This only makes sense when I realize that to conservatives, it’s an identity. They think it’s an identity that Taylor Swift should have because she’s (presumably) white, popular, rich, good looking, Midwestern, Christian, etc.

To them politics is not about ideas, or policies, or problem solving, or good governance. It’s all about identity.

  • southsamurai
    link
    fedilink
    379 months ago

    You think any given political bloc isn’t mostly made up of people that think it’s an identity? If so, you’re lucky to not have run into it.

    Frankly, most people stick with whatever they are raised with, and that’s that. There’s just as many blind, inherited democrats as republicans in the US. Most people don’t even understand the policy platform of their party, much less bother to challenge the correctness of it for themselves.

    • phillaholic
      link
      fedilink
      59 months ago

      There aren’t two party platforms anymore. There’s one political party, and one cult. The cult doesn’t have policy. They make decisions to make the richest in the country richer, and keep their voting block scared over fabricated issues or issues they don’t care that much about. They had 12 years since 2002 to build a border wall, why is it always an issue? Is it because it’s just a grift to pay out construction companies? Maybe. They can’t win democratically so they go after votings rights and make sure the wrong people can’t vote. They exploit the very undemocratic nature of the electoral college and senate to hold a majority of the power with a minority of the overall popular vote. And when that all fails they don’t abandon their bastardized conservatism, they abandon democracy.

      • southsamurai
        link
        fedilink
        4
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        Alrighty then.

        Gotta be real with you, it took several reads for this to not seem like someone ranting a conspiracy theory.

        And it’s still a rant even after I figured out what you were on about. Which is fine! Rant awat, it’s a shitty situation for damn sure.

        But you miss the point.

        Here’s my rant :)

        The point is that we’re mired in a two party system, and held there by the electoral method. The electoral college is whatever, but as long as it’s the whole first-past-the-post mechanism underlying it, it really doesn’t matter what the college does because nobody other than those two groups are getting in.

        Which is what I’m complaining about. I’m sick of voting for the the lesser of two evils out of desperation. Whether you (or anyone) likes it or not, the DNC is only useful in comparison to the other party. Without the Republicans as a boogeyman, a supposed opposite rather than just the farthest right section, the democrats are still a bunch of capitalist assholes as whole. They’re still voting for shit in Congress that’s absurd, and they have been my entire life.

        That the democrats are at least willing to give lip service to human rights is great, yay. But it isn’t like that’s been the case all along. They were just better than the “other” side.

        Fuck the two party system, and fuck the electoral mechanism that allows it is what I’m saying.

        • phillaholic
          link
          fedilink
          29 months ago

          It is what it is. The Democratic primaries are the real elections in my mind where you can vote for the person you like the best. In the general it’s about stopping the cult from gaining power and taking away more of our rights. I dislike people spreading apathy like they did in 2016, because we see the result. The cult can do whatever it wants and their members will still vote for them. Democrats are held to a much higher standard comparatively. Does it suck? Absolutely. It is what it is.

    • Omega
      link
      fedilink
      29 months ago

      I’ve never seen someone with Republican values call themselves a Democrat.

      I’ve seen a lot of people with Democratic values call themselves Republicans.