Why is the GOP rallying around Trump?

A couple things:
1. Yep, establishment Republicans had no actual plan to overturn ACA. You know who else didn't? Trump. He just told you how great his plan was over and over and never released it.

2. "The people" voted for Joe Biden. What the January 6 people were doing was trying to overturn what "the people" voted for in the election. The notion that they were somehow representatives of "the people" arises from a particularly painful form of cognitive dissonance that many on the right are dealing with right now: they identify themselves as Patriotic Americans but don't actually like most Americans and don't identify with their views.

To deal with that cognitive dissonance, Trump provided them a far less painful explanation than the people of this country, which forms a core part of their identity, don't agree with them at all: it must be fraud! That is Trump's first real value to his supporters: he allows them to deal with this particularly painful bit of cognitive dissonance through a variety of methods, notably, by providing a framework by which to lie to themselves without shame. See also, birtherism, a story that made no logical sense, but which allowed them to exclude Obama from their in-group of Americans.

 

I'll keep my thoughts on 1/6 mostly to myself that way we don't derail the thread completely. While I don't doubt some of the protestors were genuine Trump supporters and broke the law that day I know at the bottom of my heart a lot of bad actors (FBI, CIA, Antifa, other left wing groups) infiltrated the events that day as well. Ironically I was going to go up to DC for 1/6 myself but then had emergency townhome repairs that kept me in Florida.

In regards to the cognitive dissonance I agree and disagree. This is where regionality comes in. I am from West Virginia originally and I do genuinely believe that most people in the South (outside of Florida, Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham), Midwest (outside of Chicago and Detroit) and Mountain West (outside of Denver) share most of the same views that I have. You are right though that people like me and other Americans in the South, Midwest and Mountain West have very little in common with Americans in the Northeast and West Coast. And I don't think those differences can be resolved now, the division is too deep.

It's the biggest reason why I think a peaceful break up of the U.S. would be the best for all parties involved. I know it won't happen and due to that Civil War is probably inevitable at some point but it would be nice for both sides to be able to go their own ways. I know this, if an enemy from outside the U.S. attacked West Virginia or Florida or South Carolina or Louisiana I would fight to defend those states. If an enemy from outside the U.S. attacked California or New York or Massachusetts or Hawaii I wouldn't lift a finger to defend them. It's sad it's gotten to that but it's the brutal truth.

 

Ok there is no way you are an independent. No independent would have found themselves in DC on January 6th even if they voted for Trump. The only people that were in DC are the ones who thought that the election was stolen and those were not Independents

 

Okay, so first it was "the people" showing the government. Now, it is that the government infiltrated them? Again, this all looks like an attempt to deal with cognitive dissonance more than any sort of logical argument.

Yes, if you exclude a bunch of people who don't agree with you from different regions, then a majority of people might agree with you. But, why should you exclude those people? They are Americans from their regions as well.

 

First, again, thanks for taking the time to clearly articulate your thoughts.

The above I disagree with you. I don’t think Trump cares about the flyover states of people in the middle of lower classes. If you look at his life history do you see anything that indicates he cares about the little guy? He’d routinely stiff vendors in his construction business just because he could, in order to boost profits. The only charity he gave to was a fraud used for his own benefit. How much time did Trump spend in flyover states prior to running for president.

The difference is as a professional con man, he knows how to make people think he cares. He has conned lots of people of all classes. He has conned bankers and lenders multiple times, for instance.

Trump is perhaps the biggest pathological liar I have ever seen. He is a firehose of lies. The fact that you and others support him shows that you do largely ignore the lies.

I’m not sure what Fauci did per se that was so bad. Here, even when things happen you disagree with, it is somebody else’s fault. In this case Fauci. Nothing is ever Trumps fault. Contrast to Biden where Everything is Bidens fault.

Again, nothing is Trumps fault. Anybody that follows politics knows that outlandish proposals won’t get through. You blame establishment candidates for promising the moon, and then not being able to follow through due to our political system. With Trump, he makes crazy promises, and it isn’t his fault that they don’t pass, it is the establishments fault. As to Obamacare, anybody who knows anything knows republicans didn’t have a replacement. Trump promised a better plan that’s “gonna be great”. Where was that plan? It was a lie. Is that the establishments fault too?

Tax cuts are very much Republican establishments. GWB had two of them. The individual tax cuts reverse in 2026. The corporate tax cuts are permanent. Tell me again how he cares about the little guy?

