Why Poor People Vote Republican

[nokidsmom]

As far as identifying with the rich, I like the saying that in America, we are all "temporarily embarassed millionaires".

This. My in law family votes GOP because while they are solidly middle class they identify with the rich. They like to hang around rich people, it was something they got into back in the 70's when their daughter starting riding and they were sooooo impressed with the rich folks she rubbed elbows with. It's where they would like to be never mind that MIL/FIL are in their 80's and SIL is in her late 50s and they haven't gotten there yet.

Hated Obamacare because it would be giving to poor people never mind that SIL and BIL do not have health insurance and have largely gone without it for the last 10 years, flirting with financial disaster.

Hated the extensions of umemployment insurance during the Great Recession because it would make people lazy and not look for work. Never mind their own son was unemployed for over two years and that money kept our home and the bills paid.

Hate taxing the rich because they might be rich someday which is ridiculous (see above for why) because the gubmint will take all their money.

:angry-banghead:

[Geechee Girl]

louisa5, you made some really good points. I was able to see that disconnect when I lived in FL. Orlando within Orange county was solidly blue, while the surrounding counties which were heavily agricultural were red. The rural folks expressed feeling talked down to by the urban dwellers. This really came to a head when Light Rail was on the ballot. On the surface, high speed mass transit sounds great, but it wasn't going help those living in the sticks who've been overlooked for bus service. I feel in the South, Dems have failed at meeting people where they are by focusing on where they might could be by voting blue.

[zebra #13]

2012 Republican Party of Texas platform:

www.texasgop.org/about-the-party/

Oh, yikes, I remember that from the last election. Resent that Texas plays such a huge part in all of our textbooks--they pretty much set the agenda for the nation.

My parents, good Mormons though they were, told us never to be afraid to learn, reason, know. If our faith was worth anything, it would not be set aside by truth.

[2xx1xy1JD]

There's something to be said for simply showing up and actually taking an interest in folks.

In Canada, there was a HUGE shift in ethnic voting patterns. Once upon a time, ethnic areas voted Liberal. Last election, they swung Conservative, and that was a big part of the Conservative victory. Liberals were stunned - they had simply assumed that the ethnic voters would keep voting for them, just like they always did, and they didn't bother to actively work for those votes. The Conservatives realized that they needed these votes, and they work hard for them.

Kenney came to understand the magnitude of the task in March 2006, during one of his first meetings in his new role. A leader from the Korean community of Vancouver, a respected doctor, squarely asked him why Conservatives are racist and anti-immigration. Surprised, Kenney shot back that it was former prime minister John Diefenbaker who eliminated racial discrimination in the selection of immigrants, in 1962. Then he launched into a speech about the values they share: family, a strong work ethic, the fight against criminality.

The Korean listened to him for a few minutes, then interrupted him. If the Korean community had voted for the NDP and the Liberals in Vancouver, he said, it was because those MPs helped immigrants settle and find housing. They became the face of Canadian authority. “Elected officials take part in our celebrations, they’re present in our media.â€

from http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/welcome-to-my-world/ (unbroken news site)

[Maggie Mae]

There are so many different reasons. But first I want to channel the spirit of Burris and post something ridiculously long that no one cares about talk about my state.

My state is a red state.

It's also occasionally considered the most socialist state.

60% of the land is owned and managed by the Federal Government.

Every year I file for my federal tax return (no state income tax, no local income tax), pay my property taxes, and file for my dividend (money that every resident gets from the permanent fund. Basically money that goes to the residents for "allowing" various corporations to exploit the natural resources of the state.)

We are often listed among the least religious states (although this doesn't seem accurate at times. But perhaps the most conservative are also the loudest?)

Voter turnout was 3rd highest in the country in 2014 This actually surprises me. One of the biggest complaints I hear is that we are overlooked. The presidential election is called before our polls close. In local stuff, corruption has caused voters to not bother. (Not having enough ballots, boxes of ballots showing up weeks after certification, people being turned away, etc.) President Obama and the Secretary of the Interior make decisions for our state and visits are very rare or nonexistent.

Most diverse place in America is in Anchorage, which holds 50% of the states population.

So why are we consistently a red state?

