Why do some otherwise kind, decent people vote Republican?

[raccoon]

I know some such people. You probably do too.

Two reasons come to me. One, people who are voting relating to a single issue such as gun control or abortion.

Two, they have always voted Republican and seem to be stuck in that mindset, even though the Republican Party of today bears no resemblance to the Republican Party of decades ago. Such as Eisenhower's era.

Your thoughts?

[MaryMagdaline]

1. Fear

1. Of becoming a minority
2. Money - paying more in taxes and having less
3. “socialism” means Marxism

It’s really quite simple ... why stop voting for the party that has kept you in the number one position and promises to do the same forever?

Conservative minds are fearful. If mote people have things, conservatives think that that means they will have less. “Share the wealth” means “shrink the wealth” to them.

[Deb]

2. Fear and cowardice

That has been my experience with them.

[Ohiogal]

3. In my experience

with family members, who seem to be otherwise nice people, they vote Republican because they believe that Democrats will tax them to death and give it all away to lazy undeserving people, plus they believe Democrats are baby-killers. (They’re all Catholic).

[ScratchCat]

4. Easy

Because the RW has a better propaganda program that runs all day, every day on radio stations across this country. Even my "decent, kind" friends who vote Republican harbor at least some sort of animosity against minorities, lgbt and non-Christians and they see the Democrat party as the party that represents all the people who they don't identify with. So with 24/7/365 propaganda in their ear and seeing the "other party" as being for "everyone but them", they vote Republican even when the candidate is as disgusting as Donald Trump. Because "Democrats are the bad guys".

It is that simple. I'm not sure there is anything Democrats can do about it.

[StarfishSaver]

15. Their propaganda program isn't better

It's just much easier to propagandize lies than to spread the truth.

Truth has rules and limitations. Lies have no boundaries so they can be spread about and replicated like weeds to ignorant people who use no reasoning skis or discernment abilities. That doesn't take any skill.

Communicating facts is much more difficult, and not being as effective at it doesn't mean that the communications mechanisms aren't good. It's just a different task and it will likely never be as effective in the short term as putting out lies is. But it's the only way to do it.

[Farmer-Rick]

16. Yes, and they are told by their religious leaders that the fat traitor and his Slovenian sex worker

Are perfectly respectable moral representatives of their religion and country.

The FBI noted that little man Putin (I wonder if his hands are as little as Trump's?) Reached out to Evangelical Christian leaders like they did with the NRA. So, everywhere they turn the GOP propaganda machine is there to greet them. And where is the democratic message?

Here in rural TN, I have to hunt down the democratic message. But the Traitor Trump message is everywhere. It's fed to them constantly. It's lies of course and some are catching on. But were do you go in your every day life to hear the truth in a rural community?

Your boss is pro GOP, your pastor is pro GOP, the radio feeds it to you and when they limit their news programs, all they get is lies from the GOP.

[TheRealNorth]

34. Goebbels knew

Repeat a lie often enough and some people will believe it.

That's why the MSM is partially to blame- they will play Trump's lies on loop and then at the end will equivicate as to whether they are falsehoods.

[mnhtnbb]

5. My brother's kids tell me that it's all about taxes with his allegiance to Republicans.

All about money.

I can believe it.

His wife, I think, has been propagandized by Fox. She's a phony Christian. All sweetness and light and ready to stab you in the back. Goes to church every Sunday so she can get her get out of jail free card to continue to be racist and greedy the rest of the week.

[Ninga]

6. Decent is...as decent does. So called decent folks

who blink and vote after his mocking a disabled reporter, his lock her up, his Access Hollywood crap....tells me such decent people have put their decency in a lock box or they were mistakenly
thought of as decent...

[jrthin]

27. Totally agree with you. We are what we DO, not what we say.

How does one vote for a party with such vile values? Further, those who vote because of their tax cuts, knowing that the house is being blown to smithereens, are showing their selfishness. And certainly, that is not decent.

[Javaman]

7. institutionalized insanity. nt

[Coventina]

8. Even racists can have good qualities, aside from their racism. n/t

[watoos]

9. These kind and decent people you speak of,

are they kind and decent to all people and races and religions, or are they just kind and decent to white folks?

[marybourg]

38. The kind and decent person I know of

who inexplicably believes every extreme-right wing fantasy a friend tells her about, is definitely kind and decent to people of all races and religions (as long as they, in her words, believe in *something*. I take that to mean as long as they believe in a deity of some sort. However, she is kind and decent to me, although I told her I am a humanist.

She is definitely the kindest and most thoughtful and giving person I know. I wish I could figure this out. The friend who keeps her up to date on the latest in r.w. insanity is moving into an independent living facility, and will probably not be as close to her in future. I’m waiting to see if any differences in beliefs appear.

