Just gonna keep this short and to the point.
We all know FDR only went so far with including black people in new deal programs to appease the southern coalition of Dems. He also denied entry for Jewish Refugees and deported many Mexicans during the Great Depression.
Once LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act, Dems essentially lost the South forever.
Nixon pulled federal funding from affordable public housing in black neighborhoods and it strengthened his base.
Reagan blamed the aids epidemic on gay people and was embraced by the country.
Obama had to run on being anti-gay marriage in 08, but ran on being pro-gay marriage in 2012 and lost some support.
Trump spent millions in anti-trans ads. And leaned into the trans panic.
I know social issues aren’t everything, but it seems like that’s the direction America has gone post Civil Rights.
Friendly reminder that this is a hot political topic, which means everyone should be trying their best to assume good faith and approach the conversation with curiosity
Honestly, this isn’t even up for debate. Yes, objectively yes. Anyone who lives in a rural hellhole knows full well that bigotry drives these people more than literally anything else. They would happily suffer if it meant that the people they hate for no reason will suffer more.
My grandma hates Biden for daring to work with a black man, despite the fact that he spent most of his political career as a horrid racist and his pick was literally to appease her and people like her. She’s the perfect example of the average Republican, they aren’t good people.
Should Kamala Harris have done more to attract the far left vote? Maybe.
But I can say with absolute certainty that she lost more votes than that simply for being a person of color with a vagina.
“far left” whatever. She didn’t even try to appeal to the Democratic base.
overton window has been dragged so far rightward its not even visible anymore.
we are just staring at a blank wall.
No, it’s the economy, stupid.
Racism and bigotry are just the keys that they dangle to keep people distracted. But it is not why people vote. Trump voters actually believe he is going to make America great again. It’s stupid, but you have to consider how non-existent the Dem’s alternative vision is.
Trump literally won in 2016 with a good economy. He got 74 million votes in 2020 and barely lost with a bad economy. It’s not the economy.
Last year there were numerous articles about how the economy was doing so well but average people were extremely pessimistic. This confusion and divide highlights why it is and always will be about the economy. The economy is extremely unequal. When it’s good, people don’t realize it because nothing changes for them. Boiling it down to “good” and “bad” economy is exactly the myopic viewpoint the Dems have and why they will continue to lose.
I am no expert, but I want to say “partially, yes” but with an asterisk.
It would be much less of a factor if the presidential election was based on popular vote rather than electoral college. Without “swing states”, candidates would have to appeal to the masses rather than pandering to a few demographics in the battleground states.
That covers the presidential election, but Congress is another matter
- Rampant gerrymandering
- The House is currently capped at 435 members which limits representation of higher-populated states
- Every state gets two senators regardless of size, and once elected, it’s really difficult to unseat an incumbent.
There’s also a lot of dark money in politics, but that’s a whole other can of worms.
