Areas In Colorado That Are Burning Are Anti Government GOP Strongholds.

[TheMastersNemesis]

A significant number of the communities burning in the wild fires in Colorado are strongly GOP and anti government. Yet their lives depend on government to fight these fires. The federal government and state governments are the entities that fund these fire fighting operations.

I do not understand the disconnect with many of these voters. They are grateful that they have these resources, yet many of these same voter do NOT support health care for all. I simply do not understand mental disconnects.

Our wester slope is very GOP leaning. Yet their survival depends on many government services including fighting wild fires and floods.

[Girard442]

1. Conservatism has a deep streak of self-destructiveness.

Why this is true could be the subject of a hundred books, but it is undeniable.

[Polly Hennessey]

2. Connecting dots does not apply to dolts.

[33taw]

3. Sort of like State of Northern Colorado vote in 2013.

The NE corner wanted their own state until the flood of 2013 when they realized they needed Denver and Boulder support and money.

[Lotusflower70]

4. It doesn't matter

They don't care. If they can oppress a minority, woman or lgbt person, they consider it a victory.

[Thomas Hurt]

5. The constitutionalist/sovereign movement nutcases have been in more rural areas for decades...

tax protesters, racists, grifters...just like Bundy and the far right loons in the NW US.

The fundie Mormons have moved in to SW Colorado last I heard, they tend to defraud the feds.

sovereign nutters used to practice some false lien scams in rural areas too.

[theaocp]

6. It's just cognitive dissonance.

It allows them to believe what they want to believe, rather than what's actually happening. It's a fucked-up coping strategy, but our society is rife with NOT looking for help. Hell, even the IDEA of helping yourself is comedic bullshit: [link:https://www.quora.com/Is-it-physically-possible-to-pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps|]

[calimary]

7. Yep. That dreaded "establishment" they love to hate.

Some of these folks may have gravitated toward the idea of “burning it all down” with their vote for trump, not realizing that it would leave them trying to live and cope in the ashes.

Fire departments are part of that “establishment” they hate, that’s funded by the taxes they don’t want to pay.

[dalton99a]

8. Take personal responsibily and use a garden hose.

[Permanut]

13. Exactly..

And when the firefighters show up, wave your assault rifle and tell them they're trespassing.

[Achilleaze]

9. They will be happy to know that climate chaos is a Chinese hoax

republicans assure us climate chaos is a hoax. So undoubtedly the fire are a hoax, too, or maybe not...?

[DavidDvorkin]

10. I remember Gary Hart complaining

That he had worked tirelessly for the Western Slope while a senator, but the area voted overwhelmingly against him for reelection.

[Hortensis]

11. Charles Koch believes the legitimate functions of government

are protection of property and life. Door open 40 years ago to possibly include fraud, presumably he was defrauded at some point. But nothing else, no public education.

However, extreme as he is, protection of property would require firefighting.

[gratuitous]

12. Because they're mean, selfish people

Government spending for anyone else is the awfullest, worstest thing ever. Government spending on them is only what they deserve, and yet not enough, because of the money squandered through waste, fraud and abuse by being spent on others. The government's just gotta save their big house in the woods, it's just gotta! No, they haven't cut a fire sequester area; what's the point of asking about that right now?