# How do republicans keep winning elections
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [May 29, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126 "2010-05-29T00:17:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/1 "2010-05-29T00:17:39Z")
Yeah, I have a huge political bias and you can’t really have an intelligent debate with a title like that.
But who haven’t many of them alienated, insulted, pissed off or pissed on?
Everyone on the west coast
Everyone on the east coast
Everyone who isn’t white
Everyone who takes science seriously (due to their attitudes on creationism and climate change)
Poor people
Secularists
Non-christians
Gays
Anyone who went to a decent college
The entire media (except talk radio & fox news)
Now Chicago is constantly being attacked by the right wing because Obama is from there. They’ve endlessly attacked the ‘east coast’ and ‘west coast’ as unamerican, wrong and vaguely treasonous, now they are attacking Chicago. And they are still a major political party.
How do you form a winning coalition year after year by insulting 51%+ of the country?
Liberals insult people (usually southerners and evangelical Christians). But I don’t think they/we insult such a wide swath of people.
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### Author:  [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/2 "2010-05-29T00:47:17Z")
I grew up conservative and used to vote Republican. I don’t know why, but about 6 years ago I completely abandoned the party and find myself mostly voting Democrat (still vote GOP now and then if a candidate appeals to me, though that is increasingly seldom).
There is so much that is wrong with this country and doing nothing absolutely enrages me. The current obstructionist approach the GOP has adopted is totally and utterly mind boggling.
For instance, the Health Care bill. Do I like all of it? Nope. But it’s a step to SOMETHING. God damn, work together and DO something! If you’re not in the majority at the time, then when you are you can alter the laws more to your liking.
It’s sad, but I’m honestly thinking of moving. Everything wrong with this country feels far too overwhelming to ever fix.
And honestly, I have no idea how they keep winning.
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### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/3 "2010-05-29T00:48:24Z")
Considering the inflammatory nature of the OP, I’ll just observe that fortunately, the disease of liberalism is not as widespread as liberals seem to think it is. Hopefully, we’ll excise that cancer from the country in the next election.
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### Author:  [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/4 "2010-05-29T01:14:39Z")
> [@Oakminster](#):
>
> Considering the inflammatory nature of the OP, I’ll just observe that fortunately, the disease of liberalism is not as widespread as liberals seem to think it is. Hopefully, we’ll excise that cancer from the country in the next election.
I don’t consider myself a liberal, yet the OP is exactly the impression I get of current affairs. I feel like we have a party in power that is bumbling along and wasting that power the voters gave them and that we have a party not in power that is willing to do anything at all, even at the risk of this country in order to gain back power.
Both parties should be ashamed of themselves.
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### Author:  [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/5 "2010-05-29T01:21:33Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> Liberals insult people (usually southerners and evangelical Christians). But I don’t think they/we insult such a wide swath of people.
Republicans?
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### Author:  [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/6 "2010-05-29T01:23:43Z")
> [@pedescribe](#):
>
> Republicans?
Being told the truth isn’t an insult.
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### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/7 "2010-05-29T01:28:27Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#):
>
> I don’t consider myself a liberal, yet the OP is exactly the impression I get of current affairs.
Really?
No conservatives are non-white or poor or secular or gay or take science seriously or went to a decent college or live on either coast or non-christian or work in the media outside of talk radio/Fox News? You honestly believe that?
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### Author:  [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/8 "2010-05-29T01:30:48Z")
Moving thread from MPSIMS to IMHO.
And just a note, Wesley I’m not sure why you started this thread here, rather than Great Debates or the Pit, but as long as we’re here, everyone needs to remember to keep things civil.
**Ellen Cherry
MPSIMS Moderator**
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/9 "2010-05-29T01:31:25Z")
> [@Oakminster](#):
>
> Really?
>
> No conservatives are non-white or poor or secular or take science seriously or went to a decent college? You honestly believe that?
