# Will conservatives here reflect on malign ties between conservatism, Republicanism, and Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 4, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240 "2019-10-04T02:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/81 "2019-10-05T03:25:32Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Hey, what better time to jump back into the fray than when i for the first time (ever?) find myself in total agreement with The Shodster. And its hardly a controversial statement. This board is populated (or at least the posts and threads of a political and/or debate nature are dominated) nearly exclusively by members of one particular branch on the left-leaning side of the Democratic Party. > > When any forum features a lack of diversity in thought, belief and/or values, regardless of what the specific homogeneity of those concepts may be, the same phenomenon results. Namely a collective hive mind forms a cocoon around the intellectual space of that forum (I hate the term "hive mind"too but it’s apt here) and new unique critical thinking on political-socio-cultural issues stagnates or just never really flourishes. > > If independence of thought is expressed, it’s characterized by members of the supermajority here (and elsewhere) as such a mockable, disingenuous, morally empty position in order to marginalize and silence any further expression of dissent from the hive mind positions. So in the end, you dont have many with dissenting thought hanging around such meeting places. And why would they? Masochism? How many liberal dopers are long term members of conservative forums? It’s almost a seemingly inevitable quagmire for intellectual meeting grounds that debate or discuss polarizing and emotionally fraught subjects. Sooner or later, big bank always takes little bank. > > Case in point. OK, sorry. I got your politics wrong and didn’t read closely enough. Not much to add, but let me just say what I notice, and it’s not just mocking, marginalizing and silencing conservatives. I mean really? I see a problem of the political affecting conservatives ability to do critical thinking about themselves. I base this on the constant choruses you hear, with no arguments or follow through that they are victims who are an oppressed minority here. I hate it when independence of thought is mocked and it happens all the time here, to people close to me. It sucks, but I don’t see that in the left right dynamic here. The right wing here are not independent of thought (any more than anybody else, no offense) and it is just coddling them to indulge the victim routine. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/82 "2019-10-05T05:10:01Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Except that the old “Good vs. Evil” thing isn’t a factor any more for a lot of them-the only thing that matters is “winning”, and it really doesn’t matter how it is accomplished. I have a lot of trouble believing that Trump is going to get anywhere near the same amount of votes this time around. Yes, he has his diehards, but he’s not going to get as many out of the overlooked middle/moderate voters. And I don’t think any opposing candidate is going to inspire the “nevers” quite like Hillary did. And I think there are going to be some Republicans who just can’t quite justify pulling that level for him again. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/83 "2019-10-05T06:01:02Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I haven’t seen much if any of this here. He has non supporters here and never trumpers too, but they seem to spend all their time owning the libs. Is it possible for any of them to engage in thoughtful reflection about how they got to here in 2019. > > I mean the denial is getting to be a tsunami. How long can you trumpet victory in the face of a great national shame? I would also like to say I actually wholly endorse and echo nearly everything **Velocity** said. Very well said! Ambivalid makes a very strong and good argument as well. Well I’ll keep up with the OP here. I’ll start out with personal anecdotes, and a little history. I had been left leaning for most of my life, most of the friendships I’ve had throughout my life were with left-leaners/Democrats. While I’ve always payed attention to the political arena, and wanted some change, the complacency and ineptitude of career politicians bothered me. I voted for Obama in his first term hoping for that. I was very disappointed. More ineffectual, what was I thinking voting for some Chicago Politician, I should’ve known better being born and raised in the same city. I started getting disturbed about how many people I knew personally and of that were voting left-wing because it was the “cool thing to do” rather than actually knowing anything even elementary about politics. I wondered where they got their ideas from, what motivated them. TV. Media. 