I think it's a combination of Rural Alaska depending on subsidies and for all of his faults (of which there are many), Don Young has at least been able to make it look like keeps the money flowing. The post office in the bush is expensive, but vital for those communities. Lisa Murkowski has experience and well known name, and lots of people wrote in her name, because the other options was a terrifying bat-shit insane tea party candidate. There is also the well known libertarian streak in almost all Alaskans (even the hard core liberals I know hold a few libertarian ideals). Then there is the same culture stuff that Louisa mentioned up-thread.

And propaganda. If the 2014 election proved anything, its that it is completely possible to buy an election.

[nausicaa]

There are so many different reasons. But first I want to channel the spirit of Burris and post something ridiculously long that no one cares about talk about my state.

:lol:

[GenerationCedarchip]

I see a lot of poor folks vote republican in my state, and I think it happens for a variety of reasons. For starters, many of the state/local GOP folks are less into right-wing social issues and more about cutting taxes and lessening govt regulation. There's a strong "keep the govt off my back" streak in the Appalachian region and the state/local GOP definitely tends conservative on social issues, but a lot more focus gets placed on small govt, libertarian-ish ideas and I think that's the message people in my part of the country respond to.

[FundieFarmer]

louisa5, you made some really good points. I was able to see that disconnect when I lived in FL. Orlando within Orange county was solidly blue, while the surrounding counties which were heavily agricultural were red. The rural folks expressed feeling talked down to by the urban dwellers. This really came to a head when Light Rail was on the ballot. On the surface, high speed mass transit sounds great, but it wasn't going help those living in the sticks who've been overlooked for bus service. I feel in the South, Dems have failed at meeting people where they are by focusing on where they might could be by voting blue.

I've lived in this area all my life, and agree that this is very much the case. There's a huge, huge difference from the mentality of those in downtown Orlando (even our conservatives are pretty moderate, unless you're in reformed religious circles) to those just an hour north in the more reclusive, low-income areas. I used to ride out there, and full-blown hatred for Dems rang strong, complete with Confederate-flag parade last week.

It boiled down to a pride-and-bootstraps mentality. I knew a girl who had terrible, debilitating jaw pain. Instead of applying for benefits or help, she'd just suffer through, unless the pain was bad enough she'd use the local community care program at the hospital. They refused to be put on any assistance, though they desperately needed and qualified for it. She suffered every day for it, because they truly thought one day they'd get THE job, THE scratch-card, THE investment, and boom, make it out of there. And yet, they never left a small town where those opportunities simply didn't exist.

I've also seen a general disinterest in politics around here, except for a few people. Maybe it's just the perpetual vacation mentality we have :lol:

Also...the high-speed rail is not high-speed despite what was promised, and it's largely been a disaster :lol:

[Hane]

Ever since I was a kid in the '50s, it's always seemed that the GOP has presented itself as the party of classy, well-to-do, educated rich people with Better Morals Than You, and to whose high dignity one should aspire. (Strange but true: I got this impression in the late '50s, when a member of the Republican Town Committee visited my parents. I also picked some of this up when I learned that some of my neighbors were supporting Kennedy instead of Nixon.)

[NachosFlandersStyle]

Oof. I wrote a big long comment but I'm currently so deep in Red America that my Internet reception is having a hard time. But to summarize some thoughts I've developed doing political organizing in a red state:

1) I'm tired of Democrats scapegoating poor people for the actions of a party that in all truth is driven by wealthy and middle-class voters. Yes, it's troubling when the truly poor side with the super-rich. But the poor don't actually up a huge chunk of the Republican base, and many poor people either don't vote or are very marginally engaged in the political process.

2) I'm tired of liberals who think it's just obvious that our policies are better for the poor. It may be true but that doesn't mean it's obvious. Many places that are now very conservative were once controlled by centrist democrats, and many people couldn't name a program or policy that came of that. In a really distressed and isolated community where government institutions don't have a big daily presence, it's hard to see how some proposed policy is ever going to reach you. Not everyone reads political commentary every day; not everyone has taken a class in civics or economics.

3) Everything louisa05 said, basically. The liberal commentariat needs to stop cracking jokes about stupid rednecks and it needs to stop using voting patterns as an excuse to divide people into us and them or into the deserving and undeserving. It's insulting to voters and it reflects badly on the whole party. It's also mean-spirited and not at all in line with progressive values.

