Really simple, and I’m genuinely curious.
If you have an income of less than $50,000 a year and you’re single, or less than $75,000 a year for a couple or family and you consistently vote Republican, I’d like to know the top three reasons why.
It’s in GD because it’s politics and if it goes anywhere it’s likely to get debate-y.
Thanks in advance for your honest replies.
Although I don’t vote consistently Republican any more, I did in the 90’s, so I’ll answer about those times.
I turned 18 in 1991 and was huge into politics. I was a lot more socially conservative and cared more about social issues than economic issues, so I voted Republican.
In 1994 the Republicans had the Contract With America. I thought it was great then, and still do. Under them we got a balanced budget, welfare reform, and a few other things. Back then they were the party of ideas, and I agreed with most of them.
2000 - Present. I’ve become much more moderate socially and now disagree with some conservative view points, but I’m still pro-life, so that’s an important issue, at least for national elections.
The wording of the OP clearly indicates that you think Republicans are bad for lower income and middle class income people. I don’t think that’s true, but at any rate as mentioned earlier, with a few exceptions, when I did vote consistently Republican it was more for social issues than financial issues.
Why do you assume economy is the sole element that goes into deciding where one puts his vote?
I’m Canadian, but I’ve voted Conservative my whole life and I was active in politics in my teens for libertarian/conservative causes, even though I came from a poor family and lived paycheck-to-paycheck in lower middle class until I was close to 30.
Why would my income or wealth have anything to do with it? Good government isn’t, or shouldn’t be, about getting goodies from politicians. I vote for the government that I think is best for my country - that will result in the most freedom, the most long-term strength and health of the society I believe in.
Far too many people today treat government like a piggy bank, and their vote as part of the key for opening it up and dispersing favors to them and their cohorts. It’s entirely what’s wrong with the public’s relationship with its government today.
I don’t. That’s why I am asking. I don’t care what well-off-to-wealthy people say is their non-financial reasoning for voting Republican, because it doesn’t matter.
I just sincerely want to know why working class people choose to consistently support Republicans.
This is a completely generic answer that could apply to either party.
Can you, would you please, be more specific about what policies lead to what definition of freedom, strength, and health?
Thank you, I genuinely appreciate the effort if you give it.
Do you genuinely believe, in your heart of hearts, that conservatives would, if they could, find some legal means to make abortion illegal? And if you do believe that, how much are you willing to sacrifice personally and nationally to achieve that goal?
I don’t know if it will every become illegal. Probably not. The best I can hope for is to put the issue in the hands of the states and let them decide.
What am I willing to sacrifice personally and nationally? I’m not really active in the pro-life movement. I was when I was younger, but not any more. I’ll donate money if I have it, and I’ll take into account candidate’s stance on abortion if they actually have the power to do something about it. Like a congress person who can confirm or deny any new Supreme Court justices. But for someone like the Mayor of my city, he’s pretty powerless, so I don’t take his stance into consideration.
So basically I’m on the sidelines.
Answers to the same question I’ve posed to some acquaintances:
Girl in my class at community college is out on prison release, gets money for books from government program, buys iPad at the school book store on government and sells on the street. Blame liberals for giving money to someone I don’t think is worthy of it, so I vote Republican.
Generic welfare baby mommas live better than I do. Liberals just tax us working folks and give the money to the lazy good for nothings.
The government is taking over things (healthcare mainly) that I think people/free market should be taking care of. Everything the government runs wastes lots of money. (Yes, evidence to the contrary is ignored.)
Lots of chain emails with gross lies. (I get forwarded these constantly, and almost always reply with a link to snopes.com or factcheck.org, but the responses never seem to make it back through the email chains.)
This is a Christian country and only the Republicans support Christianity. Things were great when prayer was in schools. (that’s the real cause of the recent rash of school bullies, btw – we didn’t have bullying like that when prayer was in schools and God was in peoples lives) Evolution is evil since it contradicts the bible. Creationism should be taught in schools instead of evolution.
Abortion is evil. If I vote Republican enough, abortion will get outlawed. If it is outlawed, people will just stop having abortions. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but did the Republicans outlaw abortion when they controlled the presidency, both houses of congress, a majority of the SC and I just didn’t notice?)