90% of it was left wing. The teachers, the bands/concerts, the college instructors, the newspapers. This was saturating people with only one sided ideas. I decided to think for myself, look up different media sources, as well as those from other countries, read different books and compare fact vs. fiction, plausible vs. implausible, and perhaps most importantly, common sense. and I came to find myself as a libertarian. I believe in charity, but towing your own weight, less regulation, free thinking, free speech, right to defense. I decided that the policies conjured by the left were in the realm and fantasy and were not feasible, repeating the same mistakes repeated elsewhere in the 19th century. I decided that I didn’t like Democracy as they defined it. I realized that I live in a Republic. Then I decided I do not like many Conservatives for their evangelical on sided thinking that infringed on free speech, I did not like Republicans (the NeoCon RINO’s) who caved to the pressures of the other side of the aisle and wanted to push shit like the PATRIOT ACT. I found where I fit, libertarian (“Don’t fuck with me, I won’t fuck with you, and I don’t owe you SHIT!”) As for voting for Trump, I never thought I would. It was fully reinforced and pushed me further to the right when the Obama era racial obsessions of the media began to unnerve me. It culminated with them almost saying outright “White Male Heterosexuals Are Evil” to today where it is plainly said without reservation, where illusions and logical fallacies such as “white privilege”. I noticed what it started to become, using race to start arguments and calling someone racist to end them/when the argument wasn’t going as intended. I noticed that the media (not just the news) and college professors were actually supportive of radical ideas such as forcefully taking money from those who earned it, and giving it to those who did not. I noticed that Merit was no longer existent. I started noticing people could not take a joke, so bored with their lives they look for a reason to complain. Political Correctness, a poison to society, went unchecked. This is where I, a normally fair minded person, one who would actually get along with everyone on this message board, who would give the “shirt off his back” (if you can accept that cliche) to someone in need and always practiced being an egalitarian… voted for Trump. The pendulum had to swing the other way to even it out. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/84 "2019-10-05T06:29:22Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > OK, sorry. I got your politics wrong and didn’t read closely enough. > > Not much to add, but let me just say what I notice, and it’s not just mocking, marginalizing and silencing conservatives. I mean really? > > I see a problem of the political affecting conservatives ability to do critical thinking about themselves. I base this on the constant choruses you hear, with no arguments or follow through that they are victims who are an oppressed minority here. > > I hate it when independence of thought is mocked and it happens all the time here, to people close to me. It sucks, but I don’t see that in the left right dynamic here. The right wing here are not independent of thought (any more than anybody else, no offense) and it is just coddling them to indulge the victim routine. I am absolutely not putting any of the scant few actual posters here who hold right wing, or conservative, political beliefs up as any kind of victim of anything other than being outside the hive mind majority. And it’s not really accurate to even describe that as victimhood or oppression, because these conservatives have the same abilities to not frequent/participate in forums that are hostile to their politics as liberals do to not participate in forums that are hostile to _their_ politics. But those that do choose to stay, they are subject to an entirely different set of unofficial and unspoken rules and standards than theiir liberal counterparts who exponentially outnumber them. When i say “independence of thought” I am speaking in the context of thought that challenges or goes against the hive-mind myopic uniformity of thought within a forum, a forum such as ours. The exact same thing would be true about a handful of liberals choosing to become regular contributors on right wing dominated forums. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/85 "2019-10-05T06:56:27Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > This is where I, a normally fair minded person, one who would actually get along with everyone on this message board, who would give the “shirt off his back” (if you can accept that cliche) to someone in need and always practiced being an egalitarian… voted for Trump. The pendulum had to swing the other way to even it out. But, what it is looking to be then is that the swing actually ended confirming a lot of what the ones on the other side (and even conservatives that looked at Trump) warned you about. > **[How Trump's Economic Chickens Are Finally Coming Home To Roost](https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2019/02/13/how-trumps-economic-chickens-are-finally-coming-home-to-roost/#425561922713)** > > A Trifecta Of Bad Economic News Is Finally Getting Through To His Base > [@](#): > > The trifecta of disappearing tax refunds, falling farm incomes, and an extended government shutdown, along with the failure to secure funding for the wall are the most powerful shocks to the cocoon so far. The shutdown alone made significant inroads into Trump’s support. As of today (Wednesday), only two days before the Friday deadline, Trump hasn’t ruled out the possibility of yet another shutdown, although most see that as “a sequel no one needs.” But who knows? As Bret Stephens points out in the New York Times, Trump is perfectly capable of “committing suicide twice.” Turns out that one point of accusing others of crying wolf, (the critics of economic injustice, racism, etc) misses one point of the story. That there was a wolf, just like in the original tale. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/86 "2019-10-05T07:29:53Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I am absolutely not putting any of the scant few actual posters here who hold right wing, or conservative, political beliefs up as any kind of victim of anything other than being outside the hive mind majority. And it’s not really accurate to even describe that as victimhood or oppression, because these conservatives have the same abilities to not frequent/participate in forums that are hostile to their politics as liberals do to not participate in forums that are hostile to _their_ politics. > > But those that do choose to stay, they are subject to an entirely different set of unofficial and unspoken rules and standards than theiir liberal counterparts who exponentially outnumber them. > > When i say “independence of thought” I am speaking in the context of thought that challenges or goes against the hive-mind myopic uniformity of thought within a forum, a forum such as ours. The exact same thing would be true about a handful of liberals choosing to become regular contributors on right wing dominated forums. I do not frequent this site as much as I would like or participate as much in the forums due to the same. I don’t have a victim complex, nor do I care. It’s just illogical sometimes to argue against those that, as you said, \*\*Ambivalid \*\*exponentially outnumber you. To be honest, that doesn’t even bother. Not to speak indirectly/in general: I would love to explore new ideas or be convinced of something different or my mind to be opened to something else. So far, all I ever get (as many others do) for trying to participate is the exhausting amount of equivocating anything right of center as supporting racism, bigotry or white supremacy. AND BE SERIOUS. In fact, ALL of those I’ve ever met who were right-of-center or even farther do not give two shits about race, sex/gender, abilities etc… Just pure belief in the merit system, capitalism and common sense. They do not believe in excessive government, they/we believe everyone is equal and nobody needs help, because to suggest someone needs help is to suggest that they are inferior and cannot do things for themselves, race does not matter in the grand scheme of things. Simple. Sorry for rant, exhausted. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/87 "2019-10-05T07:42:49Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > I would love to explore new ideas or be convinced of something different or my mind to be opened to something else. So far, all I ever get (as many others do) for trying to participate is the exhausting amount of equivocating anything right of center as supporting racism, bigotry or white supremacy. AND BE SERIOUS. In fact, ALL of those I’ve ever met who were right-of-center or even farther do not give two shits about race, sex/gender, abilities etc… Just pure belief in the merit system, capitalism and common sense. They do not believe in excessive government, they/we believe everyone is equal and nobody needs help, because to suggest someone needs help is to suggest that they are inferior and cannot do things for themselves, race does not matter in the grand scheme of things. Simple. “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” H. L. Mencken ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/88 "2019-10-05T07:51:51Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > I’m one of those evangelical social conservatives that never drunk the Trump kool-aid… Thank you **divemaster**! You and I would find much to agree on — I also thought TPP was a good idea — even though I’m an agnostic social moderate. I support Women’s Choice but would rather leave this to the states than have the Federal Roe v Wade. We’d find much to disagree on, but it sounds like we’d unify against putting criminals in charge! You support Pence. What do you think of allegations that Pence participated in the criminal dialog with Ukraine? > [@anomalous1](#): > > … I started getting disturbed about how many people I knew personally and of that were voting left-wing because it was the “cool thing to do” rather than actually knowing anything even elementary about politics. I wondered where they got their ideas from, what motivated them. TV. Media. 