[Evangeline]

I'm going to try to say this without sounding like a jerk. If it comes off badly, I apologize in advance. I'm speaking to the mindset I've encountered and not facts here, so you don't have to convince me I'm wrong. :D I think it's the lower-middle-class who hates benefits programs more than anybody else, and the mindset is somewhat understandable. When you're poor or lower-middle-class, things like welfare fraud and drug money can be visible and upsetting in a way that they just aren't when you live in a nice middle-class neighborhood. You can work hard and make just enough that you don't qualify for help, and you look over at your neighbor who's selling drugs, driving a nice car, taking nice vacations, etc., and is still collecting benefits, and that can be really hard to deal with. There are people are not shy about the fact that they work under the table so they can still collect benefits, lie about who lives in the house so they can collect more benefits, and other things that middle-class liberals think don't really happen. It can be very easy to convince yourself that you're one of the good ones who deserves help, but most people around you don't deserve it but are getting it anyway. You might think that if you weren't supporting the drug dealer next door and all his buddies, you'd have a couple hundred more in your pocket at the end of the month and you wouldn't be struggling quite so much. There are a lot of theories out there about poverty and lack of opportunities and how these affect behavior, but as a lower-middle-class/poor person yourself, you're probably not going to be reading about them on Slate, you're just going to be pissed off by what your perceive.

[justoneoftwo]

Oof. I wrote a big long comment but I'm currently so deep in Red America that my Internet reception is having a hard time. But to summarize some thoughts I've developed doing political organizing in a red state:

1) I'm tired of Democrats scapegoating poor people for the actions of a party that in all truth is driven by wealthy and middle-class voters. Yes, it's troubling when the truly poor side with the super-rich. But the poor don't actually up a huge chunk of the Republican base, and many poor people either don't vote or are very marginally engaged in the political process.

2) I'm tired of liberals who think it's just obvious that our policies are better for the poor. It may be true but that doesn't mean it's obvious. Many places that are now very conservative were once controlled by centrist democrats, and many people couldn't name a program or policy that came of that. In a really distressed and isolated community where government institutions don't have a big daily presence, it's hard to see how some proposed policy is ever going to reach you. Not everyone reads political commentary every day; not everyone has taken a class in civics or economics.

3) Everything louisa05 said, basically. The liberal commentariat needs to stop cracking jokes about stupid rednecks and it needs to stop using voting patterns as an excuse to divide people into us and them or into the deserving and undeserving. It's insulting to voters and it reflects badly on the whole party. It's also mean-spirited and not at all in line with progressive values.

Yes, especially the bold. There is room for argument about what are the better policies for the poor. The GOP makes arguments about why they are better for the poor, particularly the rural poor. The idea that people couldn't consider them and come to the conclusion that they are right is insulting and adds to the resistance to voting for liberals. It's not all obvious, there are complicated economic theories behind the two parties and behind every decision. Not everyone agrees that liberal economic policies are better for the poor, or worse for the rich.

I will also add that many people don't vote because of economic policy but other policies. That is one huge reason why people who are poor don't always vote to put cash in their pockets right now.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I'm going to try to say this without sounding like a jerk. If it comes off badly, I apologize in advance. I'm speaking to the mindset I've encountered and not facts here, so you don't have to convince me I'm wrong. :D I think it's the lower-middle-class who hates benefits programs more than anybody else, and the mindset is somewhat understandable. When you're poor or lower-middle-class, things like welfare fraud and drug money can be visible and upsetting in a way that they just aren't when you live in a nice middle-class neighborhood. You can work hard and make just enough that you don't qualify for help, and you look over at your neighbor who's selling drugs, driving a nice car, taking nice vacations, etc., and is still collecting benefits, and that can be really hard to deal with. There are people are not shy about the fact that they work under the table so they can still collect benefits, lie about who lives in the house so they can collect more benefits, and other things that middle-class liberals think don't really happen. It can be very easy to convince yourself that you're one of the good ones who deserves help, but most people around you don't deserve it but are getting it anyway. You might think that if you weren't supporting the drug dealer next door and all his buddies, you'd have a couple hundred more in your pocket at the end of the month and you wouldn't be struggling quite so much. There are a lot of theories out there about poverty and lack of opportunities and how these affect behavior, but as a lower-middle-class/poor person yourself, you're probably not going to be reading about them on Slate, you're just going to be pissed off by what your perceive.

