Interesting Articles on Why People Vote Republican

[IndianaJoe]

"But it is striking that the people who most dislike the whole idea of healthcare reform - the ones who think it is socialist, godless, a step on the road to a police state - are often the ones it seems designed to help.

In Texas, where barely two-thirds of the population have full health insurance and over a fifth of all children have no cover at all, opposition to the legislation is currently running at 87%."



<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8474611.stm>


"Conservatism is a partially heritable personality trait that predisposes some people to be cognitively inflexible, fond of hierarchy, and inordinately afraid of uncertainty, change, and death. People vote Republican because Republicans offer "moral clarity"—a simple vision of good and evil that activates deep seated fears in much of the electorate. Democrats, in contrast, appeal to reason with their long-winded explorations of policy options for a complex world."


<http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/haidt08/haidt08_index.html>

"The most upsetting and alarming research? Probably Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler's backfire effect study. In that, the political scientists took two groups of volunteers and gave them the Bush administration's prewar claims that Iraq was a threat and had weapons of mass destruction.


One group was given a refutation — the comprehensive 2004 Duelfer report that concluded that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction before the United States invaded in 2003. Thirty-four percent of conservatives told only about the Bush administration's claims thought Iraq had hidden or destroyed its weapons before the U.S. invasion, but 64 percent of conservatives who heard both claim and refutation thought that Iraq really did have the weapons. The refutation, in other words, made the misinformation worse."


<http://gawker.com/5052329/scientists-explain-why-people-vote-for-republicans>

[bigbaddan]

1. Many lower income folks vote Republican because

they have this pipe dream that they will be rich one day.

[rurallib]

11. and that they will be rewarded in the after life for suffering on earth.

that old time religion

[mwb970]

2. They are hopeless.

Thank the gods so many of them are old.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. One of my theories: Like with horror movies, they like to be scared.

[Blue Owl]

4. I think it's because of the insightful blogging of Brock Landers

n/t

[napi21]

5. I believe most people THINK they are Pubs because they

were raised to believe strongly in hierarchy, simple easy to understand life guidelines, and strong stability. They're really taught NOT TO THINK! They hate change of any kind because it creates uncertainty in their world. Because of all those things, they are easily lead into rages over wedge issues that their "leaders" manage to dream up for every election season.

[BadgerKid]

8. That, and viewing things in terms of dichotomies

makes reacting easier (read: thinking is much less of a burden).

[snagglepuss]

6. to read later.

[anarch]

7. overheard an interesting reason from a coworker in 2008

Seemed like she might have even been inclined to vote for Obama, but said "my parents would disown me" if she did. Granted, she evidently comes from money, and most logicially should vote Republican, b/c her interests are actually being served by their agenda. Not like some of my relatives, who vote Republican because they see liberalism as a creeping evil eating away at the moral foundations of America or some such shit like that.

[EC]

9. She didn't know what

SECRET BALLOT meant?

[anarch]

10. I have to admit, I didn't follow up to find out

why her parents would even be aware of her voting choices--maybe they interrogate her or make her sign some kind of loyalty oath, followed up with a lie detector test after every election? :shrug:

I dunno. The doings of the privileged class are pretty much a mystery to me.

[slampoet]

15. Also she seems so unaware that Women have hidden their voting behavior from men and mothers forever.

[B Calm]

12. My theory: LACK OF COMMON SENSE - Take for instance

they believed that Iraq had weapons of mass distruction. A few days into the war it should have been perfectly clear that Iraq didn't have any WMD's. What is the point of having WMD's if you're not willing to use them against an invading army? Common Sense should have told them that much, but no instead they chose to believe even a more ridiculous argument that Saddam moved them. Why would, he had moved them? Was he saving them for a rainy day?

I work with right-wingers that are in their upper 50s. Now why in hell would they want to vote people in that want to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70? NO COMMON SENSE!!!!

[dem mba]

13. it can be more complicated than this, of course

I know many Republicans who simply want a smaller government, less taxes, strong front on foreign relations, etc.

These are not crazy or delusional people. Plus I think the mainstream Republican movement has swerved far to the right of the above positions.

[B Calm]

14. They say they want a smaller government, but

when it comes to border patrol, or the military, etc etc...

NO COMMON SENSE!

[Jade Fox]

16. The increasing level of Stupid in this country can't be discounted......

When the quality of everything from public education to popular culture (reality TV, anyone?) is declining, we become more and more unable to solve our problems. We become unable to imagine effective, innovative solutions when mediocrity and the same old shite are reflected back at us by the culture. Not to mention the Corporate media condemning real workable solutions Corporations can't profit from (and many they could!), and the Religious Right attacking anything that might work on moral grounds.

Not being able to solve our country's basic problems scares people. Enter Beck/Limbaugh/etc. sounding damned sure they know what's wrong, and you've got......today's Republicans.

Both these articles make good points, but they're talking about things that have always been with the human race. We are in unique times.