90% of it was left wing. The teachers, the bands/concerts, the college instructors, the newspapers. > … I found where I fit, libertarian (“Don’t fuck with me, I won’t fuck with you, and I don’t owe you SHIT!”) > > As for voting for Trump, I never thought I would. > > It was fully reinforced and pushed me further to the right when the Obama era racial obsessions of the media began to unnerve me. It culminated with them almost saying outright “White Male Heterosexuals Are Evil” to today where it is plainly said without reservation, where illusions and logical fallacies such as “white privilege”… The pendulum had to swing the other way to even it out. Thanks **anomalous1**! I think many of your ideas are mistaken, but you seem righteous and sincere. It would be good to have a polite debate with you. Your comments confirm what I and others worry about — that social progressivism is pushing some voters into the arms of the right-wing. Even some R’s now agree that Trump’s call to Ukraine was criminal, and that he should be removed from office. How do you feel about that? > [@octopus](#): > > You must be a Nazi!!11! > > Be prepared to be the target of years of character assassination and blatant misrepresentation. The hive feels great collective pain when presented with information that leads to cognitive dissonance. Thankfully they don’t have the numbers in the real world to open up gulags yet. Hive mind? Gulags? Oh right, you’re the oaf that Googled “left-wing” and found a Biden=Stalin equation or some such. You’re welcome to make posts which aren’t content-free, if you’re capable of it, commenting on the Ukraine criminal or whatever. Meanwhile: how’s the weather where you are? Got your doorknob fixed yet? > [@WillFarnaby](#): > > William F. Buckley was a CIA operative and an FBI informant who explicitly supported a totalitarian state to defeat the Russians. He would be aligned with the Democratic Party of today for sure. In the 0.99999… = 1 debate you’d be the guy arguing that 0.99999… = 43. In a physics thread you’d complain that quarks are enslaving leptons and that Van der Waals force wouldn’t exist if the statists hadn’t used violence. Welcome back! ---
**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:** [October 5, 2019, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/89 "2019-10-05T12:11:24Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > I wondered where they got their ideas from, what motivated them. TV. Media. 90% of it was left wing. The teachers, the bands/concerts, the college instructors, the newspapers. Except that’s a right wing propaganda line, deliberately created during the Reagan administration to deflect attention from their lies. The media is and always has been overwhelmingly right wing, and more so all the time. > [@anomalous1](#): > > I found where I fit, libertarian (“Don’t fuck with me, I won’t fuck with you, and I don’t owe you SHIT!”) Ah, libertarians; “anarchists who want police protection from their slaves”. Parasites who feed off of society and expect that society to protect them from their victims, who think the only proper function of government is to serve as iron boots to stomp the underclass down. > [@anomalous1](#): > > This is where I, a normally fair minded person, one who would actually get along with everyone on this message board, who would give the “shirt off his back” (if you can accept that cliche) to someone in need and always practiced being an egalitarian… voted for Trump. The pendulum had to swing the other way to even it out. Like the rest of his supporters, your motivation is malice. You support bigotry, rape, torture, tyranny and murder. Every time somebody browner than you suffers, it is a victory for you. You are the exact opposite of fair minded; you are cruel and bigoted. Not a single decent human being voted for Trump, because voting for Trump automatically disqualifies someone as a decent human being. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/90 "2019-10-05T12:23:53Z")
Damn fine Post #84, anomalous1. I was reading along going ‘…yep, yep, yep. Nailed it’. For me at least. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/91 "2019-10-05T12:25:38Z")
And then I read a Der Trihs post… Yeesh. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/92 "2019-10-05T12:41:26Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Oh, and thank you for showing that not all conservatives are Trumpists. It’s pretty hard to tell sometimes by the behavior of the loud conservatives on this board, which tend to range from “I’m a Trumpist!” to “I tell you I’m not a Trumpist, but I still defend Trump and everything related to him!” Conservatives you notice on this board != conservatives on this board. I posit that most who are in the range from mildly left of center to full-on conservative don’t participate in discussions on politics. There is just nothing to be gained from dialogue with posters like you, Asahi, and quite a few others. It always goes the same way. Conservative =stupid = evil = so obviously and incontrovertibly wrong that holding any conservative opinion makes you an idiot, a racist, evil. Discussions like that are not interesting. Now, a tiny handful of supposedly right-of-center posters engages despite that. I’m not calling them trolls, but they must get some sort of a kick out of the experience. And in some cases they’re just not very smart. The notion that they reflect in any way the spectrum that exists right-of-center is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/93 "2019-10-05T13:01:28Z")
