No. I would say many changed parties after Trump took and the new Radical no maskers propaganda spreading right idiots took over the party. He lost the majority votes both times, so even prior to the pandemic the people voted to Not elect that psychopathic narcissist reality tv pathetic excuse of a man.
For all the criticism that Democrats get for “not listening” to rural voters, it seems to me that’s another case of rural GOP projection. I have yet to meet or read of a rural GOPer who shows any inclination to listen to a Democrat or progressive. The mythology of the rural American being the “real” American has led to a pathological lack of self reflection and made them uniquely vulnerable to ideologues who manipulate their self-entitlement and suspicion of the educated and urban classes. Case in point, these communities regularly blame Democrats for the negative effects of NAFTA, while ignoring the fact that (1) NAFTA was mostly negotiated by the first President Bush; (2) more Republican Congressmen and Senators voted to ratify it than Democrats and (3) Clinton was the one who attempted to include labor protections in the treaty. Now in all fairness, NAFTA had bipartisan support but the idea that blame for it’s negative effects should all fall on the Democrats is bunk. I’ve always wondered if enough families started telling their extremist GOP and Trump supporting relatives (note that I do not say conservative) that they were no longer welcome in their lives, would that make an impact? I know many believe reaching out and listening is the best way, but it doesn’t seem like that works on such a pathological mindset. It’s sort of like a someone cutting off an addict in the family - the addict often has to hit rock bottom before they can change for the better. But if a grandparent can continue to spout ugly Trumpist and GOP falsehoods yet still be allowed to see their grandkids by otherwise decent parents, what reason will the grandparents have to reassess? I know this is easier said and done - there’s a strong cultural more in our world that only the really cold-hearted would turn their backs on family. But just as this more allows physical, mental and emotional abusers to escape the consequences of their cruelty, it also allows those who are harming the country at large with their voting choices to avoid the consequences of said choices.
Trump not winning the popular vote is nothing new. Republicans have won a single popular vote in the last 24 years. Specifically one since November of 1987.
On other words, the people of this country don't vote in Republicans. Gerrymandering for electoral votes is how they win.
I think it would be both a strategic mistake but also bad for the country for Democrats to just ignore the rural areas. Like it or not the structure of the Congressional Districts and the US Senate mean that rural areas cannot be ignored. I know Gerrymandering and we should get rid of the Electoral College but neither of those are going to happen anytime soon and in the meantime this is the political reality. The deeper issue though is that rural America is still America and there are many issues that affect rural America that affect all of the country. As you noted above trade policies have very large affects on rural America particularly the farm economy. Immigration and labor policies greatly affect the agricultural sector. Ultimately those things end up affecting things like the cost and availability of food adding inflation woes. One area though that I think isn't emphasized as much in political debates is how much farm and rural policies affect the environment. Things like water quality and biodiversity are very dependent on what happens in rural areas. Solutions to flood control and Climate Change could be found by changing farm policies. Just getting farmers to engage in practices that sequester carbon and reduce erosion could make a huge difference. So yes I get that many on the middle and Left would just like to write off rural areas as much as those on the Right would like to write off cities but all of these areas matter to the country.
