# Why aren't MAGAs getting scared? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450 "2020-09-24T22:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/41 "2020-09-28T15:58:44Z")
I once started a thread on another message board telling Trumpers that Clarence Thomas had better retire soon or else risk becoming a Republican Ginsburg. I got 2 upvotes and 38 downvotes. Many of the comments scoffed and insisted that Trump was going to get reelected easily and that therefore Thomas has no need to retire now when he can do so in Trump’s second term. You just can’t argue with people whose heads are stuck in the sand. They see what they choose to see. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/42 "2020-09-28T16:06:35Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You just can’t argue with people whose heads are stuck in the sand. They see what they choose to see. They see themselves very clearly They have no intent to concede an electoral loss. They aren’t going to give up power willingly. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/43 "2020-09-28T16:38:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You just can’t argue with people whose heads are stuck in the sand. They see what they choose to see. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/fvPSvBl.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/VCC8gpr) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/44 "2020-09-28T18:10:29Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > They resented Hillary’s attempt to re-educated them for a modern economy because it was an assault on their identity (in their view). They were coal miners. They came from coal miners. Liberals hate coal because they love the environment. They’re not going to be taken from their Real American coal miner work because some liberal wants to save the environment. It was, to them, an assault on their identity, not an offer of a handout to better their lives. That’s why they rejected it. Beyond that, the effects of coal as an energy source aren’t really something that’s particularly obvious to them either, while the massive disruption from slowing/stopping coal mining is. What’s sad is that the decline of coal was already happening due to market forces, and that these folks were suffering as a result. But rather than realize what Clinton’s proposal was, and take it, they doubled down on Trump and coal mining because of the identity politics and inability to adapt. Either way, coal’s going away eventually because it’s more expensive than renewables and natural gas, and no amount of Presidential hot air is going to change that. But they had a chance to pivot and do something different, and they spurned it because it didn’t jibe with their self-identity. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/45 "2020-09-28T18:13:45Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What’s sad is that the decline of coal was already happening due to market forces, and that these folks were suffering as a result. Funny how selective ‘let the magic of the free market decide’ is as a philosophy, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/46 "2020-09-28T18:17:07Z")
From what I gather, the party line was that it was environmental legislation that was somehow making coal unprofitable, and that as a result, it was the Democrats’ fault, not market forces. Which is probably a little true, but mostly BS- I don’t doubt that environmental legislation doesn’t help coal’s profit margins, but from what I’ve read, it’s still losing ground to NG and renewables anyway. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/47 "2020-09-28T18:27:03Z")
Well, I don’t know if it’s “in the sand”, but their heads are for sure stuck somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/48 "2020-09-28T18:32:58Z")
In aviation parlance, they have their heads up and locked. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/49 "2020-09-28T19:26:51Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > They have family and friends that are republican, and every time a lib gets owned, they get a charge of endorphins like when their favorite sports team scores. It used to be that when the President was making a speech, the audience would show approval by politely applauding. But I have noticed during Trump speeches, most recently his announcement of his nominee for the Supreme Court, you hear people in the audience shout “Yeah! Wooooo!” as if their favorite sports team had just scored. I’m not talking about campaign rallies, but formal speeches, like the State of the Union and aforementioned announce of his Supreme Court nominee, where the audience is made up of legislators and other dignitaries. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/50 "2020-09-28T20:26:14Z")
Many Trumpers also took the lesson of 2016 way too far. They now have gotten to the point where they dismiss even double-digit Biden leads over Trump as meaningless. Just because the number-crunching was _slightly_ off for Hillary against Trump four years ago doesn’t mean a _massive_ Biden lead is bogus. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/51 "2020-09-28T20:30:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Just because the number-crunching was _slightly_ off for Hillary against Trump four years ago doesn’t mean a _massive_ Biden lead is bogus. It’s happy talk like this that’s going to jinx us into 4 more years of that orange assclown. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/52 "2020-09-28T21:02:14Z")
