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In my experience, it's more subtle. I don't live in the South but have some found family (birth family due to parent's adoption). They will toss Amens, Lord's blessings and Jesus in odd moments to judge the reaction. They will post religious memes to see if one "Like's" it. They will post the really over the top religious memes of Jesus directing Trump's hand to see if there's a reaction. They will make a joke about climate change to see the response. They will toss in an "illegal" remark or comment about the military. All of these are tests. The only one I've found safe to respond to is military since we have a massive amount of family that has served in the military. They can't touch us on that one. Otherwise, yes, there are numerous tests Trump supporters use to see if you are "one of them".
Yep, I know people like that in FB, and they post 5-10 posts per day praising God and Trump and if people don't agree, they label them "the left" and treat them with disrespect. IMO FB is not the place for such nonsense, and sure enough lot of people have dropped them, or have configured them as "un-follow".
It is going to take more than people living in urban progressive areas and suburbs for the democrats to win the electoral college.
The Democratic Party has an issue appealing to working class voters of all backgrounds. Trump seized this in 2016 and appears to do so again. The elite folks that have taken control of the Democratic Party don’t get this. You can’t go to West Virginia and tell people to their face I’m going to put you out of a job because I will do away with coal or to a rural area and say you want more gun control.
The party is having difficulty embracing everyone and appealing to a broad spectrum of folks. They want diversity in everything other than thoughts and opinion. It isn’t going to work.
The red machine is going to chew up and spit out any one of these nominees for the reasons I listed. Trump will likely win the electoral college again while losing the overall plurality of votes.
The democrats need a moderate candidate to appeal to a broad spectrum of voters that focuses solely on jobs and the economy. I don’t see that out there. 2020 is looking like a re-election of trump.
The urban and high tech elites have taken over the Democratic Party and it’s looking like they have destroyed it.
This is coming from a black person that’s lived in city and rural areas. The connected generation is out of touch and lacks the communication skills with people. It’s reflected in constant pushing diversity and climate change instead of jobs and economy down our throats.
You make a lot of good points, and I can't really dispute your main thesis. But there is one thing that bothers me - like a lot of Republicans, you like to use the word "elite" to describe democrats.
So if someone happens to live on the East or West coast, they are elite? If they are educated, or work in a high-tech industry, they are elite? If they are urban or suburban, that makes them elite?
In my experience, it's more subtle. I don't live in the South but have some found family (birth family due to parent's adoption). They will toss Amens, Lord's blessings and Jesus in odd moments to judge the reaction. They will post religious memes to see if one "Like's" it. They will post the really over the top religious memes of Jesus directing Trump's hand to see if there's a reaction. They will make a joke about climate change to see the response. They will toss in an "illegal" remark or comment about the military. All of these are tests. The only one I've found safe to respond to is military since we have a massive amount of family that has served in the military. They can't touch us on that one. Otherwise, yes, there are numerous tests Trump supporters use to see if you are "one of them".
You make a lot of good points, and I can't really dispute your main thesis. But there is one thing that bothers me - like a lot of Republicans, you like to use the word "elite" to describe democrats.
So if someone happens to live on the East or West coast, they are elite? If they are educated, or work in a high-tech industry, they are elite? If they are urban or suburban, that makes them elite?
Please note: The RIGHT always has to have an Enemy. The Right never ever will admit they are wrong on anything. The right doesn't debate the subjects; they just want to destroy the character of the other person or group.
I think they are trying to find absolute proof and since I won't give it to them, they just keep trying. I don't "like" anything religious or political, I don't "follow" political or religious figures of any kind. Their pursuit is increasingly challenging with "I bet many of you are too afraid to post this!" about some religious thing they found. In their minds, the religious tests tell them everything there is to know about whether you are "with them or against them". It tells them whether you are a Trump supporter, an evangelical, patriotic and believe the Earth's resources are put here to be used and abused, not "protected". They even consider eating meat as patriotic.
And the circular way they tie religion with hating immigrants is beyond disturbing. It's used to be their opposition was "illegals". Now, as Trump has greatly reduced legal immigration, they don't like immigrants of any kind. Give them enough time and they will make Jesus a blonde, blue eyed European distantly related to Trump.
It's not like we see hundreds of armed militias forming. Is hatred of trump voters rooted in hatred of police, military, blue collar voters, guns? To use the popular leftistterm, testosterone poisoned voters.
This is such a biased question, it would be hard to answer. You assume liberals hate trump voters, hate police, military, blue collar voters and guns. And I have never heard the "leftistterm" "testosterone poisoned voters." You are not asking honestly for anything.
Tribalism and insularity are not limited exclusively to small towns. But in places where there is little turnover, where populations are stagnant, and where white-collar employment opportunities are limited, there will be more reliance on kin/tribal/creedal identity.
Neither is this limited to the US. Compare Paris and rural/small-town France, London vs. the Midlands/North, Moscow vs. the scattered towns of Siberia or even Central Russia, Istanbul or small-town Turkey, Addis Ababa or rural Ethiopia. Around the world, there is strong consonance between a “Trump-style” of message (be it Modi, Orban, Erdogan,…) and the combination of population density, economic prosperity and opportunities for white-collar employment.
I can not personally attest that “what church do you attend” is the first or the principal question posed to newcomers in the American Midwest. But it definitely matters. It matters because church is the aegis and focus of so much community activity. Church-membership is almost congruent with community-membership. Persons outside of the church network would be at a disadvantage in community resources, whether their objective is to play bridge, to attend a backyard barbecue, to find a handyman, to get a recommendation for a veterinarian or a pediatrician.
You make a lot of good points, and I can't really dispute your main thesis. But there is one thing that bothers me - like a lot of Republicans, you like to use the word "elite" to describe democrats.
So if someone happens to live on the East or West coast, they are elite? If they are educated, or work in a high-tech industry, they are elite? If they are urban or suburban, that makes them elite?
Elites are the loud people who are the minority but are running the Super left of the democratic wing. They always existed but the younger ones are loud about their beliefs to the point of being obnoxious. They are for banning pretty much everything that pollutes. Erasing total college debt. Free college. Universal healthcare etc. they think everybody needs to live a certain way and the only thing that matters is urban areas.
They hate candidates like Joe Biden, Tulsi Gabbard. They really think that somebody like Bernie and Elizabeth Warren is electable.
Basically elites are living in an alternate reality. They are the most connected generation and claim to be cultured. In reality they know very little even some things about neighborhoods a mile or so down the road. They don’t want to or care to hear or understand middle America, which cost them dearly in 2016. A failure to understand working class and blue collar folks. Etc. They want diversity in everything other than thought and opinion.
They have difficulty relating to people and communicating in a way that can win over voters. You can be for those things but the economy is what gets people elected.
All they have to do is hammer home jobs and the economy and be general and broad on other stuff when speaking. You are trying to win elections not give away your whole platform.
Republicans are experts at it. Hit the main broad talking points of the economy and ********* over on everything else when in office. They win elections that way and that’s what democrats need to start doing.
Last edited by Independentthinking83; 01-15-2020 at 02:34 PM..
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