[pangaia]

42. perhaps she is so kind because she feels she is better than you.. you need help

..such as in ..finding the lord...for example

[marybourg]

43. No. She's not a prosletyzer. And, if anything

she looks up to me.

[Greybnk48]

10. Because they are only kind and decent

To the “right” people. James Rachel’s book “Elements of Moral Philosophy” has an article about “Aunt Bea, the kind racist,” and argues that if you’re only kind to certain people you’re still an immoral racist.

I agree.

[NewJeffCT]

11. Fear is part of it

irrational fear of brown skinned invaders perpetrating terrorist acts in their backyards.

Fear of Democrats taking their guns away is another - I have a friend that passed away a few years ago in his mid 40s due to long-term health issues (gross obesity). If he had better health insurance at his long-term crappy job, he likely would still be alive (by the time the ACA was active, it was probably too late for him). But, he was pretty liberal on social issues, including being pro choice and all for women getting equal pay and whatnot. However, he would NEVER vote for a Democrat because he loved guns and was afraid Democrats were going to take his guns away.

[nini]

12. Because they're still buying the GOP is more fiscally responsible crap

They've bought the line that their taxes are lower under repukes etc..

You can't convince them otherwise for some reason.

And yes abortion though we all know there are less abortions when solid social programs are in place - aka Democratic policies.

[Yavin4]

13. Greed.

Fear has been covered in this thread. Greed is the other factor. Republican voters are marginally on the right side of the income divide, so they vote Republican to protect their money from the "dirty, lazy Socialists".

[Efilroft Sul]

14. The older voters in my precinct are Eisenhower Republicans.

They served in World War II or Korea, or are the oldest children of a parent who served in those conflicts. These people are very keen as to what fascism and authoritarianism are and I think to a person that they do not support what passes for it in our country in any form. In fact, back when Pennsylvanians were required to show ID to vote, one guy who fought in World War Two — a Republican — was raising holy hell at the polls about how we went to war against countries that demanded people show their papers. He's gone now, and I think elected Republicans have been waiting for these people to give up the ghost because not enough of us know better to recognize their evil for what it is.

[Wounded Bear]

17. They believe in "tough love"....

although they always seem to emphasize the "tough" part more than the "love" part.

[Thomas Hurt]

32. that is Lord of the Flies tough love...

take what you want for yourself and yours, screw everyone else. If they can't stop you, they deserve what they get. Maybe you will learn from being exploited or used, or the reason you got used was because you are lesser than them.

[treestar]

18. abortion madness or gun control madness is one

they are also future millionaires.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

19. Kind and decent people can be ignorant about how abortion restrictions hurt people, or about how

racism is systemic as well as individualized, or about how various assistance programs work. If a seemingly kind or decent person is a Republican, I give them one assumption that they're ignorant about something. If they seem kind and decent but are willing to restrict people's right to an abortion because they think it's wrong, or insist people gaming the system means we should cut back on assistance or whatever, then I change my opinion about whether they are kind and decent.

At the same time, I have family members who vote Republican who are kind and decent and not ignorant. I have family members who vote Republican and are willfully wrong and mean. It's a complicated world.

[dalton99a]

20. At some point during the discussion, they will say, "That's your education talking"

At some point during the discussion, they will say, “That’s your education talking,” derogatorily, as a general dismissal of everything I said. They truly believe this is a legitimate response, because to them education is not to be trusted. Education is the enemy of fundamentalism because fundamentalism, by its very nature, is not built on facts. The fundamentalists I grew up around aren’t anti-education. They want their kids to know how to read and write. They are against quality, in-depth, broad, specialized education. Learning is only valued up to a certain point. Once it reaches the level where what you learn contradicts doctrine and fundamentalist arguments, it becomes dangerous. I watched a lot of my fellow students who were smart, stop their education the day they graduated high school. For most of the young ladies, getting married and having kids was more important than continuing their learning. For many of the young men, getting a college education was seen as unnecessary and a waste of time. For the few who did go to college, what they learned was still filtered through their fundamentalist belief systems. If something they were taught didn’t support a preconception, it would be ignored and forgotten the second it was no longer needed to pass an exam.

Another problem with rural Christian white Americans is they are racists. I’m not talking about white hood-wearing, cross-burning, lynching racists (though some are). I’m talking about people who deep down in their heart of hearts truly believe they are superior because they are white. Their white god made them in his image and everyone else is a less-than-perfect version, flawed and cursed.

The religion in which I was raised taught this. Even though they’ve backtracked on some of their more racist declarations, many still believe the original claims. Non-whites are the color they are because of their sins, or at least the sins of their ancestors. Blacks don’t have dark skin because of where they lived and evolution; they have dark skin because they are cursed. God cursed them for a reason. If god cursed them, treating them as equals would be going against god’s will. It is really easy to justify treating people differently if they are cursed by god and will never be as good as you no matter what they do because of some predetermined status.

