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If you view this around identity then its pretty straightfoward. Republicans are the party of the dominant group and maintaining their power. Democrats are th

If you view this around identity then its pretty straightfoward. Republicans are the party of the dominant group and maintaining their power. Democrats are the party of the non-dominant groups and speading power across groups. Everything else is just chips to push these two agendas. And I think this is why Republicans will have a long-term advantage. The dominant group is by definition the group in power and its the group that people eventually want to be in (see Hispanics). No one wants to stay in the out-group.

somenameforme 1y ago
What does this mean? The majority of people, regardless of 'group', are facing similar issues. I think this sort of rhetoric, alongside the endless hyperbole, is a big part of why the Democrat party is facing substantial difficulties. I also think this claim is falsifiable by the homogeneity of party views. The stereotype of a Republican is pro-gun, anti-abortion, yeehaw. In reality? Only 24% of Republicans completely oppose abortion [1] and only 27% think gun laws should be less strict. [2] The party has become extremely heterogeneous. By contrast, stereotypes on Democrat views are somewhat more accurate with 86% thinking gun laws should be more strict, and 56% supporting abortion at any time, for any reason. Were the Republican party supporting some specific 'group', you would expect to see a general homogeneity of views. And were the Democrat party supporting a large number of otherwise relatively independent 'groups', you would expect to see a general heterogeneity of views. Instead, we see something much closer to the exact opposite. [1] - https://news.gallup.com/poll/246278/abortion-trends-party.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/246278/abortion-trends-party.as... [2] - https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts...
- kenjackson 1y ago
  This is consistent with my take. Most positions don’t matter. They’re side issues. The only thing that truly matters in party politics is identity. And the group that Republicans support the most are straight white males. That’s the in-group. All the other issues you mention are just side quests.
  - somenameforme 1y ago
    I applaud you having the dignity to define 'group' instead of weaseling around it. But the issue you immediately run into is that it's not like non-white individuals are homogenous, yet the Democratic party's polling on most issues is. In any case, society isn't buying this stuff. For instance the most recent election was decided by the economy. People that thought the economy was excellent/good voted for Harris by a margin of about 92%. Those who thought it was mediocre/poor voted for Trump by a margin of 70%. [1] And it turned out that way more people thought the economy was bad than those that thought it was good. This led to the best result ever for a Republican for both blacks and hispanics, with Trump outright winning Hispanic males. All the while the Democrat party flailed about with this identity stuff that not only do people mostly not care about, but that also pushes away folks like me that are liberal but vehemently against political correctness, identity politics, etc. [1] - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/exit-polls https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/exit-polls
    - lotsofpulp 1y ago
      I don’t buy that. People might like to claim it was the economy, but it’s about making themselves feel like they’re not being passed up on the socioeconomic ladder, especially by a black woman. It’s better for their won ego to vote to keep a white man at the top, even if he committed treason, than to see someone they perceive as below them go past them. For many, it even works to keep their same group down, because it can feel like a personal failure to not achieve more (such as women who would rather vote for a man). This is one of the truest quotes there is, and it can be generalized to all people, not just white men: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lbj-convince-the-lowest-white-man/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lbj-convince-the-lowest-wh...
      - somenameforme 1y ago
        Think about the implications of your argument. Trump didn't win because of some tremendous upsurge in voters - his increase in votes was no more than proportional to the increase in eligible voters. He won because some odd 6 million+ mystery voters that voted for Biden, didn't vote for Harris. And that's more like 10 million if we assume that the DNC baseline turnout was proportional to the increase in eligible voters.

somenameforme 1y ago

What does this mean? The majority of people, regardless of 'group', are facing similar issues. I think this sort of rhetoric, alongside the endless hyperbole, is a big part of why the Democrat party is facing substantial difficulties. I also think this claim is falsifiable by the homogeneity of party views. The stereotype of a Republican is pro-gun, anti-abortion, yeehaw. In reality? Only 24% of Republicans completely oppose abortion [1] and only 27% think gun laws should be less strict. [2] The party has become extremely heterogeneous. By contrast, stereotypes on Democrat views are somewhat more accurate with 86% thinking gun laws should be more strict, and 56% supporting abortion at any time, for any reason. Were the Republican party supporting some specific 'group', you would expect to see a general homogeneity of views. And were the Democrat party supporting a large number of otherwise relatively independent 'groups', you would expect to see a general heterogeneity of views. Instead, we see something much closer to the exact opposite. [1] - https://news.gallup.com/poll/246278/abortion-trends-party.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/246278/abortion-trends-party.as... [2] - https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts...

kenjackson 1y ago
This is consistent with my take. Most positions don’t matter. They’re side issues. The only thing that truly matters in party politics is identity. And the group that Republicans support the most are straight white males. That’s the in-group. All the other issues you mention are just side quests.
- somenameforme 1y ago
  I applaud you having the dignity to define 'group' instead of weaseling around it. But the issue you immediately run into is that it's not like non-white individuals are homogenous, yet the Democratic party's polling on most issues is. In any case, society isn't buying this stuff. For instance the most recent election was decided by the economy. People that thought the economy was excellent/good voted for Harris by a margin of about 92%. Those who thought it was mediocre/poor voted for Trump by a margin of 70%. [1] And it turned out that way more people thought the economy was bad than those that thought it was good. This led to the best result ever for a Republican for both blacks and hispanics, with Trump outright winning Hispanic males. All the while the Democrat party flailed about with this identity stuff that not only do people mostly not care about, but that also pushes away folks like me that are liberal but vehemently against political correctness, identity politics, etc. [1] - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/exit-polls https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/exit-polls
  - lotsofpulp 1y ago
    I don’t buy that. People might like to claim it was the economy, but it’s about making themselves feel like they’re not being passed up on the socioeconomic ladder, especially by a black woman. It’s better for their won ego to vote to keep a white man at the top, even if he committed treason, than to see someone they perceive as below them go past them. For many, it even works to keep their same group down, because it can feel like a personal failure to not achieve more (such as women who would rather vote for a man). This is one of the truest quotes there is, and it can be generalized to all people, not just white men: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lbj-convince-the-lowest-white-man/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lbj-convince-the-lowest-wh...
    - somenameforme 1y ago
      Think about the implications of your argument. Trump didn't win because of some tremendous upsurge in voters - his increase in votes was no more than proportional to the increase in eligible voters. He won because some odd 6 million+ mystery voters that voted for Biden, didn't vote for Harris. And that's more like 10 million if we assume that the DNC baseline turnout was proportional to the increase in eligible voters.