I'll agree that there are only-one-step-up judgmental attitudes. I've had cases where there was a bizarre amount of hate being spewed because someone was on benefits - even when there was absolutely nothing to be gained, in any rational sense, from this attitude. It often seemed like a desperate way to feel better about yourself by putting down someone else for being worse than you.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

I'll agree that there are only-one-step-up judgmental attitudes. I've had cases where there was a bizarre amount of hate being spewed because someone was on benefits - even when there was absolutely nothing to be gained, in any rational sense, from this attitude. It often seemed like a desperate way to feel better about yourself by putting down someone else for being worse than you.

It's way easier to hate someone when they're your obnoxious neighbor and not just some abstract population that you read about in the Atlantic. That's kind of the point of having government assistance instead of everyone relying on private charity. As a liberal I truly believe that all people, no matter what mistakes they've made or how they vote, deserve a good standard of life and help when they need it. The social safety net isn't about helping suffering angels, it's about helping EVERYONE, including those whose neighbors wouldn't want to be charitable towards them if they had the choice.

[Maggie Mae]

I mentioned this on the Pluto thread, but I think it might belong here as well.

The military. I think it's easy for "big city liberals" (sorry for the shitty terminology) to say "we need to cut military" when they don't live anywhere near a military base. They aren't the ones who lose their jobs when the base closes. Or when an F-whatever plane gets moved to a different base with it's squadron. They aren't the ones who have to close schools (firing teachers) because 10% of the city's population was just moved with very little notice. People who work at a university in Massachusetts, for the most part, have no idea what it's like to actually live in a dry cabin outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. It's easy to talk about what people need to do or how people "should" live or how we can fix this that and the other, but not everyone wants to drastically change how they live. So we need to make small changes and redirect funding more than just "cut."

[zebra #13]

So actually, why does *anyone* vote Republican? May not be a choice at all?

And if Hatemi's and McDermott's research blows your mind, get this: Darren Schreiber, a political neuroscientist at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, first performed brain scans on 82 people participating in a risky gambling task, one in which holding out for more money increases your possible rewards, but also your possible losses. Later, cross-referencing the findings with the participants' publicly available political party registration information, Schreiber noticed something astonishing: Republicans, when they took the same gambling risk, were activating a different part of the brain than Democrats.

Republicans were using the right amygdala, the center of the brain's threat response system. Democrats, in contrast, were using the insula, involved in internal monitoring of one's feelings. Amazingly, Schreiber and his colleagues write that this test predicted 82.9 percent of the study subjects' political party choices—considerably better, they note, than a simple model that predicts your political party affiliation based on the affiliation of your parents.

I also interviewed Schreiber for The Republican Brain. He's a scientist who was once quite cautious about the relevance of brain studies to people's politics. As he put it to me: "If you had called me four years ago and said, 'What is your view on whether Republicans and Democrats have different brains?' I would have said no." Now, his own published research suggests otherwise.

The current research suggests not only that having a particular brain influences your political views, but also that having a particular political view influences your brain.

One again, though, there's a critical nuance here. Schreiber thinks the current research suggests not only that having a particular brain influences your political views, but also that having a particular political view influences and changes your brain. The causal arrow seems likely to run in both directions—which would make sense in light of what we know about the plasticity of the brain. Simply by living our lives, we change our brains. Our political affiliations, and the lifestyles that go along with them, probably condition many such changes.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... epublicans

[So Many Lies]

4. Fear of government. I happen to live in an area with a ton of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. They are consistently more right-wing than the rest of the community.

Yes!

[RosyDaisy]

People in my state care about only 2 issues: abortion and homosexuality. That's it. Other issues don't matter. I think we need a strong third party to dilute the radicalism of both parties. That will never happen. I have yet to see a politician who actually gives a shit about their constituency.

[fun2beme]

I mentioned this on the Pluto thread, but I think it might belong here as well.

The military. I think it's easy for "big city liberals" (sorry for the shitty terminology) to say "we need to cut military" when they don't live anywhere near a military base. They aren't the ones who lose their jobs when the base closes. Or when an F-whatever plane gets moved to a different base with it's squadron. They aren't the ones who have to close schools (firing teachers) because 10% of the city's population was just moved with very little notice. People who work at a university in Massachusetts, for the most part, have no idea what it's like to actually live in a dry cabin outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. It's easy to talk about what people need to do or how people "should" live or how we can fix this that and the other, but not everyone wants to drastically change how they live. So we need to make small changes and redirect funding more than just "cut."

