After having taken a mini-summer break, The Daily Kibitz casts its puzzled gaze upon the problematic topic of What Drives Trump Supporters? Why have these folks dug in and unquestioningly support a president who seems to lie every time he opens his mouth? Why do they back a man who campaigned and now governs on an agenda that is blatantly un-American? Why are so many Americans ignoring Trump's obvious links to Putin and his Moscow Mafia?
Most national polling groups affix the president's general approval rate between 35% - 40%, depending on the severity of whatever outrage dominates the news cycle during the poll. Never much below nor above. It is dependable.
Republicans naturally anchor Trump's support. In fact, Republicans, who represent approximately 25% or so of the electorate, consistently back him at a high 80% rate, no matter what is happening. Sometimes it tops off at 90% approval. This is the inverse of Democratic support. Then there are the Independents, who represent about 40% of the electorate, and who generally support Trump around a reliable 35% - 40% clip (there's that range again).
We know that, for better or worse, Tribal Politics define Republican and Democratic responses. They usually negate each other, though over the last 20 years or so the lack of any positive overlap has really increased. It's the Independents that are interesting, because their votes put Trump over the top in 2016.
So why do up to 90% of Republicans and up to 40% of Independents think Trump is just swell?
Certainly there was a lot of economic resentment in 2016 towards Wall Street/Bankers for screwing the pooch and getting away with it. Rightly or not, Obama/Democrats were held responsible for this, as well as for their lack of a greater response to the foreclosure crisis. Trump was perceived to be an Oligarch who knew how to handle that world and would take control of it for the Little Guy's benefit.
Obamacare was effectively portrayed as a draconian assault on personal liberty. The waters around this program were so muddied that folks who benefited from it were against it.
One of the most persuasive pieces that predicted Trump's victory early on came from The Left's Michael Moore. Read his Summer, 2016 article. It is SPOT ON. He gets a lot of grief from across the political spectrum, but he nails it here. His reasons for Trump's relative popularity persist.
Some continue to like Trump because he's rich and that's what matters in life. "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?!" And though the much-touted Tax Law doesn't give much to the lower 98%, it's enough to fill the gas tank a few times. That is something.
But there is much more, it's not about policies, and it ain't pretty at all. Let's take a quick peek at a recent Trump Rally to get a sense of what's really going on:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/07/10/anatomy-of-a-trump-rally-76-percent-of-claims-are-false-misleading-or-lacking-evidence/?utm_term=.403fe283b6a6
Yikes. The late, great Charles Krauthammer described things thusly: "His joining of supreme ignorance to supreme arrogance, combined with a pathological sensitivity to any perceived slight, is a standing invitation to calamitous miscalculation." Well, yes. And who ignores this obvious situation?It's the attack of the Palin People! Yes, they're the "basket of deplorables," Trump's base of the base that Hillary Clinton so aptly and regrettably defined. Trump stole the GOP car, which is powered by the Palin People engine. He's been driving it against the traffic, with no regard for the rules of the road. He believes he's the best driver and everyone else is an idiot that just get in his way. It won't end until Officer Mueller finally pulls him over.
But what about the GOP car? Who will drive it after the Carjacker-In-Chief is led away? It responds so well to his maniacal touch.
To give us some clues, let's look further into the soul of the 35% - 40%-ers. "The Death Of Expertise" author, Tom Nichols, weighs in: "... the thirst for cheap imported flat TVs was more important than health care... we weren't socially stable enough to cope with peace and prosperity." Here's more:
Epic Tom Nichols twitter thread on what Americans want
You want some more? Well here's some more. Some twitter maven named Stonekettle came up with a fantastic listing of how easily we are turning into the people we could never understand:
Super Epic thread comparing us with 1930s Germans. "Slowly, they became monsters."
Yeah, pretty chilling stuff.
OMG, if you read anything this week, read this majestic Washington Post piece by the great Dan Balz that appeared in May. It serves as an extended Focus Group session on why Trump voters think the way they do. It is enlightening and kinda infuriating. There are no shortage of electoral details, and it provides enough recurring visits with the article's main characters that we really do get to know them. Warning: this piece is quite long; but it is worth reading every word!!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/trump-voters/?utm_term=.47127fb7837e
Yep, the loss of social privilege along with economic insecurity is a powerful formula for backlash to progressive change. When you're a MAGA and see people of color gaining on or surpassing your own socio-economic station, you may ask yourself, "Where'd they come from? Who let them in? Why are they getting a special deal? Who put them in front of me?" Trump's success has been the apparently unshakeable bond created with these supporters. They love his "Na-Na-Na we hate you elite libtards" comeuppances, railing at those they perceive as looking down on them. And, of course, people of color getting theirs. It can never be your fault.
When voters don't really benefit from their elected officials but continue to support them, they are called Zombies. They don't think on their own; instead, they react to what is told to them on Fox News/Hate Radio, which has been playing non-stop in their homes and cars for 25 years. It reminds me of something Plato had in mind when describing how we perceive Reality:
 |
| Proudly watching Fox News since 1996 |
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/7/13512960/donald-trump-plato-democracy-tyranny-fascism-2016-elections
Oh dear. We have wandered a bit when Plato is being used to describe Trump, his base and his own motivations! But before we sign off, let's linger a moment more in The Classical World for a nugget of wisdom from someone who knew a thing or three about the power of crowds, democracy, republics and tyrants. In the end, Cicero was murdered by an aspiring tyrant:
No comments:
Post a Comment