"And yet, a lot of Republicans do like Ron DeSantis. His current popularity is a dismal 31%. But since he’s probably got about a 0 approval with Democrats, that means he’s over 50% with Republicans."
INTERESTING
I assumed that 31% approval was solely from REPUBLICANS....
DeSantis’s popularity among Republicans proved better than almost anyone but Trump that what Republicans want is a Fascist, and that if Trump somehow has a heart attack and leaves the picture or they have to pick someone else next election, they’ll pick another Fascist.
I was careful to limit him to only words, not thoughts, ideas, policies or even sentences. As an ELA teacher, he offends me every time he opens his mouth, or pens a “truth” (ugh). And that’s before I even figure out what his mangled language is trying to convey. Then it’s all horror.
You know he's not normal, nothing about him is normal. We know what he thinks, because he lets that bilge out willy nily.
Americans are clearly not familiar with the adage: when someone shows you who they are, believe them. Or they are familiar, and they genuinely embrace that reality.
It’s terrifyingly for a lot of Americans too. Yes, his supporters do know who he is- as you say, he doesn’t make a secret of it. He’s the opposite of what I grew up believing America is about. So he and his followers also represent a massive disappointment and disgrace to the America I believe in.
Indeed. Yet, inexplicably, so many of your fellow citizens see Trump as savior. It's mind boggling.
Millions of words have been written, by supposedly serious people, offering rationalizations for Trump's mysterious hold on swathes of the American electorate. Not a single word and not a single rationalization makes any sense.
This morning I read that his support remains strong because Americans believe their lives were better under Trump. During a pandemic?!🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
It's pretty straightforward. Many Americans are very attracted to racism and bigotry. Once Trump won the 2016 primary, gop partisanship kicked in and people saw him as their guy. that's pretty much it.
"His main problem is that Donald Trump was a Republican president who most Republicans liked, and it’s difficult to win a primary against a popular former president."
Plus, Republicans view Trump as an "incumbent", so he has that extra psychological 'effect' on republican voters
What is really terrifying is how the Republicans have come to believe their political preferences are their entire identity.
I grew up with Republican relatives in the 50s. If you asked my seriously Republican uncle what he thought of as his identity, I'm SURE he wouldn't have said "a Republican" straight out of the hat. He'd have undoubtedly said "a good dentist and a good Catholic." He and my New Deal loving father would debate politics, but not with rancor.
There are probably Dems who now see their party as their primary identity because we have been ground down by the GOP in its current form. I'm not one of them. If asked "who I am" I'd probably start with "retired lawyer." "person who is devoted to reason in evaluating anything" would come next. Even my ethnic identity ("Irish") is way down the list, because I know full well that the WASP side of the family, stretching back to 1636, has by now been thoroughly mixed with all sorts of folk via the females who married INTO the family, despite the family pride in its big fat genealogical book.
I'd say "Democrat" if actually asked about my political party. But it is certainly not something that sums me up.
The only reason I'm a "Democrat" at all is because in New York and New Jersey you can't vote in the Primaries or be a pollworker unless you're one or the other. My personal politics tend towards a form of "Libertarian Socialism"—we pay taxes so the government can provide a robust social safety net, and otherwise they leave us the fuck alone so long as we're not harming anyone else.
Political identity means so little to me that when I was first a pollworker ("Election Inspector", they call it in NY), I agreed to be registered as a Republican b/c the Board of Elections had too few ACTUAL Republicans willing to work the elections! I finally changed my Party affiliation when my then-wife complained about all the anti-choice, misogynistic, homophobic political literature we were getting....
No, because I believe we NEED government (somebody has to run the social safety net!)—just not one who keeps sticking its neb into people's personal choices. Where I break with most libertarians is in my belief in the rights of the individual person but not the individual *corporation*, who are decidedly NOT people because they can't be jailed or executed for their crimes!
That covers right to privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of sexual choice, freedom of body autonomy (which covers contraception and abortion in addition to recreational drug use), freedom of assembly, freedom to peacefully protest.... Crimes should be limited to when you take something from another person without their consent like their property, their choice, their liberty, or their lives. That would, or ideally should, cover corporations taking away people's right to breathable air, drinkable water, safe foods, pharmaceuticals without dangerous side effects, etc.
Ah. We don't have to be registered with either party or as independent to vote in the presidential primary. The only restriction is we can't vote for "someone" from more than one party, but we can choose which as we want. So can't vote for two for president or one Dem pres and one GOP VP.
We are all mail-in ballots so I don't think we HAVE pollworkers except for the one place per county that you can go to vote if you registered after the date the mail in ballots were sent out. I LOVE mail-in ballots. I've researched deeply the security used and am completely happy with it. All the crap the GOP spews about fraud potential simply does not exist.
I happen to be a Democrat but if I wanted to I could vote for trump. Then everyone I know has permission to shoot me or at least commit me as a danger to self or others.
"And yet, a lot of Republicans do like Ron DeSantis. His current popularity is a dismal 31%. But since he’s probably got about a 0 approval with Democrats, that means he’s over 50% with Republicans."
INTERESTING
I assumed that 31% approval was solely from REPUBLICANS....