Not really. I believe most people in those demographics vote GOP barely 10-30% of the time. Except the decent college part, I have no idea.
But most secularists, non-whites, poor people, intellectuals, etc tend to be non-GOP. That doesn’t make them pro-democrat, just not really members of the GOP.
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### Author:  [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/10 "2010-05-29T01:38:09Z")
> [@descamisado](#):
>
> Being told the truth isn’t an insult.
This is exactly the sort of \ pompous, overdramatic straight line that Bricker, Oakminister et al get so pissed about. If you can’t realize just how insulting that is, then you’ve spent way too much time in [del]Pissy Little Feuds[/del] GD. Here’s why. With that one line, you say:
[ul]
[li]All republicans are liars or stupid[/li][li]You are always right[/li][li]People should be grateful to you when you insult them.[/li][/ul]
None of these are nice things.
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### Author:  [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/11 "2010-05-29T01:42:26Z")
> [@pedescribe](#):
>
> This is exactly the sort of \ pompous, overdramatic straight line that Bricker, Oakminister et al get so pissed about. If you can’t realize just how insulting that is, then you’ve spent way too much time in [del]Pissy Little Feuds[/del] GD. Here’s why. With that one line, you say:
> [ul]
> [li]All republicans are liars or stupid[/li][li]You are always right[/li][li]People should be grateful to you when you insult them.[/li][/ul]
>
> None of these are nice things.
I’m not really concerned about what pisses those people off but about who out of all the scoundrels makes the best attempts to run the countries for all the people.
And it’s a good thing that I don’t hang out in GD and that I never said any of the things you’ve bullet-pointed.
Phew!
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### Author:  [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/12 "2010-05-29T01:57:01Z")
> [@Oakminster](#):
>
> Really?
>
> No conservatives are non-white or poor or secular or gay or take science seriously or went to a decent college or live on either coast or non-christian or work in the media outside of talk radio/Fox News? You honestly believe that?
Oops, sorry. I meant that my impression is that the GOP is willing to alienate, insult or piss off anyone who is not a 100% GOP conservative. I feel they are willing to cast aside huge swaths of the populace if those people disagree even a little.
Sad, really.
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### Author:  [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/13 "2010-05-29T02:03:00Z")
> [@Oakminster](#):
>
> Really?
>
> No conservatives are non-white or poor or secular or gay or take science seriously or went to a decent college or live on either coast or non-christian or work in the media outside of talk radio/Fox News? You honestly believe that?
Is the point that none of those people are conservatives or that **Wesley Clark** doesn’t understand _why_ they would be?
Gays are probably the best example. The elected Republicans and official Republican party are so openly hateful and vile to gays, I can’t understand why any gay person would ever vote Republican. I like the policies the Democrats generally support, but if they hated me and compared my sexual preference to bestiality and said I was going to hell and fought to deny me basic rights… I probably wouldn’t vote for them.
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/14 "2010-05-29T02:19:22Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> How do you form a winning coalition year after year by insulting 51%+ of the country?
By having people who vote for you for various foolish or evil reasons. People who are narrow enough or just nasty enough that they don’t realize that they are voting for people who are essentially their enemies. Examples:
- Because they are such obsessed single issue voters that they’ll sacrifice anything and everything else for the Issue; gunlovers being an example.
- By appealing to hatred; the homophobes, the sexists, the racists, the class warriors and so on.
- By appealing to greed. Short sighted greed; most people actually tend to lose under the Republicans.
- Ignorance. From what I’ve read over the years, Republican supporters often have no idea or the wrong idea about what the Republicans actually do and what they actually state as their intentions.
- Their priest told them to.
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### Author:  [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/15 "2010-05-29T02:31:16Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> By having people who vote for you for various foolish or evil reasons. People who are narrow enough or just nasty enough that they don’t realize that they are voting for people who are essentially their enemies. Examples:
>
> - Because they are such obsessed single issue voters that they’ll sacrifice anything and everything else for the Issue; gunlovers being an example.
