# If Republicans only care about the rich... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 6, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759 "2011-08-06T18:47:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/41 "2011-08-06T20:56:27Z")
[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/06/rick-perry-speech-prayer-rally_n_920157.html) here is Perry’s debut. If this is not religious, i don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/42 "2011-08-06T21:14:18Z")
Perry is an Aggie. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/43 "2011-08-06T21:16:31Z")
Perry’s speech reminds me a _Futurama_ scene in which Fry asks for help from a priest: Fry: So that’s my story, Father Changstein El-Gamal. Is there anything religion can do to help me find my friend? Father Changstein El-Gamal: Well, we could join together in prayer. Fry: Uh-huh. But is there anything _useful_ we can do? Father Changstein El-Gamal: No. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/44 "2011-08-06T21:20:23Z")
My best guess is that the Republicans have successfully marketed an all or nothing approach. The idea of RINO (republican in name only) is part of this. You can be a Democrat and disagree on an issue and no one will call you a DINO. That gets them a “claim” on the single issue voters. The whole premise of this thread reflects was what Obama had trouble with in 2008 when his “clinging to God and guns” comment was taken out of context. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/45 "2011-08-06T21:26:01Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The Republicans can unify their base more solidly with racism and fears of abortion, secularism and gay marriage, i.e. for the sizable chunk of the electorate who cast their vote based on a single issue, the Republicans have the edge. And guns. Don’t forget guns. [Edited to add: dangit, Tim! Beat me to it.] ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/46 "2011-08-06T21:36:51Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > First and foremost, you said that Republicans have the market cornered on the religious. Not to insult you, but that’s just stupid. Catholics make up a reliable voting bloc for Democrats, and they’re numerous. You keep trotting this point out like it means something. Kennedy hasn’t been President for, oh, almost 50 years now. Do you actually know any Catholics? I am not Catholic myself, but everybody else in my house is, and I go to Mass quite often and hear plenty about the church’s political views. There’s a whole lot of Catholics who are voting Republican these days … and it’s all about abortion. That’s it, full stop, end of story. I sometimes think a majority of the Catholic vote would go to Anton LaVey if he was the pro-life candidate running against a pro-choice candidate … they’ve seriously become that much of a one-issue group. But don’t let the facts distract you from calling those who disagree with you “stupid.” ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/47 "2011-08-06T22:01:49Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > No one said anything about voting for a candidate who positions match their own exactly. We’re talking about voting in one’s self-interest. Politics in the U.S. is not all that complex. Overwhelmingly, people vote in their own self-interest, and self-interest is usually monetary. This is why you see the party breakdowns you do. For example, you will find that the people who tend to vote Republican, who are opposed to raising taxes and expanding many social programs, do so because the burden for said programs would fall on them while they’d get little to no use of said programs. Furthermore, you will find that people who tend to vote Democrat, who are in favor of raising taxes and increasing many social programs, would either be the recipient of said programs (this is pretty much why Blacks\*, and the poor in general, overwhelmingly vote Democrat) or not have to shoulder the burden of the cost for said programs. > > In summary, when people say that individuals vote for the Republican party even though it’s not in their self-interest, they don’t know what they’re talking about. People who vote Republican do so because it’s in their best interest to do so. I’ve seen it joked about how the Tea Partiers are mostly middle-class white men, but it’d make sense, since most new taxes would fall of them. > > \*Well, that and the whole Civil Rights things. You realise you’ve pretty much answered your own question as noted in the OP. People who vote republican don’t do so sole because republicans are anti-tax. Republicans have a myriad of other issues such as abolishing abortion, ‘protecting’ marriage, and second amendment rights. These issues are important to enough people that republicans get elected. Saying that republicans get elected sole based on their anti-tax platform is not true. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/48 "2011-08-06T22:06:16Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Y’see? There ya go. Another liberal refusing to understand that not helping poor people _is_ in the interest of the middle class. Another liberal refusing to understand that being middle class doesn’t mean you should be anti-rich. I am not anti rich. I believe that all Americans should have an opportunity for a decent life. Why are you anti poor people like so many righty ? You rightys just don’t know how duped you are. You are fearlessly defending those who take an enormous share of our country’s resources and money. Oh but, name calling and insults. That is where the right can not be matched. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/49 "2011-08-06T22:06:44Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > You keep trotting this point out like it means something. Kennedy hasn’t been President for, oh, almost 50 years now. Do you actually know any Catholics? > > I am not Catholic myself, but everybody else in my house is, and I go to Mass quite often and hear plenty about the church’s political views. There’s a whole lot of Catholics who are voting Republican these days … and it’s all about abortion. That’s it, full stop, end of story. I sometimes think a majority of the Catholic vote would go to Anton LaVey if he was the pro-life candidate running against a pro-choice candidate … they’ve seriously become that much of a one-issue group. The above has nothing to do with Kennedy. Since 1980, only two Republican candidates have received the majority Catholic vote-- Ronald Reagan and Bush Jr. (the second time). Every other election, the Democrat has received the majority of the Catholic vote. In general, it’s the opposite with Protestants/evangelicals, whereas they tend to vote for the Republican candidate. But don’t let facts stand in your way. > [@](#): > > But don’t let the facts distract you from calling those who disagree with you “stupid.” I think you should try rereading whatever I’ve wrote, because then you’ll see the above never occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/50 "2011-08-06T22:09:44Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Plus, the Republicans have cornered the market on the religious. People are willing to vote against their own economic well-being if they believe that fetuses won’t be aborted, gays won’t be given equal rights under the law, prayer is allowed in schools, etc. They’d rather be right by God than anything else. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Abortion is still legal. Gay marriage is coming soon to a state near you. Porn is still legal. School prayer is not mandatory. The frequency of capital punishment has not returned to its 1950s levels. On what social issues have the Republicans actually _accomplished_ anything? There have been some limits on abortion and barriers to gay marriage put in place at the state level. But yes, overall, and certainly at the national level, the Republicans are _not_ winning this agenda for their socially-conservative religious constituents. Given this, I wonder just how long Republicans _will_ have religious backing. Christians are _not_ necessarily committed to the other policies of the Republican Party. [Here](http://www.creationhope.com/blog/) is a blog that speaks to the small but growing evangelical environmentalist movement. [Here](http://www.nae.net/news/684-press-release-religious-leaders-ask-obama-to-protect-programs-for-people-in-need) a coalition of evangelical and other Christian leaders came out in favor of “protect[ing] funding for programs for hungry and poor people.” Click around on that site for more; yes, top values for them include “religious freedom, children and family, [and] the sanctity of life.” But they _also_ include “the poor and vulnerable, human rights, peace, [and] creation care.” That last is the environmental angle again. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/51 "2011-08-06T22:13:47Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Plus, the Republicans have cornered the market on the religious. People are willing to vote against their own economic well-being if they believe that fetuses won’t be aborted, gays won’t be given equal rights under the law, prayer is allowed in schools, etc. They’d rather be right by God than anything else. Dontcha just hate it when people’s values aren’t for sale? If there’s anything out there worse than someone who won’t abandon everything they believe the second it becomes convenient for them to do so, I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/52 "2011-08-06T22:14:12Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > You realise you’ve pretty much answered your own question as noted in the OP. People who vote republican don’t do so sole because republicans are anti-tax. Republicans have a myriad of other issues such as abolishing abortion, ‘protecting’ marriage, and second amendment rights. These issues are important to enough people that republicans get elected. Saying that republicans get elected sole based on their anti-tax platform is not true. Again, this assumption hinges on the notion that a sizable majority of Republicans only vote Republican because of social issues or even stuff like gun ownership. This is simply not true at all. Too few people care about these issues in relation to things such as jobs, the economy or one’s economic well-being, and an even smaller majority votes _solely_ on these issues. Passing it off as such is nothing more than an easy way to gloss over the bigger issues as to why people vote Republican (which, I see, no one wants to touch). And I still want someone to answer my question. Why don’t Blacks vote Republican since they’re closer to Republicans in that regard than Democrats? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/53 "2011-08-06T22:18:45Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > This is simply not true at all. Too few people care about these issues in relation to things such as jobs, the economy or one’s economic well-being, and an even smaller majority votes _solely_ on these issues. Passing it off as such is nothing more than an easy way to gloss over the bigger issues as to why people vote Republican (which, I see, no one wants to touch). People touched on it, you just don’t like the answer. And the Republicans have repeatedly shown themselves to be much worse than the Democrats when it comes to economics and finance; which brings us back to the answer, that they are stupid, fanatic or evil. > [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > And I still want someone to answer my question. Why don’t Blacks vote Republican since they’re closer to Republicans in that regard than Democrats? Because of course the Republicans are dominated by anti-black racists and have been for decades. Supporting them is self destructive for anyone who isn’t white. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/54 "2011-08-06T22:41:20Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > People touched on it, you just don’t like the answer. It’s not an answer. It’s plain and simple obfuscation. It’s like me trotting out the argument that the reason people vote for Democrats is because of their stance on abortion and gay marriage, and that the people who vote Democrat are doing so even though it’s not in their economic interest to do so. Of course, the second I’d make that argument, I’d have 40 posters trying to tell me what’s wrong with that. But apparently, it’s acceptable if you do it. Make sense. > [@](#): > > And the Republicans have repeatedly shown themselves to be much worse than the Democrats when it comes to economics and finance; which brings us back to the answer, that they are stupid, fanatic or evil. This is wrong on so many levels, I don’t even know where to begin. Would you care to explain how you came to your conclusion? > [@](#): > > Because of course the Republicans are dominated by anti-black racists and have been for decades. Supporting them is self destructive for anyone who isn’t white. Or-- and this could a total guess-- the reasons Blacks don’t vote for Republicans even though they’re closer to their views socially than they are with the Democrats is because the Democrats generally want to expand welfare and other social programs, as well as support AA, which would benefit Blacks, while Republicans want to cut them, and don’t support AA, which would harm them. Again, people vote in their own economic self-interest. It’s not a hard concept to understand. (Oh, I should say people vote in their own economic interest when they’re voting Democrat. When they’re voting Republican, it’s because they’re fanatics who put aside their own self-interest for their beliefs.) ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/55 "2011-08-06T22:42:06Z")
Quote: **Uncle Jocko** > [@](#): > > But don’t let the facts distract you from calling those who disagree with you “stupid.” Quote: **Omg a Black Conservative** > [@](#): > > I think you should try rereading whatever I’ve wrote, because then you’ll see the above never occurred. (_Ahem_)…May I draw your attention to post #35? > [@](#): > > First and foremost, you said that Republicans have the market cornered on the religious. **Not to insult you, but that’s just stupid**. Bolding added. Now, I’m not allowed to call you a liar in this forum, so I won’t. But I would say that your statement "_the above never occurred"_ is, well, a little disingenuous to say the least. As are most of the rest of your arguments. SS ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/56 "2011-08-06T22:44:17Z")
I know precisely what I said. I didn’t call him stupid. I said what he said was stupid. There’s a **BIG** difference between the two. If you’re going to try to play “Gotcha’!”, make sure you’ve actually got someone. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/57 "2011-08-06T22:44:33Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > No one said anything about voting for a candidate who positions match their own exactly. We’re talking about voting in one’s self-interest. Politics in the U.S. is not all that complex. Overwhelmingly, people vote in their own self-interest, and self-interest is usually monetary. This is why you see the party breakdowns you do. For example, you will find that the people who tend to vote Republican, who are opposed to raising taxes and expanding many social programs, do so because the burden for said programs would fall on them while they’d get little to no use of said programs. Furthermore, you will find that people who tend to vote Democrat, who are in favor of raising taxes and increasing many social programs, would either be the recipient of said programs (this is pretty much why Blacks\*, and the poor in general, overwhelmingly vote Democrat) or not have to shoulder the burden of the cost for said programs. There’s not much that I can say other than that I flatly disagree with the things that you’re saying here. You assert that “Blacks and the poor in general” would not share the burden of “raising taxes”, while that burden would instead fall on those who vote Republican. Yet President Obama has not yet taken a single penny in more in taxes above the levels that existed when he took office. Obama and the Democrats _cut_ taxes. It is true that in the recent negotiations, Obama proposed some small tax hikes, but those would have affected only the richest few percentiles if they had become law. So the typical Republican voter and typical Democratic voters would both have their taxes affected by Obama in the same way. Their taxes would be lowered. As far as spending programs, you claim that Republican voters would not get the benefit of government programs, while Democratic voters would. But once again, the facts speak otherwise. Look at what government programs have gotten big increases in recent years: the military, farm subsidies, the prescription drug benefit, handouts to airlines, handouts to insurance companies, handouts to banks, handouts to the auto industry. Most of these things _do not_ benefit poor blacks. Most of these things do benefit middle- and upper-class white people. This would explain [the well-known fact](http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2004/09/red_states_feed.html) that it’s the Republican-voting states that get the most money from the federal government relative to the economy, while the Democratic-voting states get the least. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/58 "2011-08-06T22:54:06Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > There’s not much that I can say other than that I flatly disagree with the things that you’re saying here. You assert that “Blacks and the poor in general” would not share the burden of “raising taxes”, while that burden would instead fall on those who vote Republican. Yet President Obama has not yet taken a single penny in more in taxes above the levels that existed when he took office. Obama and the Democrats _cut_ taxes. It is true that in the recent negotiations, Obama proposed some small tax hikes, but those would have affected only the richest few percentiles if they had become law. So the typical Republican voter and typical Democratic voters would both have their taxes affected by Obama in the same way. Their taxes would be lowered. > > As far as spending programs, you claim that Republican voters would not get the benefit of government programs, while Democratic voters would. But once again, the facts speak otherwise. Look at what government programs have gotten big increases in recent years: the military, farm subsidies, the prescription drug benefit, handouts to airlines, handouts to insurance companies, handouts to banks, handouts to the auto industry. Most of these things _do not_ benefit poor blacks. Most of these things do benefit middle- and upper-class white people. This would explain [the well-known fact](http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2004/09/red_states_feed.html) that