DeSantis’s popularity among Republicans proved better than almost anyone but Trump that what Republicans want is a Fascist, and that if Trump somehow has a heart attack and leaves the picture or they have to pick someone else next election, they’ll pick another Fascist.
I think there are a kind of range of authoritarian options. but yeah, his fascism isn't a bug; they love that shit.
That is a STRONG opener.
The idea of Trump being alive and able to stand up and speak lucid words in 2028 is absolutely horrifying.
And yet would be a miracle, because he can't do that in 2024, or pretty much at any time in the last decade.
I was careful to limit him to only words, not thoughts, ideas, policies or even sentences. As an ELA teacher, he offends me every time he opens his mouth, or pens a “truth” (ugh). And that’s before I even figure out what his mangled language is trying to convey. Then it’s all horror.
I think you're being overly kind and generous. 🙏
You know he's not normal, nothing about him is normal. We know what he thinks, because he lets that bilge out willy nily.
Americans are clearly not familiar with the adage: when someone shows you who they are, believe them. Or they are familiar, and they genuinely embrace that reality.
It's terrifying for the rest of the world.
It’s terrifyingly for a lot of Americans too. Yes, his supporters do know who he is- as you say, he doesn’t make a secret of it. He’s the opposite of what I grew up believing America is about. So he and his followers also represent a massive disappointment and disgrace to the America I believe in.
Indeed. Yet, inexplicably, so many of your fellow citizens see Trump as savior. It's mind boggling.
Millions of words have been written, by supposedly serious people, offering rationalizations for Trump's mysterious hold on swathes of the American electorate. Not a single word and not a single rationalization makes any sense.
This morning I read that his support remains strong because Americans believe their lives were better under Trump. During a pandemic?!🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
It's pretty straightforward. Many Americans are very attracted to racism and bigotry. Once Trump won the 2016 primary, gop partisanship kicked in and people saw him as their guy. that's pretty much it.
"His main problem is that Donald Trump was a Republican president who most Republicans liked, and it’s difficult to win a primary against a popular former president."
Plus, Republicans view Trump as an "incumbent", so he has that extra psychological 'effect' on republican voters
What is really terrifying is how the Republicans have come to believe their political preferences are their entire identity.
I grew up with Republican relatives in the 50s. If you asked my seriously Republican uncle what he thought of as his identity, I'm SURE he wouldn't have said "a Republican" straight out of the hat. He'd have undoubtedly said "a good dentist and a good Catholic." He and my New Deal loving father would debate politics, but not with rancor.
There are probably Dems who now see their party as their primary identity because we have been ground down by the GOP in its current form. I'm not one of them. If asked "who I am" I'd probably start with "retired lawyer." "person who is devoted to reason in evaluating anything" would come next. Even my ethnic identity ("Irish") is way down the list, because I know full well that the WASP side of the family, stretching back to 1636, has by now been thoroughly mixed with all sorts of folk via the females who married INTO the family, despite the family pride in its big fat genealogical book.
I'd say "Democrat" if actually asked about my political party. But it is certainly not something that sums me up.
The only reason I'm a "Democrat" at all is because in New York and New Jersey you can't vote in the Primaries or be a pollworker unless you're one or the other. My personal politics tend towards a form of "Libertarian Socialism"—we pay taxes so the government can provide a robust social safety net, and otherwise they leave us the fuck alone so long as we're not harming anyone else.
Political identity means so little to me that when I was first a pollworker ("Election Inspector", they call it in NY), I agreed to be registered as a Republican b/c the Board of Elections had too few ACTUAL Republicans willing to work the elections! I finally changed my Party affiliation when my then-wife complained about all the anti-choice, misogynistic, homophobic political literature we were getting....
I mean, it sounds like you're an anarchist? more or less.
No, because I believe we NEED government (somebody has to run the social safety net!)—just not one who keeps sticking its neb into people's personal choices. Where I break with most libertarians is in my belief in the rights of the individual person but not the individual *corporation*, who are decidedly NOT people because they can't be jailed or executed for their crimes!
That covers right to privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of sexual choice, freedom of body autonomy (which covers contraception and abortion in addition to recreational drug use), freedom of assembly, freedom to peacefully protest.... Crimes should be limited to when you take something from another person without their consent like their property, their choice, their liberty, or their lives. That would, or ideally should, cover corporations taking away people's right to breathable air, drinkable water, safe foods, pharmaceuticals without dangerous side effects, etc.
most lefty anarchist types I know are in favor of a safety net, fwiw.
Ah. We don't have to be registered with either party or as independent to vote in the presidential primary. The only restriction is we can't vote for "someone" from more than one party, but we can choose which as we want. So can't vote for two for president or one Dem pres and one GOP VP.
We are all mail-in ballots so I don't think we HAVE pollworkers except for the one place per county that you can go to vote if you registered after the date the mail in ballots were sent out. I LOVE mail-in ballots. I've researched deeply the security used and am completely happy with it. All the crap the GOP spews about fraud potential simply does not exist.
I happen to be a Democrat but if I wanted to I could vote for trump. Then everyone I know has permission to shoot me or at least commit me as a danger to self or others.