I think part of it is also that Trump’s base is genuinely afraid of liberals and the damage they think liberals will do to society.
I know this is a liberal board, so people may not understand that. But to Trump’s base liberals and leftists being in charge of politics means the following.
[ul]
[li]Economic collapse due to regulations, high spending and high taxes[/li][li]Being unable to pay for your housing, food, clothing, etc. due to high taxes[/li][li]Dangerous minorities running rampant in the streets[/li][li]Islamic terrorists running around freely because they know nobody is guarding the henhouse[/li][li]Our political enemies (Iran, Syria, etc) taking advantage of us because they know we won’t fight back[/li][li]MS-13 sneaking across the border[/li][li]A government that becomes more and more authoritarian and controlling of people’s lives[/li][li]People left defenseless because all their guns were taken away[/li][li]Police and military being handcuffed so they can’t defend us from all the domestic and foreign threats we face[/li][li]A society where traditional values are replaced by hedonism, leaving the next generation unable to navigate the world without all the tried and tested advice of our ancestors[/li][li]Millions of defenseless babies being killed each year[/li][li]Liberal judges who will spend a lifetime letting dangerous criminals roam free, dangerous terrorists be protected by the constitution, regulations that collapse the economy, baby killing to run rampant, etc.[/li][li]A society where all those minorities we mistreated for years and centuries, once they gain power they will treat us the exact same way we treated them. Take away our right to vote, take away our guns, send the police in to beat the hell out of us, persecute our religion, etc. [/li][/ul]
People outside Trump’s base may not think these things are true, but Trump’s base does.
So to a lot of Trump’s base, I think the terror they feel about any of these things supercedes their disdain for Trump or Roy Moore being horrible human beings. So I don’t think Trump’s base even loves Trump as much as they fear these things.
Another aspect perhaps: Trump tries to make it appear as if consequences are irrelevant to him. I think that attempt appeals at the level of “Mexicans out at absolutely any cost”, “feminists out at absolutely any cost”, “foreign trade out at absolutely any cost”, and so on. This group seem to be actually liking the idea of a leader who can’t be reached by reason, liking the fact that he doesn’t listen to anyone even his own supporters, and who is willing to treat every knee-jerk reaction as if it merited a constitutional amendment.
Trump now has the support of almost 90% of Republicans. Yes, that’s Ninety with an N, higher than any comparable-point poll for any modern President except GWB at the height of war euphoria.
These supporters include the obvious Trumpian base — bigots, white trash, pedophiles, morons, Fox potatoes, homophobes, Teabaggers, etc. — but also include millions of prestigious Americans: executives, lawyers, PhDs, top professionals. The New York Times interviewed some of the more articulate Trump supporters recently and a single message came through: they find much to disagree with Trump about, but rally around him as a reaction to the huge “unfair” criticism he is under.
The November House elections will be a great moment of truth for America. The one thing we know for certain is that the election will be close.
If 45% of voters vote in favor of bigotry and child abuse, the headline will be “America repudiates Republican Party.”
If 49%, the headline will be “Triumph for Trump!”
.
Yes. It’s all the rage to blame Russia, hackers, or whoever for Trump’s victory, but I suggest that the reality is that sufficient people looked at Trump and Clinton and decided that he was the lesser evil.
Are you factoring in the three to five million illegal voters who went for Clinton*? Otherwise, your math is a bit shaky. Of course, “sufficient” is a term that you are free to define to your own preference.
Unfortunately, while some may have actually thought that trump would be less “evil” than hillary, most who supported him were fully aware that he was evil, just that he was an evil of which they approved and commended.
If you are the sort of person who enjoys hearing news of The Other being harmed, then you support trump, and nothing that he has done will change that.
That’s been the Republican alliance for more than a generation, though - the low-education types whose various fears can easily be amplified and manipulated, and the low-tax, low-regulation business types who are out for their own gain. Oh, and a smattering of socially isolated ideologues who somehow came to adulthood still adhering to libertarianism. The bigotry part is not confined to the first of those groups, of course, and never has been.
Without resorting to name calling, the Trump base is people who are losing due to demographic and economic changes and the people who have a ton of money and can take advantage of Republican tax and economic policies.
I think that we can call them bigots, morons, etc. but that’s oversimplification. They are people whose way of life is going extinct and in many cases, they are really being screwed and we know this. We’re seeing wage stagnation and unemployment combined with rising costs among the less-educated demographics. Rising drug abuse, destruction of traditional social supports and a host of real issues that they are experiencing. What they have seen is that consistently since the 70s their lifestyle and economic situation has been under attack by globalization, demographic changes, government policies and the judiciary. Now we can respond, “That’s just how it is.” or “They had it too good for too long.” or “Down with their privilege.” Which are all true statements, but you can’t expect to get their vote with that message. What Trump has promised to do and is actually doing is making everyone else just as uncomfortable as they are. At this point, they have watched their position erode under both Democrats and Republicans and I believe that many fully expect to see it erode under Trump as well. What they get out of Trump is that the groups that have been benefiting from globalization and able to shield themselves from demographic changes-predominantly wealthy, college-educated coastals-are now experiencing just a little bit of what they have been feeling for 40+ years.
Since he’s talking about Trump winning the election (emphasis added), wouldn’t one assume he was using the term “sufficient” to mean “sufficient to win the election”? And in the case of the American political system, that means getting more than half of the electoral votes. I don’t see anything wrong with his math.
One of the reasons I brought up my mother in this thread is because she’s a college-educated coastal. She’s not poor, not bitter, and not racist – she just dislikes liberals. And why wouldn’t she, when 90% of her news consumption bashes liberals? The good people support the flag, the troops, and the President.
The NYT pushes their profile and narrative for reasons I can only guess at, and it is not entirely wrong, just short-sighted and snotty and apt to lead to people into the weeds.
Which voice is more likely to be listened to: The quiet reasonable polite voice, or the loud, brash authoritative voice?
Which voice did Trump use to get elected?
Generally, I like your list and it represents a more efficient post than I was thinking of. I would add just a couple more things:
[ul]
[li]general disdain for politics, especially the two-faceness of career politicians[/li][li]being told how they traditionally did things or how they traditionally thought is wrong, simple-minded, belittled in the name of political correctness[/li][li]the perception of being lied to by the media, or the perception of an unfair political slant in the reporting[/li][li]the reaction of liberal party leaders to be even more progressive in the face of Trump[/li][li]the pressure of the government against the individual[/li][/ul]
They had just had a BLACK man as President for 8 years (the horror). They did everything they could to delegitimize him or discredit him. The idea of following that up with a WOMAN President was way, way to much for them to handle. Evil? They would have voted for Charles Manson over Clinton.
That’s right. They are things that actually happen. Would you have preferred I made them up?
These are not fringe beliefs, in the sense that only lunatics believe them. They are commonly held.
In fact what the polls said is that Clinton would get about two percent more votes than Trump did, and that is exactly what happened. The polls were correct.
People who knew what that meant on a deep level, like Nate Silver, predicted that there was a good chance Trump would win the Electoral College vote despite losing the popular vote - which is what happened.