>
> - By appealing to hatred; the homophobes, the sexists, the racists, the class warriors and so on.
>
> - By appealing to greed. Short sighted greed; most people actually tend to lose under the Republicans.
>
> - Ignorance. From what I’ve read over the years, Republican supporters often have no idea or the wrong idea about what the Republicans actually do and what they actually state as their intentions.
>
> - Their priest told them to.
Boy, those republicans sure are vitriolic and divisive, eh? It’s a wonder republicans win elections considering how vitriolic they act! As opposed to those democrats, they’re always so polite and considerate!
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### Author:  [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/16 "2010-05-29T02:32:56Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#):
>
> Is the point that none of those people are conservatives or that **Wesley Clark** doesn’t understand _why_ they would be?
>
> Gays are probably the best example. The elected Republicans and official Republican party are so openly hateful and vile to gays, I can’t understand why any gay person would ever vote Republican. I like the policies the Democrats generally support, but if they hated me and compared my sexual preference to bestiality and said I was going to hell and fought to deny me basic rights… I probably wouldn’t vote for them.
This is just bullshit.
I tend to vote Republican (not a straight ticket voter… why I feel I have to point this out is beyond me, but I sense that if someone admits to voting republican on this board, they are automatically thrown into the same “religious right” bucket) and I’m neither openly hateful or vile to gays. I have gay friends who vote Republican because they agree with crazy ideas like the idea of small government and low taxes. I have gay friends who are more conservative than I am. Believe it or not, there are many people who look at a number of issues that impact them. Successful gay people have concerns similar to successful straight people…
Crazy things, like economic concerns. How they may not want a bloated government spending their hard-earned money by raising their taxes. Amazing, isn’t it?
Christ, the tunnel-vision on this board is amazing.
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### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/17 "2010-05-29T03:16:07Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> Now Chicago is constantly being attacked by the right wing because Obama is from there.
Complete bullshit. There’s plenty to criticize about Chicago other than Obama. And I should know because I live in Chicago. Recent case:
> [@](#):
>
> “If I put this up your butt, you’ll find out how effective it is,” Mayor Daley said as he picked up a rifle with a bayonet and answered a reporter who questioned the effectiveness of the city’s gun ban.
Footnote: the mayor and the city council permitted themselves to own guns, unlike the rest of us peons.
> [@](#):
>
> They’ve endlessly attacked the ‘east coast’ and ‘west coast’ as unamerican, wrong and vaguely treasonous, now they are attacking Chicago. And they are still a major political party.
Define endlessly. And heaven knows liberals know best and are NEVER wrong. :rolleyes:
> [@](#):
>
> How do you form a winning coalition year after year by insulting 51%+ of the country?
You may be asking yourself that question after the November elections.
> [@](#):
>
> Liberals insult people (usually southerners and evangelical Christians). But I don’t think they/we insult such a wide swath of people.
I know this is hard for you to understand, but there are actually some people who are not in either of those groups who might not like that bigotry anyway, such as independent voters.
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### Author:  [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/18 "2010-05-29T04:10:26Z")
Regardless of how repulsive their ideas are, apparently there’s enough people out there who support it.
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### Author:  [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/19 "2010-05-29T04:22:37Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#):
>
> Christ, the tunnel-vision on this board is amazing.
This is exactly why I tend to roll my eyes whenever people talk about how intelligent the SDMB is. To be sure, people here tend to be well educated and well informed on a variety of topics. They also tend to be more open to discussing ideas than most other folks are. Nevertheless, the degree of tunnel vision hereabouts – and that’s an excellent term indeed – is appalling.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-republicans-keep-winning-elections/541126/20 "2010-05-29T04:33:28Z")
I find it amusing that the implication of the OP is that the GOP is pissing off **more** people than the Dems. Surely right now angry right-wingers are more visible and easy to quantify than angry left-wingers.
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