I can see how the structure of my post might give the impression that I want the Democratic Party to write off the rural vote. That’s not at all the case - as you noted, that would be political suicide and would create issues that would affect all Americans. In particular, to subject the children of rural voters to retaliatory policy making (whether explicitly or indirectly) is something I could never accept. Their parents may be noxious in their politics but the kids shouldn’t suffer for the sins of their parents. Really, my post was 2 different ideas - an expression of frustration with the rural vote’s interpretation of the cause of their woes and a rhetorical wondering about what kind of effect would come from the citizens holding other citizens within their family accountable for their political ugliness. To some extent, we keep asking the political parties to respond to the bad behaviors and prejudices of their voters, but allow ourselves as individuals and families to ignore it within our own circle. That seems rather counterproductive. Speaking from my own perspective, I am far more likely to reconsider my position on something if confronted by a family member or friend and especially if their is the risk of losing access to that family/friend. Fortunately, there’s never been a real risk of this (my parents were always more liberal and haven’t succumbed to the Fox rabbit hole like many in their age group have) for my immediate circle. But at the same time, I had some great uncles who spouted off some pretty racist **** when I was growing up and I wonder if it would have been better to have given them an ultimatum like “you’re being a bigot and you continue to say and believe things like that, we are leaving and won’t be back until you reconsider.” As it was, we were told “Let it go - you won’t change their minds” and so rather than shutting them down, we accommodated their racism in order to “keep the peace.” Of course, that not only failed to shut them down but even emboldened them. There’s a reason MLK specifically criticized this type of thinking in his Birmingham jail letter - the desire to keep peace in our family too often enables the person who is in the wrong. And I think that is at least partially responsible for the lingering popularity of Trump - too many people aren’t receiving the proper response from their immediate families for their continued support of him and particularly what happened on and around Jan 6. To some extent, I’ve digressed from the topic of the Republican Party and have turned my focus to the Republican (and more specifically, Trump) voter/citizen. Because all the ugliness we are seeing from GOP politicians is very much a reflection of the GOP voters. So perhaps this wasn’t the right place to share these particular thoughts.
To answer the question, what would it take for an elected R to lose favor with his constituents? it appears the answer is nothing.
The takeaway I have over and over is that "The Culture War" has been built up to such a big thing that there is nothing too extreme that the right has been cultivated to not accept. So what does that mean for beating Republicans in elections because some of these idiots need to vote for Democrats in order to win because of the electoral college loophole, and the gerrymandering??? ...... Democrats need to get back to "Single Issue Voting" if they want to have any chance of holding power in the near future until the hard right propaganda networks figure out that the Culture War existential threat does not work to gain political power. After BBB is finally completed, I think Biden and the Democrats all need to focus solely on reforming the ACA, and running a clear campaign on fixing our healthcare system to bring costs down. They need to run AGAINST the Republicans desire to blow up protections, and prop up a profit centric system. They need to get AOC, and Bernie together with Biden to come up with a plan that is NOT Medicare for all, but focuses on protecting and improving instead of blowing it all up. The cannot allow this debate to become M4A vs Public Option because that leads to "Dems in Disarray" etc. But IMO the only way you'll get any of these nutcases to switch their vote to Dem is if they think doing so is the only way they'll have better healthcare which also means more money in their pocket. That's it IMO.
I honestly hate Dem leadership with their foothold of geriatrics who don't understand younger generational issues but play heavy lip service in order to stuff billions into their donors pockets. It's like they stick around because voters are too spread out to punish failure
They're roughly equivalent to me. Our conservative foils here are right that the outrage at the video is overwrought. Yes, it's a violent allusion, but all they've really done is paste AOC's face over an anime scene that was already made for other purposes. The point was to put him in the role of a champion vanquishing the leaders of the threat against America. I don't think he should have done it, but calling it a murder fantasy or a violent threat just makes me roll my eyes. How are people going to take democrats seriously when they're so damn shrill all the time. What I do think is wrong about it is that he is singling out a colleague and accusing her of vile and anti-American actions, schemes, and motivations. Which is what she's does right back. We could use some decorum in the House.
The Rs are going to vote R, no matter what. What did Trump lose Georgia by, 12K? And only 30K Rs voted straight ticket except for Trump. 30K of 2.5 million of R voters. About 1% Rs could not hold their noses and vote for Trump. It is the Independents and their own team, that the Ds need to focus on.
I get what you are saying but ... It only takes one idiot to do something stupid and violent ... like the guy who shot up the Comet Ping Pong Pizza. Or a group of idiots like Charlottesville. Trump was using a blown horn to message racists, which encouraged them to behave badly in Charlottesville.
Or shoot at a sitting congressman, like Gabby Giffords or Steve Scalise. Or send pipe bombs like Cesar Sayoc.
