# Huge traffic declines on right-wing media **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [April 3, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791 "2024-04-03T20:37:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/21 "2024-04-04T21:28:57Z")
Not cool, IMO. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/22 "2024-04-04T21:43:28Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I don’t see any reason to think the anti-Trump GOP vote is all that clumpy. I’d expect it to be reasonably uniform, as each individual voters stops to think about him. It doesn’t matter how Trumpy your neighborhood is when you’re realizing how stupid he is Perhaps you’re right. My contrary belief is that trump fatigue percentage is much higher in traditional business owners & high wage Rs than it is in rural or working poor / underemployed MAGA zones. Yes, there are _some_ R-voting not-trump-anymore people in each demographic. But not the same percentage in each demographic. And those demographics are _very_ lumpily distributed geographically. With corresponding lumpy consequences for the vote counts in those districts. We shall see, won’t we? Fingers crossed for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/23 "2024-04-04T23:07:25Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > …the 20% is overkill. Even if the distribution was more lumpy than I think it is, even just a few percent in the most Trumpy regions still kills him. If the actual number of anti-Trump GOP voters is close to 20%, it would be the bigglyest electoral defeat we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes. I’ll still settle for a littlyest defeat, though. Me too. I never expected a 20% defection; when November comes the majority of wavering Republicans will vote Republican. That still leaves a crucial percentage, hopefully in the right places. Swing state polls - for whatever little they’re worth this early - show most states within margin of error. Whoever looses fewer votes will be the winner. Nevertheless, I find it interesting that in votes that don’t count but that people still show up to, they use their time and effort to vote against the person who has already won the nomination. And in greater percentages than those who vote against a president with a 38% approval rating. Have we ever seen anything like that? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/24 "2024-04-04T23:11:41Z")
Go woke go broke. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/25 "2024-04-04T23:14:43Z")
And this explains the decline in viewership of right-wing media… How exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/26 "2024-04-04T23:17:38Z")
Remember, even if Trump does as well this year as he did last time, he still loses, same as last time. I mean, I’d prefer for him to lose in a landslide, but a loss is a loss. What’s likely to be more important is the down-ticket effects. A Republican who’s disillusioned with Trump and who therefore doesn’t show up to vote is also not voting for the Senate or House. We need all three. And of course, this disillusionment is also happening at the same time as Trump co-opting the Republican fundraising apparati for his own exclusive use. So I’m optimistic. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/27 "2024-04-04T23:25:00Z")
Obviously they must have went woke. It follows the rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/28 "2024-04-05T01:22:47Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > > [@Horatius](#): > > > > …the 20% is overkill. Even if the distribution was more lumpy than I think it is, even just a few percent in the most Trumpy regions still kills him. If the actual number of anti-Trump GOP voters is close to 20%, it would be the bigglyest electoral defeat we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes. I’ll still settle for a littlyest defeat, though. > > Me too. > > I never expected a 20% defection; when November comes the majority of wavering Republicans will vote Republican. That still leaves a crucial percentage, hopefully in the right places. Swing state polls - for whatever little they’re worth this early - show most states within margin of error. Whoever looses fewer votes will be the winner. > > Nevertheless, I find it interesting that in votes that don’t count but that people still show up to, they use their time and effort to vote against the person who has already won the nomination. And in greater percentages than those who vote against a president with a 38% approval rating. Have we ever seen anything like that? As to the 20% defection number … Does the study go into tactical primary voting? In open primary states, maybe 90% of the 20% voting for Haley were actually Ds trolling the R election since there was no reason to vote in the D election given Biden’s lock on the nomination? If so, that simply increased the seemingly-R turnout in the R primary but will do nothing similar in the real election. Those votes were Biden’s all along. I know when I lived in open primary states it was bog standard conversation amongst anyone politically inclined as to whether this time it was better to vote in your own party’s primary helpfully or better to vote in the other bastards’ primary maliciously. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/29 "2024-04-05T01:38:54Z")
You don’t need right wing media as long as there is Facebook. The stupid right wing stuff I see on FB is insane. Just a small sample: Hey Liberals! Tr_mp never removed his opponent from a ballot- you did! Tr_mp never used the government against his opponent- you did! Tr_mp never censored speech- you did! You are guilty of everything you accused Tr_mp of! And this: two columns compare Nazis to Democrats with these entries on each side: Socialism No Guns Censorship Media Mind Control Hate Jews (and Whites added in Democratic column) Worship the Government. No need for pay websites, FB happily allows distribution of crazy shit like this for free. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/30 "2024-04-05T03:05:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > As to the 20% defection number … > > Does the study go into tactical primary voting? In open primary states, maybe 90% of the 20% voting for Haley were actually Ds trolling the R election since there was no reason to vote in the D election given Biden’s lock on the nomination? If so, that simply increased the seemingly-R turnout in the R primary but will do nothing similar in the real election. Those votes were Biden’s all along. > > I know when I lived in open primary states it was bog standard conversation amongst anyone politically inclined as to whether this time it was better to vote in your own party’s primary helpfully or better to vote in the other bastards’ primary maliciously. Well, WRT to the stats cited in the OP, that 20% of a very small turnout voted against Trump in NY, I know that NY is very much NOT an open primary State, you need to register several months ahead of time to vote in a primary there. So those voters are probably actual Republicans. OTOH, the typical NY Republican is probably significantly saner than the party average. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/31 "2024-04-05T03:08:16Z")