Agreed. I live across the street from a large military base and can't imagine the impact closing it would have on the local economy. As you pointed out, it's not just to the military who lose their jobs, but it greatly impacts the community as a whole. So even though I'm in a state so blue it makes the smurfs look white, my district is one of the few solid red ones.

Rant - I am SO TIRED of people acting like their political view is the only correct one and people who have a differing viewpoint are obtuse. It's across both parties and as someone else pointed out, we just buy into the stereotypes, "redneck gun-toting Republican" and "flag-burning, benefit abusing liberal."

Another reason I think that might affect why poor people vote Republican is because of their religion, which is often related to family size. So they might be poor because they have 10 kids and Mom doesn't work, but their religion is the most important facet of their lives.

Also, I don't think it's fair to categorize poor Republicans - or any other conservative, for that matter - as being racist. Divides along party lines have existed almost since time began. What's sad is that while they are people who dislike Pres. Obama because of his race, there are many who don't agree with his politics themselves and would not agree with anything any Democrat proposed, but all too often, not liking the Pres. automatically means you are racist.

[Toothfairy]

People in my state care about only 2 issues: abortion and homosexuality. That's it. Other issues don't matter. I think we need a strong third party to dilute the radicalism of both parties. That will never happen. I have yet to see a politician who actually gives a shit about their constituency.

Two things that don't matter.

[Toothfairy]

The problem I have with Republicans is their selfishness and closed mindedness. They have what 15 candidates running now? The shit that comes out of their mouths regarding rape, women, birth control, poor people. Ben Carson a black man who grew up poor and was on food stamps compares Obama care to slavery. He also wants to cut food stamps because people are too dependent on them. Jeb bush said we should shame single mothers. Obama said the N word in an interview, yet they've been calling him that for the pass 7 years and defend the stupid racist flag.

My other problem is Congress who sit on their asses and do nothing, yet they still get paid. They even want to pass a bill because they feel like they don't get paid enough. Wtf? An average American works year round and some don't even make as much as the average congressman does. They're all selfish people.

[feministxtian]

Military:

I grew up in an area that was and is heavily military (1 Air Force base, 3-4 Army bases, a HUGE Navy presence and the largest employer's only customer is the Navy). The problem I see and saw is that the entire area's entire economy is so dependent on the military presence and the belief that it will never go away, no attempt is made to attract other businesses. With the reduction in manufacturing jobs, there's nothing else.

However, things may be changing...the largest employer just published the CEO's salary and bonuses for 2014...and the poor guys in the trenches are realizing that they got sold a load of BS...they got a 2% raise and their medical premiums went up 10%. They're being told that "there's just no money for raises this year"...there's also a pretty solid rumor that about 5000 jobs are going to be cut in the next 18 months. Will that hurt the CEO's salary and bonuses? Nope.

I think folks are getting tired of getting screwed at the altar of mammon...how much is enough? Back in the day, this particular place was a great place to work, salaries were above average, benefits for all were above average (and 100% company paid until the early 90's)...then the era of greed took over...

[RosyDaisy]

Two things that don't matter.

Exactly!

[formergothardite]

People in my state care about only 2 issues: abortion and homosexuality. That's it. Other issues don't matter. I think we need a strong third party to dilute the radicalism of both parties. That will never happen. I have yet to see a politician who actually gives a shit about their constituency.

Yep. In my town a person can make decisions that are horrible for the local economy, but still get elected again as long as they say that they are against abortion, believes being gay is a sin, and then make vague statements about "family values" and "voting the Bible".

[Maggie Mae]

Note: I'd really like to change the thread title to "why people vote republican" because it seems like we might have moved on to a general topic of "why people vote." YMMV, of course.

Does anyone have any solid numbers as to the number of "single issue voters"? I know it's a thing, but is it REALLY a thing? or it is just another polarizing fact?

I think there ARE at least a few good politicians who care about their community & their constituency. These people are usually at the very local level, and they don't go very far because they refuse to play the game. There are also complete and total whackjobs, at least in my area. Seriously, someone ran for mayor (didn't win, but she made it through the primary and into the runoff) who said she DIDN'T EVEN LIKE THE CITY SHE WANTED TO BE MAYOR OF. As in, she wanted her suburb to leave the muni and be independently governed.