’t insult them, so why should I expect better of Republicans here?
I’m about as moderate as you can be and still be a committed member of the Democratic Party. I could list a whole bunch of things I don’t like about Bernie Sanders. But it’s hard for me to imagine any circumstance where I wouldn’t vote for Bernie over Trump. If I hear that Bernie shot someone, my first thought is going to be – must have been self-defence. So I can’t see myself as so much more flexible than people on the other side.
I see you’re trying to be fair about it, but I don’t think it’s the same in most cases.
I can confidently say I’d vote for any of the democratic candidates over trump, but that’s not because of partisanship – I’m actually British and have voted for both the tories and labour in previous elections, nothing weds me to the democrats. It’s because trump has done so, so many things which should individually be disqualifying for high office that it strains credulity to imagine any of the dem candidates doing anything worse in the time available. Plus I agree with them on policy.
What’s the difference?
Well, for example, I most support Bernie Sanders right now. But if someone were to say Have you heard the terrible thing Bernie is proposing, I would listen. If it really was something abhorrent, it would affect my level of support and I might switch to another candidate.
Many trump supporters aren’t like this IME. They decide if a story is true or false on the basis of whether it’s positive or negative about trump. There can’t be anything negative about him, by definition.
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