- Sexist
- Racist
- Hateful
- Vengeful
- A liar
- Corrupt
- Ignorant
- Beholden to a foreign power
- Boastful
- A philanderer
- Cheater
Theory 1: Judges and Tax Cuts
This theory is that Trump voters will support whatever he does in order to get conservative right-wing judges on the Supreme Court and tax cuts. The problem with this theory is that it immediately fails by half because Trump voters don't actually receive benefits from his tax cuts. Trump voters, by and large, are overwhelmingly NOT millionaires. As a result, they don't get more than a couple hundred dollars a year from his tax cuts. Conversely, the damage done to the deficit and the financial outlook of the US Government, and the resulting attacks on Medicare, Medicaid, and other social programs greatly and directly affect Trump voters. Contrary to popular belief, and the conservative meme, Trump voters benefit greatly from food stamps. So if they're voting for billionaire tax cuts they're voting directly against their own interests. I don't buy it...
Second half of the theory is that they want conservative judges. But for what issue(s)? The two that jump immediately to mind are abortion and gun rights. But only 30% of Republican men want to ban abortion. Some 43% of Republican women do, but that's still a minority of the overall GOP voting block, so that's not it either. So maybe gun rights? 59% of Republicans actually want stricter gun laws. So that can't be it either.
Theory 2: Racists
This theory is harder to swat done. There is no doubt that a significant proportion of Republicans are flat-out racists. They're bigots. According to 2016 exit polls, 1 in 5 Trump voters believe African-Americans should still be slaves. 38% actually wish the Confederacy had won the Civil War (I guess that 18% difference is Southern whites who don't think people should be slaves but just hate the fact that their great grandfather got his ass kicked at Antietam? Who knows...). I'm not saying all Republicans are racists, but if you are a racist, you sure as hell are a Republican.
But even if you double those number, which I think is fair since sane people don't generally like to admit they're bigots, you still only have about 40%-50% of Trump voters covered. So why do the others stick with the fat orange madman?
Theory 3: Hate the Libs
I have an additional theory. Much of Republican-ism is simply opposition to, and hatred of, the dreaded "Libs" or liberals, in other words the left and the Democratic Party. Most GOP positions and policies are just an opposition and aversion to what they perceive are the "libs." I say "perceive" because many, if not most, Republicans actually don't know what Democrats stand for or how they live and what they believe in, their understanding of the "libs" is warped and highly tainted by Fox "News" and others; but that's a essay for another time. Be that as it may, they hate the "libs" and Trump hates the "libs" and sticks it to the "libs" and therefore they love and support him.
Just look at all the promises Trump made on the campaign trail and is trying to execute now. They weren't policies people are in favor of or that help his voters. They were just tirades against Obama, the libs, and promises to do the exact opposite reflexively no matter what, including:
- Oppose DACA
- Oppose Paris accords
- Oppose Iran deal
- Oppose TPP
- Oppose free trade
- Oppose NATO
And on, and on, and on. The reasons these positions and policies are so shocking and incoherent is because they're not actually based on anything but doing the opposite of Obama and the libs. Can someone have a philosophical opposition to TPP or free trade? Sure. But are you going to tell me that Trump has actually thought through these ideas and has any idea what they are? Hell no... Trump doesn't care about anything and has no core beliefs. The only question he asks himself is "did Obama do it" and if so I'll do the opposite. Obama stopped Iran from getting Nukes? I'm against it. Obama stopped deporting children under DACA? Let's start rounding them up.
Fox "News" is the single biggest culprit behind all of this. For years they hated Obama and opposed anything he supported reflexively no matter what it was about. They had to in order to vilify him daily, hard to hate someone when you agree with his policies. Obama wants to pass a GOP healthcare plan? Now we oppose it. Obama wants free trade? Now we're opposed to it. Obama wants a second Mother's Day? Outrage! We oppose it. Obama wore a tan suit? Impeach!!! Fox "News" has trained its viewers on all of these issues never based on the policy merits but strictly attack Obama and make their viewers loath him and support the GOP. All Trump did (and does) on the campaign trail was parrot the Fox "News" line, lines that all his red-capped followers already knew all too well.
So what of the polls I quoted above? Polls are taken in isolation, typically by phone. When presented with a question in a vacuum by someone they don't know, most people will think about the question and answer honestly and dispassionately. So if you ask someone if they're in favor of banning abortion they say "no." But if you ask them if they're in favor of a judge who agrees with their abortion stance but was Democrat or appointed by a Democrat they'll immediately, reflexively oppose them. Simple as that.
And therefore they stick with him no matter what. Because to abandon him, even in the face of overwhelming evidence of what he is, would be to tacitly admit that the Libs were right and that they themselves were wrong or had made a mistake. And that shakes them to their core because their entire political belief system is, once again, built on opposition and hatred of Libs and Democrats. To admit the Libs were right is emotionally extremely difficult for them to accept.
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