In Case You've Ever Wondered ...
By NanceGreggs
https://www.democraticunderground.com/index.php
It’s not that being a Republican turns you into someone who is easily manipulated, woefully ill-informed, and – for lack of a better term – downright stupid.
It’s that the Republican party has courted people like that for decades precisely because they’re easily manipulated, woefully ill-informed, and/or downright stupid.
The reason for enticing such voters is obvious. If you want supporters who don’t pay attention to the news, can be convinced to vote against their own best interests, and will literally believe anything you tell them, you don’t waste your time trying to find recruits among the intelligent, well-informed thinking class.
The gullible, the easily-led, those who refuse to acknowledge facts – they didn’t just wander into the Republican party. They were specifically targeted as likely marks – people who don’t have the common sense to recognize that they’ve been fucked over, time and again, by the very party they have been convinced is championing their cause.
The GOP realized long ago that the most easily manipulated people in the country are Evangelicals – and their efforts to lure these people into being their voting ‘base’ has paid off handsomely. All it took was a bunch of snappy slogans about being the party of ‘Christian values’, and throwing the occasional abortion is murder bone out there to be gnawed on by the alleged faithful.
As if any further proof of the success of this strategy was needed, the GOP sold Trump – a liar, an adulterer, a corrupt, foul-mouthed failure known for bilking people out of their money – as a man chosen by God to lead a nation. And their Christian base bought it without question or hesitation.
Luring the racists and bigots was as simple as stoking their fear of losing what they believe to be their rightful place at the top of the food chain by virtue of their whiteness. All it takes to entice a bigot is to rail against the blacks, the browns, the Muslims – the ‘others’ who, despite their obvious inferiority, are taking all the best-paying jobs away from the more deserving white folk. Even jobless whites on social assistance are convinced they’d get bigger welfare cheques and food stamp allotments, if not for all those ‘others’ getting a piece of what should be exclusively their pie.
Again, the GOP have played this card masterfully, casting ‘others’ as disease-carrying drug dealers and rapists, genetically predisposed to violence and crime. When Republicans talk about the ‘need for immigration reform’, what the bigots hear is ”we hate the same people you hate – so vote for us.” And they do.
So if you’ve ever wondered at the fact that the Republican’s “base” consists of the ill-informed, the easily manipulated, and the dumbest people on the planet, remember that’s not a coincidence – it is by design. These people were specifically invited by the GOP powers-that-be, because they are just too stupid to figure out – even after all these years of being shafted – that their only purpose is to be led by the nose to vote for politicians who couldn’t care less about them between one election and the next.
The nomination of Trump was the culmination of decades of manipulating the incurably stupid into electing a man they could recognize as being “one of them” – an illiterate bully who dismisses facts as fake news, history as meaningless trivia, and science as mumbo-jumbo sorcery.
Even Trump’s persecution complex plays well among those who believe themselves to be looked down upon by Democrats, “elitists” who believe that education, scientific study, and literacy are endeavours relevant in the real world.
It is a bill of goods that has been sold to the dumb-and-dumber among us, a clarion call to those who believe that book learnin’ is the work of the devil, and the only purpose of edumacation is a means by which to belittle those who take pride in their own lack thereof.
Most importantly, Trump’s disastrous “pResidency” created the perfect distraction, giving higher-ups in the GOP the cover necessary to craft legislation that surpresses the rights of the citizenry – the right to vote, the right to affordable healthcare, the right of women to choose – while lining their own pockets via tax-cuts for the wealthy, and personally enriching themselves while their unwitting ‘base’ is busy railing against those who would take down their hero.
Every scandal, every lie told, every dismissal of fact, every insult leveled at our allies is just another distraction to keep the great unwashed from focusing on what really matters – i.e. the upholding of the Constitution, adherence to the rule of law, and the protection of democracy itself.
While Trump-humpers busy themselves defending Ivanka’s cluelessness, Jared’s ineptitude, and the appointments of inexperienced yes-men to positions of power, Republican lawmakers busy themselves with diminishing the rights of the populace – a perfect storm of empowering themselves while their unwitting enablers cheer their efforts to do so.
So in case you’ve ever wondered why the Republican ‘base’ is comprised of ill-informed idiots who have been led to undermine their own interests, be assured that that base was carefully cultivated to do exactly that. They were manipulated into believing the unbelievable and defending the indefensible.
The GOP isn’t interested in the well-informed, the truth-seekers, the fact-checkers. They have recognized how harnessing the power of the abjectly stupid could serve their purpose, and have done an incredible job of doing so.
As we head into the 2020 election, what we as Democrats are up against is not people who see the achievement of common goals accomplished by different means. What we are up against is an army of easily-manipulated voters being led by a party that preys on the incredibly stupid as a means to an end.
In other words, you’re not stupid because you’re a Republican – you’re a Republican because you are stupid.
Your ignorance was duly noted and, as a result, you were earmarked as easy-pickens when the Republicans decided that the easily-led were a reliable source of votes.
The good news is that despite the willingness of ignorant sheep to be led to to the slaughter-house by Republican Judas Goats, there are still the more intelligent among us who are willing to save them from their own ignorance before it's too late.
I believe our willingness to do so is testament to our commitment to the survival of our country and its democracy, despite the ignorant idiots who don't deserve our protection.