Once you have this view, it is easy to lower the outside group’s standing and acceptable level of treatment. Again, there are varying levels of racism at play in rural Christian white America. I know people who are ardent racists. I know a lot more whose racism is much more subtle but nonetheless racist. It wouldn’t take sodium pentothal to get most of these people to admit they believe they are fundamentally better and superior to minorities. They are white supremacists who dress up in white dress shirts, ties and gingham dresses. They carry a bible and tell you, “everyone’s a child of god” but forget to mention that some of god’s children are more favored than others and skin tone is the criterion by which we know who is and isn’t at the top of god’s list of most favored children.

https://www.alternet.org/2016/11/rural-america-understanding-isnt-problem/

[ScratchCat]

24. I don't know where the author came up with that nonsense

But I grew up in a Southern Baptist school and church(in the 70's and 80's), and nobody believes what the author wrote regarding skin tone, God and "curses". Seriously, I have heard some messed up things in my 45 years on this earth, but that is out-there nonsense that I guarantee not 1% of people identifying themselves as "Christians" believe.

[Goodheart]

21. Because they're stupid.

[Johnny2X2X]

22. Brainwashing

I know some really good and decent people who still support Trump. They are brainwashed and think that it's all made up lies. Even his racist Tweets they think are taken out of context.

[Initech]

23. Money

People who have wealth and status are addicted to said wealth and status. I know lots of people like this. They are paranoid (partly driven by the fact that they have Fox News on 24 hours a day) that someone is coming to take that away from them.

[Tom Rinaldo]

25. It is easier to accept that some people remain Republicans

than it is to accept that they still vote for most Republicans in general elections. There are some different philosophical underpinnings to Liberal and Conservative ideologies, and not all of those differences are of a moral nature. I get that some people intrinsically have a more conservative outlook on life in general. In the past they may have felt more comfortable being Republicans. Just because the Republican Party "left them" doesn't automatically make them a natural fit for Democrats. If they believe in "taking their Republican Party back" I can respect that. What I can't respect is anyone who feels at home in Trump's party.

[redstatebluegirl]

26. The few I know here in Oklahoma it is because of Abortion.

The pastors down here preach it constantly, that the democrats do not care for the "unborn". We all know that is crap, republicans care about a zygote but not the children who are born into poverty and abuse. But most of the "kind republicans" I know here it is that issue.

[Hoyt]

28. Because they are not "kind, decent people."

[kimbutgar]

29. My cousins in laws are fat donnie supporters

Her husband and brother have a hard time being around their parents. The sister of these two side with her parents is also a fat donnie supporter. My cousin is a lighted skinned black woman who easily passes for white. Both her kids look like 2 white children. I’ve met these people several times during family events. Very nice people but I don’t get that they support the fascist sob while has biracial grandchildren.

I don’t ever remember families being so divided during the bush years. This is a disturbing phenomena of how our country is being divided and could end up being a divided russian fascist country.

[tazkcmo]

30. I don't know any decent people

That vote GOPee.

[CrispyQ]

31. The republican party convinced a good number of people that they are the party of God.

This is a myth that the dems should take on. First, stand firm on the separation of state & church, & second point out how republican polices are not godly policies.

Like this:



I love this part: "And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there."

The dems need to sharpen their marketing game. You can't make policy if you don't win at politics.

[FakeNoose]

36. Sister Joan is a Roman Catholic nun

I don't know if she votes or what party she belongs to (if any), but even she can see the moral bankruptcy of the so-call "pro-life" movement. I'm Catholic and I know a lot of other Catholics who vote Democratic, and we support a woman's right to choose. Regardless of how I think/feel on the abortion issue, I know that I cannot dictate my personal decision to every other woman and call it law. It's not and it never was.

Thanks for posting this awesome quote by Sister Joan.

[CrispyQ]

39. It is an awesome quote.

Here's another great commentary from a Christian minister that is also spot on.

[Paladin]

33. I know longer worry or care about that.

If they are trump supporters, I've taken steps to end any association with them. Relatives included.

[FakeNoose]

35. They consider themselves "Christians" and yet ...

[CrispyQ]

40. Libtard. LOL.

I'm so stealing that! It will ruffle some feathers.

[stonecutter357]

37. decent people don't vote Republican !

[customerserviceguy]

41. They get scared

Fox News spends a lot of time and money demonizing Democratic candidates and their positions. Next year, they will frame the choice as "keep the economy as good as it's been since Trump" or "scary New Green Deal that we can't afford."

That will keep a lot of GOP leaning voters in line.

[Voltaire2]

44. Otherwise kind and decent Germans

voted for and enthusiastically supported Hitler and his fascist party.

It’s the ‘otherwise’ part that needs to be unpacked. These kind and decent people are racists, are xenophobes, are nationalists, are authoritarians, are homophobes, are misogynists...

This ‘otherwise’ is a vanishingly small space within which they can be kind and decent.