Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Except perhaps abortion, all of these things are very different, because there are good-faith arguments to be made in favor of both ends of the policy side. We are not talking about "addressing racism," as if it's something that just exists out there in the world independent of what the government does. The government either does or does not subject blacks to searches and arrests at higher rates. It does or does not categorically discriminate against Muslims trying to enter the country. It does or does not send immigration agents to schools to detain and deport parents dropping off their kids. The Republican Party is running on these things. It's not just a question of devoting resources to undoing the effects of slavery in the nineteenth century.
Not every Republican is a racist, obviously. But those who have good intentions are casting their lot with a lot of people who doing racists things, and playing to racist voters. I absolutely believe that there are Republicans who are better and worse on these issues, but I don't see many will to take a real stand on their principles. The reason for that is depressing: Most conservative voters will punish them for it, because they like the racism.
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I agree except I'd replace "most" with "the loudest." It's really a jackass minority that loves the racist shit. It's big, no doubt. But it's punching way above its weight right now. I'd say 1/5 of conservatives truly like the racism.
The problem is this 1/5 votes in lockstep. So if you offend them, you're guaranteed to lose a bloc. If you offend, say, Establishment Rs, or even Evangelicals these days, you''ll lose a percentage but not all of them. They're more thoughtful voters. That hardened crazy racist vote is deeply tribal. Piss off the wrong lunatic within that crowd who knows how to create memes, or has a friend at Breitbart, and you're fucked.
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