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elleng

(130,918 posts)
Thu Oct 19, 2017, 02:09 PM Oct 2017

by Robert Reich:'Today I'm in Tennessee

Last edited Thu Oct 19, 2017, 04:35 PM - Edit history (1)

(I just met someone who knows Dolly Parton but that’s as close as I've come to my idol).
Kentucky and Tennessee voted for Trump. In my free-floating focus group over the last couple of days in both states I’ve spoken with nearly 20 people who said they voted for Trump. Almost all of them told me this:
1. The reason they voted for Trump is they “hated Hillary” or “wanted to shake things up” in Washington, or "thought we needed a businessman."
2. They don’t like the job Trump is doing as president. (“He’s embarrassing,” “makes me ashamed,” “behaving like a child,” "chronic liar.&quot
3. Every one of them told me they regret voting for him (“never would have if I’d have known what an as*hole he is,” one told me).
4. They said their own personal economic position hasn’t changed from what it was last year, and Trump’s policies favor the rich (“he just cares about wealthy folk,” “said he’d drain the swamp and the swamp is worse.”)
5. Most are worried about Trump's mental capacity (“I don’t think the man has all his marbles,” “he could get is into a goddamn nuclear war,” "weird as hell,” “crazy as a loon.”)
6. Most don’t think he’ll finish his first term (“he’ll be impeached,” “kicked out,” “removed,” “he’ll resign.”)
7. Most don't trust him ("hasn't got a goddamn thing done," "blowhard," "huckster," "conman.&quot
8. Most would support a Democrat in 2020, if it was the “right” candidate ("both parties are rotten to the core," "sure, I'd vote for a Democrat," "used to be a Democrat but party got too liberal.&quot
9. Most said they’d support someone who “cleaned up the mess in Washington,” “got big money out of politics,” “made the system work for ordinary people.”)
10. Several of them told me that they'd support Medicare for all, or any system that lowered their health insurance costs. ("Spending a fortune for insurance," "insurance companies are the worst," "can't afford to insure my family.&quot
11. Several put education at the top of their list.
12. Not one of them supported spending money on a wall along the southern border of the U.S. ("stupidest goddamn idea I ever heard," "plain dumb," "guy ever heard of airplanes?&quot '

https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/?

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northoftheborder

(7,572 posts)
1. Strangely, this doesn't cheer me.
Thu Oct 19, 2017, 02:16 PM
Oct 2017

People are so shallow and uninformed. All those "new" insights were obvious before the election.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
4. 2016 destroyed illusions. #8 I simply do not believe,
Thu Oct 19, 2017, 04:34 PM
Oct 2017

not after they abandoned their intellect, morals, social codes, patriotism, even religious precepts to vote against Democrats in 2016.

8. Most would support a Democrat in 2020, if it was the “right” candidate ("both parties are rotten to the core," "sure, I'd vote for a Democrat," "used to be a Democrat but party got too liberal."


I am hoping for a FEW, though. Heck, if a few percent merely stayed home and refused to vote for either party, and that happened widely around the nation, it could change everything.

InAbLuEsTaTe

(24,122 posts)
5. Yes. Despite all the explanations, I STILL can't believe this buffoon's azz is in the Oval Office!!
Thu Oct 19, 2017, 04:39 PM
Oct 2017

Keep thinkin, one day, I'll wake up from this long nightmare.

Tobin S.

(10,418 posts)
2. Well, that's nice.
Thu Oct 19, 2017, 02:19 PM
Oct 2017

The thing is, the people who didn't vote for Trump could see all that stuff clearly back in 2015. It should have been clear to everyone.

BigmanPigman

(51,594 posts)
6. #1 seems like two or three separate issues to me.
Thu Oct 19, 2017, 05:46 PM
Oct 2017

I would be happier to read this except that I realize we are screwed for at least three more years due to these idiots and who knows what sad state our country will be in by that time.

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
7. Sorry, I ran out of fucks to give
Thu Oct 19, 2017, 05:53 PM
Oct 2017

and I'm sick and tired of every reporter and blogger taking a drive out into lily-white Trump Country and being a free sounding board, as if it's original and groundbreaking -- I have literally been reading the same story since January, their reasons have not changed, and deep red Trump Country isn't going to magically become "woke" until the last year of Trump's second term...

Until the day comes when Trump Voters see me as a person and an American, I have no time for them or their "economic concerns". No matter how dumb they try to play it now, they went to the rallies, they knew goddamn motherfucking well what they were voting for, and voted for it anyway.

Tobin S.

(10,418 posts)
8. That's the conclusion I've come to as well.
Fri Oct 20, 2017, 04:34 AM
Oct 2017

I've been wrangling with Trump supporters for a while now on Facebook. Some well meaning liberals don't really understand where the Trump people were coming from. They think they're just ignorant or dumb or uninformed because it's obvious to liberals what a terrible person Trump is, and they think that can be the only explanation. Your typical bleeding heart liberal doesn't understand the kind of hate Trump tapped into with his supporters. It's just not a part of who most of us are, and most white liberals haven't really been on the receiving end of that extreme level of hatred so they just don't have a conception of it. I'm white, btw. I think most Trump supporters see him clearly for who he is and have all along, and the only reasons any of them might be thinking about jumping ship are that he isn't delivering fast enough on his more extreme campaign promises and there is also the possibility that they truly didn't understand how badly Trump was going to screw them over personally on social issues. So, the wall is not getting built, the Latinos and the Muslims are still here, Hillary is not in jail, and they are losing their health insurance and social services. There is also the possibility that a majority of the population seeing them as stupid fuckers and Trump demonstrating it every day might be taking a toll on their egos.

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
9. If nothing else, I just want non-Trump voters to get some play
Fri Oct 20, 2017, 09:02 AM
Oct 2017

Hell, I've got economic concerns, environmental concerns, nazi concerns, and getting shot by cops for walking while black concerns... Where's my interview??

oegthe

(40 posts)
10. They thought they were voting for poor white man's paradise & it hasn't happened yet
Fri Oct 20, 2017, 09:50 AM
Oct 2017

They'll vote for Bannon if he's a candidate. They want stuff given to them and taken away from people of color. It's just not happening fast enough for them.

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