I wouldn’t count on it. They elected George Santos. Besides, rural western New York is literally Appalachia. Blue dots in thousands of square miles of redlands. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/32 "2024-04-05T09:46:48Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > Back when trump was prez he was popular with a certain fraction of my coworkers. What was disturbing was they saw him as “pranking the system” and they loved that. They weren’t angry at the Ds, so much as angry at the system. > > It’s one of my working theories that a significant number of Trump supporters simply want to watch the world burn. Between draining the swamp, going after the Deep State, and changing the Republican Party fo the MAGA Party, Trump has done a, well, I don’t want to say good job, but he’s made a good showing of burning it all to the ground. I do wonder if you’re right. Maybe that particular demographic is no longer amused by the dysfunction. Here’s a 10-minute YouTube which looks at Trump voters. They predate Trump: Sarah Palin, a proto-Trump, attracted much support in 2008. These voters think they are looked down on; their reaction turns this into self-fulfilling prophecy. But it is at the 8:00 mark that the commentary becomes especially revealing and frightening: The MAGA crowd WANTS the chaos; they want politics to be like an exciting TV show; _they reject Biden because he’s boring_. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO1RPUxTnxI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO1RPUxTnxI) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/33 "2024-04-05T11:02:52Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > YouTwitFace Hilarious! And, an interesting thread – thanks to all. Carry on. > [@Horatius](#): > > I don’t see any reason to think the anti-Trump GOP vote is all that clumpy. Except for Utah, where there has been a particular concentration of them for several years. (Say what you will, Mormons tend to be _nice people_ who reject narcissistic sociopathy.) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/34 "2024-04-05T11:16:42Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > It’s one of my working theories that a significant number of Trump supporters simply want to watch the world burn. Basically: [![](https://www.theohnoshop.com/cdn/shop/products/different-print-2017_540x.PNG?v=1559755679) ](https://www.theohnoshop.com/cdn/shop/products/different-print-2017_540x.PNG?v=1559755679) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/35 "2024-04-05T13:51:11Z")
> [@Gordon\_G](#): > > But it is at the 8:00 mark that the commentary becomes especially revealing and frightening: The MAGA crowd WANTS the chaos; they want politics to be like an exciting TV show; _they reject Biden because he’s boring_. That was a good video you linked and kind of echoes how I feel. After Trump was elected in 2016, I made an effort to understand his supporters and empathize with them. I thought, and I still think, racism isn’t the primary reason people support him, but I admit I’m still having some difficulty figuring out why. There were people I felt who were disaffected, feeling as though their future prospects were bleak and nobody cared about them. I didn’t really look down on them in 2016, or even in 2020, but after January 6th my empathy has run out. I can’t help but look down at Trump supporters now. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/36 "2024-04-05T14:15:12Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > There were people I felt who were disaffected, feeling as though their future prospects were bleak and nobody cared about them. I didn’t really look down on them in 2016, or even in 2020, but after January 6th my empathy has run out. What really kills me is that so many of the people who have real concerns like this keep voting against their own self-interest. Like the coal miners. Coal miners have had a shitty life pretty much since we invented coal mining, but it’s gotten worse over the last 3 generations or so, as they’ve watched their industry dwindle to a small fraction of what it used to be. So a lot of those communities are looking at long-term entrenched poverty, since there are no really good alternatives to coal mining in those areas. So what do they do? Do they vote for Hillary Clinton, who had an actual plan to try to diversify those local economies? Nope, they vote for Trump, who just tells them what they want to hear (“I’ll re-open the coal mines!”) even though he has no plan for how to do that, and no actual intention of ever even trying. There’s only so many times you can shoot yourself in the foot before I decide you’ve lost the right to have me worry about you not being able to walk any more. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/37 "2024-04-05T16:43:25Z")
And if you point out their irrational, self-harming behavior, it’s _your_ fault that they voted like that because you insulted their intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/38 "2024-04-05T23:17:09Z")
Nicholas Jacobs explains it all with resentment. [What Liberals Get Wrong About ‘White Rural Rage’ — Almost Everything](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/05/white-rural-rage-myth-00150395) I do believe that resentment is a powerful motivation. However, rage is real on the right. If it’s not coming from rural white voters, who overwhelmingly support Trump, then where? All those Proud Boy, neo-Nazi, white supremicist groups unquestionably have deep roots and large memberships in rural areas. Jacobs never talks about them or the roots of rage. Still, somebody who does actual research of large numbers of rural residents can’t be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2024, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/39 "2024-04-06T11:58:44Z")
I have an uncle whom I’d describe as overall Democrat, but somewhat impressionable among his rural neighbors. He grew up around Boston, but is now way out in the boonies. Last summer he was laughing about how he missed Trump’s antics. Like many, he sees Trump as a thumb in the eye of “them” I don’t get it either. But then, they’d probably call me one of those coastal elites. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791/40 "2024-04-08T19:25:33Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Last summer he was laughing about how he missed Trump’s antics. Like many, he sees Trump as a thumb in the eye of “them” They aren’t antics though. The Three Stooges where funny. On purpose. They didn’t deliberately try to hurt others. While Trump is even more stupid, at least the Stooges wouldn’t run you over with a car for a buck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-traffic-declines-on-right-wing-media/999791.md?page=3)