re: Somebody help me out here - how can a substantial portion of America vote DEM?

There is a big disconnect from the politician to the voter. The Dem party is threatened because Trump takes their power and gives it back to the people. The voter is brainwashed by the politician and the media into thinking some bullshite utopia that the politician can never give them but the politician is doing the deep states work.

Brainwashing. The education system leans heavily in favor of Democrats. To the point where non-Democrats are shamed and belittled. Sometimes, they are even punished.

99% of all movies and tv shows are left leaning.

Most msm favors Democrats. Basically, they will provide cover for Democrats in the event a Democrat fricks up. While at the same time, they will brutally crucify any non-Democrat, for just about anything.

Mix all that shite together and a lot of people can't handle it. After years of that brainwashing going on in the background, they subconsciously start thinking .. Democrats = good. Non Democrats = evil.

Without the nonstop stream of brainwashing from schools, Hollywood and msm.. Democrats would probably struggle to get a thousand votes in national and statewide elections.

Poor education run by democrats

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What exactly is their motivation.

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Well I can only base this on those who are Ds and I can actually discuss differences in views reasonably (i.e., not the goofballs on TV).

I think there are a couple issues.

1. I think they more align with the Ds on social issues and those issues are extremely important to them (e.g., War on Drugs, gay marriage, etc.)

2. I think they share many of the same views with Rs on what they want for society (help those in need, better education), but believe the means, in this case, government led projects are either better or the job of government. I also think they feel they contribute to this by supporting them.

3. I think their idea of what a typical R politician or supporter is, much like the opposite, is based on the extremes and caricatures, not reality. So they don’t want to associate with those extremes, just like the Rs don’t want to associate with the extremes that they see. Personally I think this is the biggest problem with politics and the barrier we’ll need to overcome for reasonable people and reasonable views to come together.

Frankly, I don’t think the average D is all that different than the average R when you down to the important values and beliefs. There are differences in means to achieve things, but the differences in our views are far less extreme than either side thinks because they base them on the extremes and we tend to resort to in-group, out-group reasoning anyways. This bothers me because I’m close to people on both sides, and maybe it’s becsuse of their similarities that we’re close, but they always seem more similar than different in person and when discussing things that don’t fit into partisan politics.

Watch CNN and MSNBC for 15 minutes and you will know why some people vote Democrat. Those stations pump out an anti-Trump version of the news 24/7. If those are the channels you watch, then by default you will think Trump is pure evil. That is a big part of it imo...

Low IQ sheeple that enjoy sitting on their porch waiting for their weekly checks from the gubberment. And the more those people breed, and as generation after generation follow the same route, more and more Dim voters are created.

A sizable, older, portion of the country have made so much in the stock market that they have become complacent. My long since retired parents are in this group. They espouse conservative viewports ( low taxes, low regulation)but they vote for (D)s. We have some crazy conversations at holidays. The younger kids in our family are all MAGA though, which drives them nuts.

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The irony of a bunch of Southerners from poor states, states receiving FAR more federal tax dollars back than they put in, complaining about "freebies" is not lost on those of us with a functioning brain.

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Your racism is noted.

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Somebody help me out here - how can a substantial portion of America vote DEM?

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They do it for the gibs. Just remember your paying for all that.

First - thank you for a thoughtful response, one of the very few.

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Well I can only base this on those who are Ds and I can actually discuss differences in views reasonably (i.e., not the goofballs on TV).

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Good - I haven't had any people in my orbit since I retired from teaching in 2013 who are DEMs and I think the Trump era has been a quantum leap from anything that came before - my prior experiences are of no value in evaluating the current phenomena. I've been in social isolation since I moved to this rural retreat in Texas - only interface with immediate family.

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I think they more align with the Ds on social issues and those issues are extremely important to them (e.g., War on Drugs, gay marriage, etc.)

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Of course these are major issues that are expressed all the time - but for the life of me I cannot imagine those issues prompting someone to vote for Robert Francis O'Rourke vs Ted Cruz for senator. Neither of those issues are being discussed openly or constitute anything but 'feels' as importance. The WOD is perhaps a long term issue, but I have seen no initiative on that from the DEM side that would prompt some sort of massive shift to the overall DEM agenda.

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2. I think they share many of the same views with Rs on what they want for society (help those in need, better education), but believe the means, in this case, government led projects are either better or the job of government. I also think they feel they contribute to this by supporting them.

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This has, in my view, been the historical difference between DEMs (liberal) and GOP (conservative) And I think this is where the battle lines should be drawn. The causes on both sides are supportable and open for debate. Of course I am an arch conservative and I think the DEMs should be required to address the overall dysfunction that their liberal welfare policies have had on the culture that only survives with that impetus. They have broken the nuclear family in large swaths of the Black community.

There was a time in American politics where these differences could be discussed without neglecting existential issues of national security and economic growth.

But that era is long gone and I have to wonder why?

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3. I think their idea of what a typical R politician or supporter is, much like the opposite, is based on the extremes and caricatures, not reality. So they don’t want to associate with those extremes, just like the Rs don’t want to associate with the extremes that they see. Personally I think this is the biggest problem with politics and the barrier we’ll need to overcome for reasonable people and reasonable views to come together.

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I thin that you nailed the problem right there. And I believe that non-reality is put forth by the Democrats (as they always have) but has only gained the traction it now has by the universal trumpeting of the MSM. The two parties have always hurled ads at each other based on the worst caricatures they can conjure up - but to the average American those sort of negated each other and really accomplished very little = imho.

BUT, since the Obama era, the media has stepped in to amplify all the normal caricatures of Republicans (conservative) from the entertainment industry, abetted by the overwhelmingly socialist academic administrations, and enabled by the cooperation of the 'social media' platforms to form a perfect storm of hatred for GOP (conservatives)

Without the unifying element of the MSM bullhorn, I don't think this caricature could gain such traction.

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Frankly, I don’t think the average D is all that different than the average R when you down to the important values and beliefs. There are differences in means to achieve things, but the differences in our views are far less extreme than either side thinks because they base them on the extremes and we tend to resort to in-group, out-group reasoning anyways.

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Agreed - I believe if individuals were asked fundamental questions, there would not be that much difference between the views of R's and D's. But the group think that has enveloped the DEM side seem to override individual perceptions. And of course, I don't think the conservative side is a result of 'group think" - I have never had any other political ideal than what I currently advocate for. I haven't changed a political principle in my life (except for more acceptance of abortion considerations) And what you may consider GOP group think is nothing more than my basic opinions from 1960 onwards, when I cast my first vote for RMN.

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This bothers me because I’m close to people on both sides, and maybe it’s becsuse of their similarities that we’re close, but they always seem more similar than different in person and when discussing things that don’t fit into partisan politics.

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And I have a granddaughter whose fiancé is a wild-eyed liberal. She was the most level-headed, analytical, and mature of my five grandchildren. I don't see her often anymore but she has taken offense to my FaceBook postings to the extent that I have given up FaceBook entirely. My disassociation with her is the primary motivating factor for me to make my original post - what on earth could prompt her - of all people - to become a DEM supporter???

Again - thank you for the post - I apologize for my belated response. I only saw this thread resurrected this morning and I have been having to work around multitudes of "honey-dos" from my domineering significant other of 66 years. She thinks I spend way too much time on here as it is.



ps - You didn't mention illegal aliens - which I think is the existential threat to America (as we have grown up in)

THAT I think is the one issue that should make everyone discard their D/R labels and decide on who will protect America from this threat.