By NanceGreggs
https://www.democraticunderground.com/index.php
It’s not that being a Republican turns you into someone who is easily manipulated, woefully ill-informed, and – for lack of a better term – downright stupid.
It’s that the Republican party has courted people like that for decades precisely because they’re easily manipulated, woefully ill-informed, and/or downright stupid.
The reason for enticing such voters is obvious. If you want supporters who don’t pay attention to the news, can be convinced to vote against their own best interests, and will literally believe anything you tell them, you don’t waste your time trying to find recruits among the intelligent, well-informed thinking class.
The gullible, the easily-led, those who refuse to acknowledge facts – they didn’t just wander into the Republican party. They were specifically targeted as likely marks – people who don’t have the common sense to recognize that they’ve been fucked over, time and again, by the very party they have been convinced is championing their cause.
The GOP realized long ago that the most easily manipulated people in the country are Evangelicals – and their efforts to lure these people into being their voting ‘base’ has paid off handsomely. All it took was a bunch of snappy slogans about being the party of ‘Christian values’, and throwing the occasional abortion is murder bone out there to be gnawed on by the alleged faithful.
As if any further proof of the success of this strategy was needed, the GOP sold Trump – a liar, an adulterer, a corrupt, foul-mouthed failure known for bilking people out of their money – as a man chosen by God to lead a nation. And their Christian base bought it without question or hesitation.
Luring the racists and bigots was as simple as stoking their fear of losing what they believe to be their rightful place at the top of the food chain by virtue of their whiteness. All it takes to entice a bigot is to rail against the blacks, the browns, the Muslims – the ‘others’ who, despite their obvious inferiority, are taking all the best-paying jobs away from the more deserving white folk. Even jobless whites on social assistance are convinced they’d get bigger welfare cheques and food stamp allotments, if not for all those ‘others’ getting a piece of what should be exclusively their pie.
Again, the GOP have played this card masterfully, casting ‘others’ as disease-carrying drug dealers and rapists, genetically predisposed to violence and crime. When Republicans talk about the ‘need for immigration reform’, what the bigots hear is ”we hate the same people you hate – so vote for us.” And they do.
So if you’ve ever wondered at the fact that the Republican’s “base” consists of the ill-informed, the easily manipulated, and the dumbest people on the planet, remember that’s not a coincidence – it is by design. These people were specifically invited by the GOP powers-that-be, because they are just too stupid to figure out – even after all these years of being shafted – that their only purpose is to be led by the nose to vote for politicians who couldn’t care less about them between one election and the next.
The nomination of Trump was the culmination of decades of manipulating the incurably stupid into electing a man they could recognize as being “one of them” – an illiterate bully who dismisses facts as fake news, history as meaningless trivia, and science as mumbo-jumbo sorcery.
Even Trump’s persecution complex plays well among those who believe themselves to be looked down upon by Democrats, “elitists” who believe that education, scientific study, and literacy are endeavours relevant in the real world.
It is a bill of goods that has been sold to the dumb-and-dumber among us, a clarion call to those who believe that book learnin’ is the work of the devil, and the only purpose of edumacation is a means by which to belittle those who take pride in their own lack thereof.
Most importantly, Trump’s disastrous “pResidency” created the perfect distraction, giving higher-ups in the GOP the cover necessary to craft legislation that surpresses the rights of the citizenry – the right to vote, the right to affordable healthcare, the right of women to choose – while lining their own pockets via tax-cuts for the wealthy, and personally enriching themselves while their unwitting ‘base’ is busy railing against those who would take down their hero.
Every scandal, every lie told, every dismissal of fact, every insult leveled at our allies is just another distraction to keep the great unwashed from focusing on what really matters – i.e. the upholding of the Constitution, adherence to the rule of law, and the protection of democracy itself.
While Trump-humpers busy themselves defending Ivanka’s cluelessness, Jared’s ineptitude, and the appointments of inexperienced yes-men to positions of power, Republican lawmakers busy themselves with diminishing the rights of the populace – a perfect storm of empowering themselves while their unwitting enablers cheer their efforts to do so.
So in case you’ve ever wondered why the Republican ‘base’ is comprised of ill-informed idiots who have been led to undermine their own interests, be assured that that base was carefully cultivated to do exactly that. They were manipulated into believing the unbelievable and defending the indefensible.
The GOP isn’t interested in the well-informed, the truth-seekers, the fact-checkers. They have recognized how harnessing the power of the abjectly stupid could serve their purpose, and have done an incredible job of doing so.
As we head into the 2020 election, what we as Democrats are up against is not people who see the achievement of common goals accomplished by different means. What we are up against is an army of easily-manipulated voters being led by a party that preys on the incredibly stupid as a means to an end.
In other words, you’re not stupid because you’re a Republican – you’re a Republican because you are stupid.
Your ignorance was duly noted and, as a result, you were earmarked as easy-pickens when the Republicans decided that the easily-led were a reliable source of votes.
The good news is that despite the willingness of ignorant sheep to be led to to the slaughter-house by Republican Judas Goats, there are still the more intelligent among us who are willing to save them from their own ignorance before it's too late.
I believe our willingness to do so is testament to our commitment to the survival of our country and its democracy, despite the ignorant idiots who don't deserve our protection.