I do think there is some denial on the side of the right, thinking it will be a repeat of 2016. But it won’t be because it’s not Hillary running. Biden is much more palatable to swing voters so I don’t see much chance of Trump getting it again. That being said, Trump’s win in 2016 was not due to Russian/China influence or any other such BS. His election team took a weak position and played the best possible strategy to make it possible to win when political experts called it impossible. Those same guys will be in the mix this time to maximize his chances. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/53 "2020-09-28T23:02:24Z")
Along with 500 lawyers, arguments prepared before the problems even occur. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/54 "2020-09-29T02:11:42Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > To the extent they think at all… yep. Yup. the Jim crow south was a dictatorship but only for people that white conservatives disliked. blacks lived in constant terror and women and gays had no rights. but white men were fine. cops were respectful, politicians listened to their problems, they had all the rights of the constitution while they denied them to everyone else. That’s their end goal of the MAGA movement. democracy for themselves, brutal dictatorship for everyone else. just like jim crow. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/55 "2020-09-29T02:56:22Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > I do think there is some denial on the side of the right, thinking it will be a repeat of 2016. But it won’t be because it’s not Hillary running. Biden is much more palatable to swing voters so I don’t see much chance of Trump getting it again. Not to mention, Trump now has an actual record, and it ain’t quite as “A Plus” as he likes to claim. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/56 "2020-09-29T03:04:56Z")
I’m confused by this thread, the OP asks why aren’t Trump supporters scared that they’ve permanently harmed America by undermining its democracy, but half the replies seem to be focused on why they aren’t scared of losing the election which isn’t the question of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/57 "2020-09-29T11:37:47Z")
Yeah, the thread got a little off-track, and I was a part of that. I think the answer lies within the OP’s question, though. > [@](#): > > Do these idiots think The answer would seem to be, “no.” OK, that was half serious. In full serious mode: check my post above. It’s their team, their identity. Many aren’t thinking, they’re just cheering as they score touchdowns & wins over the ‘other people’, the ones not them. No one points out the downside of what they’re doing, except people and organizations they’ve been trained to ignore as liars. As far as they know, it’s all win, win, win. They can’t worry about something they don’t know about, or don’t believe. They’re the AMERICANS, so therefore, anything they or their team do is inherently AMERICAN. We fucked up when we, somehow, fucked up free speech. Free speech has come to mean you can tell any lie and disguise it as news. Free speech has come to mean you can be in 100+ markets all over the country, spewing lies and riling people up against things that are in their own interest. Free speech means calling legitimate news sources liars and purveyors of fake news, so that no one believes them. In the past, no one controlled enough of the media to overwhelm the truth with propaganda and lies. Now it comes so hard and fast that it’s a version of Goebbels’ apocryphal Big Lie. I dont’ know what, if anything, we can do to put that genie back in the bottle. Force companies like the Sinclair Broadcast Group to split up and sell off, do something about cable news and syndicated programs like Rush? I dont’ know if we can, or even if we should, but I do believe this is what brought existing issues to a boil. Too few people or companies controlling too much of what America thinks is news. Then there’s the whole social media issue. . . you know, we may just be fucked. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/58 "2020-09-29T11:41:03Z")
We absolutely are fucked. Fascism has come to America and it has a 43% approval rating. I’ve long been a supporter of blue state secession, we carry red state America and all we get in return is Nazi marches and a game show host president. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/59 "2020-09-29T11:47:02Z")
They live in their own delusional world. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450/60 "2020-09-29T11:59:10Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Yup. the Jim crow south was a dictatorship but only for people that white conservatives disliked. > > blacks lived in constant terror and women and gays had no rights. but white men were fine. cops were respectful, politicians listened to their problems, they had all the rights of the constitution while they denied them to everyone else. It wasn’t so hot for anyone who wanted them to have rights, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-magas-getting-scared/921450.md?page=4)