Thank you for your input anomalous1. I have a question - > [@anomalous1](#): > > …This is where I, a normally fair minded person, one who would actually get along with everyone on this message board, who would give the “shirt off his back” (if you can accept that cliche) to someone in need and always practiced being an egalitarian… voted for Trump. The pendulum had to swing the other way to even it out. Did Trump turn out to be the President you thought he would be? If so, in what way is he evening things out? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/94 "2019-10-05T13:06:07Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > Conservatives you notice on this board != conservatives on this board. > I posit that most who are in the range from mildly left of center to full-on conservative don’t participate in discussions on politics. There is just nothing to be gained from dialogue with posters like you, Asahi, and quite a few others. It always goes the same way. Conservative =stupid = evil = so obviously and incontrovertibly wrong that holding any conservative opinion makes you an idiot, a racist, evil. Discussions like that are not interesting. Now, a tiny handful of supposedly right-of-center posters engages despite that. I’m not calling them trolls, but they must get some sort of a kick out of the experience. And in some cases they’re just not very smart. The notion that they reflect in any way the spectrum that exists right-of-center is ridiculous. Did you vote for Trump? And if so, may I ask why? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/95 "2019-10-05T13:22:48Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > This is where I, a normally fair minded person, one who would actually get along with everyone on this message board, who would give the “shirt off his back” (if you can accept that cliche) to someone in need and always practiced being an egalitarian… voted for Trump. The pendulum had to swing the other way to even it out. Do you now regret that vote now that it’s turned out that opposite side of the pendulum is, apparently, a self-serving criminal who is willing to burn the country down to avoid being held to task for his crimes? Or are you a Trump supporter who will continue to defend him? ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/96 "2019-10-05T13:55:34Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Did you vote for Trump? And if so, may I ask why? I did not. Not everyone falls neatly into the left/right pigeon holes. Some of the things important to me are traditionally conservative. Some are clearly liberal. I am nominally Republican, but not a very good one. I don’t think I’ve ever voted a straight party ticket. I didn’t vote for Hillary either. I left it blank. At the time, neither candidate represented me, so fuck ‘m both. In the Republican primaries, there were a few candidates which I possibly could’ve liked, but they were marginalized pretty early in the process. On the Democratic side, it felt like going through the motions to get to the long overdue coronation of Mrs Clinton. It was easy to disengage. I would’ve voted for Obama in his 2 elections- but wasn’t naturalized yet. I would’ve voted “W” Bush both times. I wouldn’t have voted Clinton for his first term, but I would have his second. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/97 "2019-10-05T14:07:32Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > I did not. Not everyone falls neatly into the left/right pigeon holes. Some of the things important to me are traditionally conservative. Some are clearly liberal. I am nominally Republican, but not a very good one. I don’t think I’ve ever voted a straight party ticket. > > I didn’t vote for Hillary either. I left it blank. At the time, neither candidate represented me, so fuck ‘m both. In the Republican primaries, there were a few candidates which I possibly could’ve liked, but they were marginalized pretty early in the process. On the Democratic side, it felt like going through the motions to get to the long overdue coronation of Mrs Clinton. It was easy to disengage. > > I would’ve voted for Obama in his 2 elections- but wasn’t naturalized yet. I would’ve voted “W” Bush both times. I wouldn’t have voted Clinton for his first term, but I would have his second. If you had the ability to go back in time to the 2016 election with all the knowledge you have today, would you still have abstained from voting? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/98 "2019-10-05T14:14:26Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > Conservatives you notice on this board != conservatives on this board. > I posit that most who are in the range from mildly left of center to full-on conservative don’t participate in discussions on politics. There is just nothing to be gained from dialogue with posters like you, Asahi, and quite a few others. It always goes the same way. Conservative =stupid = evil = so obviously and incontrovertibly wrong that holding any conservative opinion makes you an idiot, a racist, evil. Discussions like that are not interesting. Now, a tiny handful of supposedly right-of-center posters engages despite that. I’m not calling them trolls, but they must get some sort of a kick out of the experience. And in some cases they’re just not very smart. The notion that they reflect in any way the spectrum that exists right-of-center is ridiculous. If they are so tiny a handful why are they the voices being heard the most? If the supposed majority of Conservatives didn’t like they way they have been represented nothing stops them from grabbing Mr. Mike and taking control of the stage…unless of course that “tiny handful” is not as tiny as you say they are. I’m not noticing much (if any) backlash towards this “tiny handful” of spongebrains from the supposed majority of conservatives that don’t think the same way. Could it be because you get to keep your hands clean while they do the dirty work? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/99 "2019-10-05T14:29:48Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > I did not. Not everyone falls neatly into the left/right pigeon holes. Some of the things important to me are traditionally conservative. Some are clearly liberal. I am nominally Republican, but not a very good one. I don’t think I’ve ever voted a straight party ticket. > > I didn’t vote for Hillary either. I left it blank. At the time, neither candidate represented me, so fuck ‘m both. In the Republican primaries, there were a few candidates which I possibly could’ve liked, but they were marginalized pretty early in the process. On the Democratic side, it felt like going through the motions to get to the long overdue coronation of Mrs Clinton. It was easy to disengage. > > I would’ve voted for Obama in his 2 elections- but wasn’t naturalized yet. I would’ve voted “W” Bush both times. I wouldn’t have voted Clinton for his first term, but I would have his second. Hey, thanks. The way I saw it was that I was not thrilled by Hillary, and don’t like dynasties, I wanted anyone but Trump. I didn’t despise him before the election, but knew enough about him over the years to, well, avoid anything Trump. He has always pegged my crooked asshole meter. Assholes are best avoided in everything you do. I’m very non-confrontational. I think that while neither may represent you, it’s a good idea to vote for someone that is less likely to fuck up the country. It’s not always dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t. Doing what is best is the path to take. We make these choices every waking hour. The choice was crystal clear. I may have voted for Kasich if the GOP had put him up. I would have certainly looked into him more thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240/100 "2019-10-05T14:47:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If they are so tiny a handful why are they the voices being heard the most? If the supposed majority of Conservatives didn’t like they way they have been represented nothing stops them from grabbing Mr. Mike and taking control of the stage…unless of course that “tiny handful” is not as tiny as you say they are. I’m not noticing much (if any) backlash towards this “tiny handful” of spongebrains from the supposed majority of conservatives that don’t think the same way. Could it be because you get to keep your hands clean while they do the dirty work? Becaise they see no value and no point in attempting to engage in good faith with the mob-mentality of the disingenuous (disingenous in their interaction towards dissent) supermajority of extremely like-minded posters with opposing poligical beliefs. This tiny minority of loud-mothed confrontational jerkish right wingers who dominate the voice of the right, _here_ at the “San Francisco” of forums, doesnt represent the broader views of the conservative ideology/movement on a national level, this is true. But why should those other conservatives who post on this board in non-political forums get sucked into time-wasting, head-bashing foolishness that never produces anything of value for _anyone_ involved? Things such as trying to “correct the record” for all the left wingers here who may have been misinformed as to what the full spectrum of conservative ideology really encompassed. Ha. Theze posters may not enjoy seeing their belief/value systems being mis/incompletely portrayed by supposed allies. But it doesn’t really make one shit of a difference overall because the _real_ kings of mischaracterization and false portrayals of conservative positions _are the liberals here_ who don’t let legitimate debate ensue which may disrupt hive mind tranquility and equilibrium. So basically, these handful of loud, not necessarily representative of the larger conservative philosophy posters, arent causing _any fucking harm whatsoever_ to the ability of liberals here to gain a clearer, truer perspective on what it means to be conservative, because they were _never actually interested in a genuine discovery of truth in the first place_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-conservatives-here-reflect-on-malign-ties-between-conservatism-republicanism-and-trump/841240.md?page=6)