and they easily believe the right wing lies. Especially the fear mongering.

... to miss Miami Dade and let the kGOP set the agenda.

I'm thinking that's the rest of the country

we need to figure out better how to fight this

where Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino rule

and their span of attention is far too short.

He voted for Bush because Kerry was an elitist.
He voted for Obama because things needed to change.
Then he voted for Romney because Obama didn't fix everything.
Then he voted for Trump because you can't trust Hilary and we need a business man in charge.
I suspect he voted for Biden, but he's learned not to discuss politics with me.
I'm sure he'll vote for Pompeo in 2024 because Biden didn't fix everything.

He thinks divided government is best because no one party can mess things up.
He thinks Nixon got a raw deal because everyone does it.

more like this. Except reversed (insert random 'Puke as VP here _____).

When things are calm and going well, go with the team that promises you low taxes and utter lack of social responsibility.

When things go to shit, run back to the responsible party.

It is like the child of a divorced couple. When things are fine, fun time with irresponsible Dad seems like a great idea. When the bellyache sets in, run home to mom. Parental positions can be interchangeable but you get my drift.

But you should know that there is something wrong with the link. It goes to the older DU post but the link to alternet is broken. I had to find it on Google.

I would go further to say they engage in politics as though they are children, assuming no agency in that sphere, just reacting to whether their situation is better or not, never investigating the gritty details. In that way they are like Trumpsters, who look to a strong parental figure and abdicate any responsibility for themselves. I think the answer for both demographics is to make politics more engaging for people. We on DU are engaged because somewhere along the line we came to appreciate the value of political discourse but it turns off a lot of people. One of the problems is that we have stigma in this country against discussing politics openly. It's like sex education, in the absent of which people either learn the wrong things furtively, or nothing at all, and expose themselves to myriad risks.

I also talk openly about sex education. I was always a big proponent but was really won over when I saw the positive changes in my daughter when she was exposed to a solid sex-ed program. I even became an instructor for the next generation after that.

I am convinced that it has benefits far beyond safety from VD and Pregnancy. Done well, I think it instills a sense of self understanding at a time in life that is inherently confusing. It leads to a level of self-confidence and maturity that they otherwise are missing. I even think it leads to less sex since it takes away the mystique and gives kids the knowledge to make better decisions not to mention the self confidence to resist peer pressure.

FIGHTING! I'm ready!

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

That's it.

elected. I just read one on our Neighborhood site of how we'd all lose free speech. the right to live where we want & our GUNS I rarely see these messages because I never go to sites where they're posted. This one happened to be posted on a site I visit almost daily, and political posts have never been there!

I think it's a case of "if you repeat something often enopugh, [people will believe it".

Then the question answers itself.

Another answer, and this might be closer to the truth:They are fucking liars.

But part of it is they've bought into the anti-government myth...that politicians accomplish nothing and everything the government does creates a mess. So, they vote for Dems when the Rs have royally effed everything up, but a few years later, they want to rebel against the current regime. "Shake things up," "put a businessman in charge, "drain the swamp," etc.

Plus, racism. They're convinced someone is getting something they don't deserve for free. Either brown immigrants or "inner city" people, and we know who they are.

It seems to me that big Republican messes are downplayed and placed on par with overblown reporting on nothingburgers from the Democratic folks. The public is left with a picture that both sides are equally bad. Remember, we just got through four years of media too often normalizing Trump's shameless acts, and now there are heaps of "DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY" stories before Joe Biden has even taken the oath of office.

I also think the Democrats need to find new and inventive ways to push back against the loud and proud RW propaganda machine of 1500 AM radio stations, multiple "news" networks, and internet social media. The world today is a soundbitey memefest. Those who say the most with an economy of words are going to win the day. Elaborate descriptions of policy is not all that appealing in this environment. I personally prefer well fleshed out descriptions of ideas, but I feel I am in the minority these days.

It can’t be that hard. Republicans do it so it must be easy. For years, we hear how republicans have radio stations. We’ll a Democratic supporter get on the radio and even it up. Can’t be mission impossible.

I certainly don't deny the need for a radio model for the Democratic/progressive message, if for no other reason than to blare over the nutty RW crap. Maybe there is just no market for the Democratic/progessive message on radio, or nobody's figured out how to tap into it with radio. There have been attempts in the past, but mostly unsuccessful. I imagine that it is going to be mostly younger people who are going to be receptive to the message, and I don't think AM radio is something they are going to tune into. It is their parents and grandparents who are glued to it.

Maybe a question would be: where is a more left-leaning counterpart to Parler and 8chan and such? Is there one?

It's all just a veneer.

The anger Trump, and Fox, and other Republican figures (even the more “moderate”) tap into is deeply-rooted racism. Not all Trump and Republican voters are explicitly racist, but they are angry that "those people" are "taking" their jobs. Those who are doing fine economically are angry at the supposed "freebies" "those people" are getting. They believe "those people" are being afforded some sort of unfair advantage (despite all evidence to the contrary). If "those people" aren't succeeding, it's because something is wrong with "them." It's the liberals and all their "give aways" that are keeping "those people" from being productive (because you know, "those people" won't work unless forced to by extreme deprivation).

Many have very little awareness that it is deeply held, anti-black, racist beliefs that are driving the generalized anger. The terrible stereotypes of black people embedded in the American psyche have been generalized to other non-White groups (and some impoverished whites), but it is the anti-black stereotypes that are the root cause.

Not all of the anger-driven Republican voters are white. What they have in common is a view that those who are not “making it” are failing because they are bad in some way. They blame the victim. And in so doing, have a gut reaction against any progressive program that “levels the playing field.”

In my opinion, racism is at the heart of why we don't have universal health care. The resistance to giving "those people" a freebie is too deep. Never mind that they are depriving everyone. Social security would not have originally passed if it had not excluded agricultural and domestic workers (i.e., majority black workers). Under the surface, little has changed.

As a people, we must recognize and acknowledge the existence of a "collective" disconnection from empathy in the face of suffering. The disconnection is not necessarily total, or as extreme as at other times in our history, but that disconnection persists. It is grounded in a view of certain groups as less than human. We, as a people, witness dehumanizing poverty, homelessness, massively unequal education systems, mass incarceration, police brutality, and on and on -- and we, as a nation, tolerate it. And we will continue to tolerate it until enough of us reconnect to our humanity and declare "no more."