I could go on…
They also know so-and-so who works for the government. He makes a lot of money, but is lazy. The liberals are the party of more government, the republicans the party of less government.
It seems that you’re implying that if one’s income is below a certain threshold, voting Republican is voting against one’s interests. Why?
What a bunch of whiners! Sorry for the hijack, but it’s a straightforward question getting more hostility than a straightforward question deserves. You’re being put on the spot? Don’t answer her question. Jesus!
Back to your regularly scheduled Debate.
I really don’t have time to get into it right now. I might next week.
The question is sincere. I’d really like to know, as specifically as possible.
That’s an easy one. People associate the Republican party with being good for business. Low regulation. Low taxes. Free markets. They associate Democrats with welfare and hating white rich people. The thinking of a lot of people I know (who make well over six figures) is that they work harder than people who make $50k a year and shouldn’t feel they have to be punished for it with high taxes. They also feel that the Democrats with their regulations and mandatory health care are bad for the businesses they work for (mostly finance and finance related companies).
Working middle and lower class Americans seem to vote Republican because they tend towards more conservative values. Guns, anti-abortion, traditional family values, pro-religeon. And from what I’ve observed, they tend to be a bit homophobic, racist and xenophobic in general. Not necessarily in a Klu Klux Klan sort of way. More like they have a way of thinking about “those people” where they clearly see them outside the mainstream of America.
Similar to rich Republic voters, they believe that big government means higher taxes that ultimately go to “those people” who don’t work as hard or have “traditional American values”.
Back when I met your criteria, I often voted Republican because they were the major party that sometimes presented candidates who believed that the federal government does too much and should do less. I believed that then and still do, but I have given up believing that any federal elected official is going to reduce the reach and scope of the federal government. The Bush years turned me into a registered democrat, but I vote for candidates of both parties.
Funny you should bring that up. Some friend of a friend on Facebook I’ve never interacted with before got all up in my face yesterday and started in on the…well, let me share it, because it’s pretty jaw-dropping:
Me:
And FoMF replies in a manner that makes clear any further engagement could not possibly be more wasted:
Oh. Really?
From Wiki:
When someone dismisses Snopes as nothing a tool of the Obamas, they’ve officially declared their membership in the League of the Willfully Ignorant, whose anthem goes something like “la la la la la la la la la …I can’t hear you…la la la la la la la la”
It’s very sad. (Gotta love her line: “Feelings and accusations without facts are vacuous.” Wow. The irony is so thick I can barely breathe…)
But hey, I got a solid hour of Rachel and Jon tonight. That was a nice offset.
My family was big in local politics when I was growing up and their favorite phrase was: “A poor man voting republican is like a chicken voting for col Sanders.”
In their defense, Sanders did provide a lots of jobs for chickens. And the better KFC was doing, the more chickens there would be working at the lower rung of his empire.
I have always contended that there are no dead-end jobs in fast food, but I think you have changed my mind.
I’m not in the income range specified, but I was at one point, and I voted mostly-though-not-exclusively Republican. Limiting my reasons to strictly economic ones, it was because I wanted a good business climate so as to maximize my chances of finding and retaining a good job.
Because it is true that “a rising tide lifts all boats” - it certainly lifted mine. That’s why so much of this “the richer got richer and the poor didn’t rich nearly as much” rhetoric is bullshit. Over time, the bottom quintile of income is not comprised of the same people - they age out and move up.
I’ve been poor (by US standards) but I didn’t stay that way. And not because of a lot of government handouts, either. People don’t move up into the middle classes and beyond on welfare payments.
It’s the same as it’s always been, or more so. If you are poor, and you don’t want to be,
[ul][li]Graduate from high school[/li][li]Get married and don’t get divorced[/li][li]Don’t have children until you are married and able to support them[/li][li]Get a job, any job, and stick with it for at least a year. Don’t quit until you have another job lined up.[/ul]Cite, for all the good it will do.[/li]
You make it sound like voting on principle is unheard of. It isn’t, although it isn’t as universal as it should be.
Regards,
Shodan