it’s the Republican-voting states that get the most money from the federal government relative to the economy, while the Democratic-voting states get the least. Oh, fun. This again. I went over this in another thread, so I will just copy and paste it here. > [@](#): > > Every year, the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research organization, compares the federal taxes paid by residents of each of the 50 states to the respective amounts of federal spending in those states. Generally, these comparisons show that the red states (ones that lean Republican), are net beneficiaries, while the blue states (those that generally vote Democratic) get short-changed. For example, the newly-red state of New Mexico receives near $2 in federal spending for each $1 in federal taxes paid by its residents. On the other hand, New Jersey receives just 57 cents in federal spending for every dollar of federal taxes paid by its residents. > > These comparisons cause some Democrats to believe that the blue states are being cheated by the red states. In other words, Democrats are being cheated by Republicans. However, a spokesman for the Tax Foundation suggeststs that the differences in Federal spending are modest, and understandable: > > “Spending does lean red, but the reason is demographic, not political. Most federal money is spent on retirees, especially Social Security and Medicare. And of course, the elderly have been moving south and west for years. Every large blue state saw its elderly population deplected during the late 1990s.” > > In other words, federal spending is higher in the red states primarily because people tend to move to the red states just as they start to collect Social Security and Medicare. > > We can’t blame Republicans for the disparity in federal spending because they are not responsible for retirees moving to the Sun Belt. However, spending is only half the story. What about the amount of taxes collected? Does the government collect more from people in the blue states than from people in the red states? The answer is “yes”, and the reason is obvious: People in blue states tend to earn more than people in red states. However, this does not mean that Democrats pay more taxes than Republicans. To the contrary, the average Republican pays far more taxes than does the average Democrats-- in absolute dollars and as a percentage of income. This is generally true for all types of taxes and at all governmental levels (federal, state and local). > > …Figure 125, below, shows estimated annual federal income tax amounts paid by men and women in 2003. We see that, on average, Republican men pay about 70 percent ($2,900) more in federal income tax than did Democratic men, Republican women paid about 53 percent ($1,700) more than Democratic women, and, on a gender-neutral basis, Republicans paid about 62 percent ($2,300) more. [Link](http://books.google.com/books?id=wGtJ66o3EyIC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=in+total+dollars+and+as+a+percentage+of+income+republicans+taxes+democrats&source=bl&ots=nIEYBgA2KP&sig=uks-tDyX5MMb8Cxmf5UXYlaQaEQ&hl=en&ei=E10fTo2nG-yz0AGOp8yVAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=in%20total%20dollars%20and%20as%20a%20percentage%20of%20income%20republicans%20taxes%20democrats&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/59 "2011-08-06T23:00:41Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > It’s not an answer. It’s plain and simple obfuscation. No, it is the answer. You are looking desperately for some _good_ reason for people to vote Republican. The problem is, there is no such reason. > [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > It’s like me trotting out the argument that the reason people vote for Democrats is because of their stance on abortion and gay marriage, and that the people who vote Democrat are doing so even though it’s not in their economic interest to do so. Of course, the second I’d make that argument, I’d have 40 posters trying to tell me what’s wrong with that. But apparently, it’s acceptable if you do it. Make sense. It _does_, because I’m right and you’re wrong. The facts are on my side and not yours. > [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > This is wrong on so many levels, I don’t even know where to begin. Would you care to explain how you came to your conclusion? We just got though watching the Republicans make a show of how incompetent they are at those things, and an 8 year period of Republican mismanagement before that. > [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Or-- and this could a total guess-- the reasons Blacks don’t vote for Republicans even though they’re closer to their views socially than they are with the Democrats is because the Democrats generally want to expand welfare and other social programs, as well as support AA, which would benefit Blacks, while Republicans want to cut them, and don’t support AA, which would harm them. Oh, please. The Republicans have be blatantly racist especially against blacks for decades. Regardless of economics supporting them while black is roughly equivalent for a black person voting for the Ku Klux Klan. > [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > (Oh, I should say people vote in their own economic interest when they’re voting Democrat. When they’re voting Republican, it’s because they’re fanatics who put aside their own self-interest for their beliefs.) As a rule yes. The two parties and their voters are not equivalent. The Democrats are just another political party, mainly distinguished by their gutlessness. The Republicans are plutocrats, loons, fanatics, fools and bigots. The Republicans are the garbage heap of American politics. Voting for them is self destructive for nearly anyone. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759/60 "2011-08-06T23:08:33Z")
BLACK CONSERVATIVE is on a roll of being wrong. I suppose he was in grade school when in 1992, Clinton ran on changing welfare as we know it. Then he signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act that actually changed it. Last time I looked, Clinton was a Democrat. Like most conservatives, they buy into myths and can not see anything that proves them wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-republicans-only-care-about-the-rich/591759.md?page=4)