Same promises. Same result. But establishment gets blamed in both instances. Are you seeing a pattern? Nothing is ever Trumps fault.

You will never get Trump again after Trump. Others have tried but being a skilled conman is not easy.

 

The GOP represents the wrong side of national issues where voters side anywhere from 60/40 to 80/20 with Democrats. Trump brought a bunch of disaffected people to the polls to vote for him that didn't usually. The GOP has to have that demographic show up to have any chance to win elections. They won't show up to vote for a Pence type.

As for the ludicrous notion that 1/6 was a creature of left wing infiltration, I believe we are up to north of 500 convictions for crime in DC that day and every one of these jailbirds has professed their love for Trump.

Even more ludicrous, the notion that Trump actually cares about his voters as anything else than a source for votes and funding is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. What Trump does for those people is speak the language of hate of others with the same limited 4th grade vocabulary he shares with those people. They hear their angry, racist voices in his.

 

We don't agree often, but you are 100% correct. No clue why the R's are backing an idiot, yet they've done it for 8 years now. Can't fix stupid. Part of the reason i left the party. Trump has zero chance to win the election. Too many people like me will never vote for that idiot. The D's haven't put up a good candidate since Obama as well. Crazy both sides can get it this wrong(trump being the worst though).

 

This. Republicans gave up on getting their policy preferences by being the more popular party decades ago. Their only route is through non-democratic means.

 

I think it's because of the tradition of NOT running against a sitting president. If Biden were at the end of his 8th year, you'd see Newsome amongst others. I think Newsome has every intention of running in 2028. I wish Biden had run in 2016, things would be very different. JMHO

 

If you’re remaining platform is to own the libs, everything towards than means becomes acceptable.

 

Cumulatively, the Democrats lost the House races by several million votes. In a number of swing districts, it was much closer. There is a very good chance that in 2024 those districts especially in New York where they will most likely be redrawn could flip back to the Democrats. It's also possible that with its new more left-leaning Supreme Court the extreme gerrymandering in Wisconsin could be held unconstitutional making several House seats in that state more competitive.

 

Just admit that you hate the Libs.

Heck I sure did.

Then when the MAGATs came into the picture, they ended up being way more annoying and obnoxious.

 

Democrats actually thought that their determination to jail Trump wouldn’t galvanize Republicans.

 

And more power to him.
Wish he had acted sooner, but we all see the light at different times and I am glad he saw it.

 

I think DeSantis had a good chance until Trump got hit with indictments that most in the GOP think are politically motivated. I also think this was the dems plan anyhow.

They knew it would only bolster his base and the GOP but it also keeps Trump extremely busy and using his resources to fight these.

You think that is sad but don't think it's sad that democrats are running a man who can hardly finish sentences because he is an old man on mental decline?

 

Probably more accurate to say that Democrats didn't realize how easily the former president could persuade his willfully ignorant supporters that he was the victim of a conspiracy to deny him the presidency by a "weaponized' DOJ even though the facts that he committed multiple crimes were obvious. The Democrats should have also realized that the overwhelming majority of Republican politicians most of whom knew that Trump's narrative was pure b*ll sh*t would rally around the former president because they lacked the gonads to stand up to him.

 

Wow. I stopped reading when you listed "mean tweets" as the problem.

The guy groped women, dumped multiple wives, bragged about grabbing them in the pu$$y, called his own daughter a piece of ass, embodies the male Karen stereotype, left his VP out to dry on Jan 6, lied about the election, questionable keeping ot classified docs, hangs out with porn stars... Etc... Etc... Etc.

I am a conservative. This piece of human garbage does not "represent" me. And I will never again vote for him to represent my wife and daughters and I am teaching my son the same.

Same with the faux (anything that gets a vote) "progress" claimed by the left.

They all suck and none of them are worthy of my one sacred vote.

 

Because we (they) lost our way.

 

He is a fascinating man. I don’t agree with 90% of what he says, but respect him in some ways. I don’t know how he is able to keep his internal conflicts so close to the vest without slipping. Self-discipline of the mind is a lost art. Many in this country could use a lesson from him in humility, not feeling compelled to say whatever comes to one’s mind, and ethics. We’ll see what his legacy will be over the next few years.

 

The Republican Party has two masters. One is the ultra rich who only care about themselves and how much taxes they pay. The other is the religious zealots who only care about making healthcare decisions for their vassals. I honestly they think making health decisions for women is all they care about. They see a handmaids tale as how they think the world should be. Is it a surprise they are failing with women?