When I say that voters are stupid, I'm not just saying that because I disagree with the results, no I have come to this conclusion because an even cursory review of a candidate's policies often indicate the impossibility of carrying out those policies.
Mainly, but not exclusively, I'm talking about Trump voters. Since he has been out of office he has been held liable for sexual assault (rape, but not falling under the strict New York statutory definition of "rape"), has been convicted of felony falsification of business records with the intention of covering up a bribe intended to influence an election, and has been indicted for unlawfully retaining government records, obstructing justice relating to his refusal to return those records, attempting to pressure Georgia officials to falsify election results, and the big one, an indictment in federal court for his scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election. But, "I think he's the best one for the job", a Trumper might say. Even if you believe that under a Trump presidency inflation will disappear, the border will be secure and all will be right with the world, is there anything in those hopes and dreams that any other Republican couldn't accomplish? Trump had challengers in last year's Republican primaries. Conservatives could have had Nikki Haley, who despite being derided as "birdbrain" would have governed as a conservative, without the incompetence and ego stroking that we will surely see under Trump. Even that socially awkward dipshit, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, has proved that he could advance a MAGA agenda in his state. I would have opposed him, but he at least would have been reasonably competent. Anyone who is an actual conservative could govern according to conservative principles without the baggage that Trump brings to the table.
One of the hallmarks of the stupidity of the American electorate is its reduction of politics to the level of rooting for one's favorite sports team. Support for your team doesn't have to be rational. Although I don't follow sports of any kind any longer, I grew up rooting for the NY Mets and still have a Mets hat that I wear often. I didn't root for them because I admired their philosophy of baseball, or thought they were all good, Christian boys, who loved their mothers, or even that they were any good (I was 11 years old when they stopped being terrible) but...just because. I wanted them to win no matter what. For the typical American voter the political parties are like rival baseball teams. They want their "team" to win, and they want to humiliate their rivals. The phenomenon of the Trump cult is only the most extreme manifestation of this trend.
Having become rabid loyalists, American voters, even if they concede that their own team isn't perfect, will believe the most bizarre characterizations of the other side. Here in Nebraska statewide elections usually lean 60-40% in favor of Republicans. And it doesn't matter who the Republican is. The last election saw an unqualified pig farming veterinarian, who refused interviews, town halls in unfriendly areas and debates, get elected. We had no idea what he stood for, except apparently guns, based on his campaign ads. He beat out two other Republicans in the primary because one was credibly accused of sexual harassment and the other of being a liberal. Once advancing to the general election, 60% of Nebraska will reliably vote for a ham sandwich if there's an "R" next to it on the ballot. Why, because 60% of Nebraskans believe the characterization that all Democrats are Communists who want to take our guns, force our children to undergo sex changes during gym class, want open borders and outlaw Christianity. Policies don't matter, even if anyone could understand them.
Not all voters are on a team. Some enjoy their status as swing voters. These people like to believe that they vote for the person and not the party. But they're as stupid as any of the slavering partisans. The most common reason that voters who were undecided gave for eventually voting for Trump was the economy. In particular, the fact that there was high inflation for part of Biden's term and low inflation during the Trump years was given as a prime reason for voting for Trump. Trump also promised in his campaign to not only get inflation under control, but to actually lower prices to pre-2020 levels. Anyone who wasn't stupid would recognize that presidents have little control or influence over prices. There were numerous reasons for the high inflation of 2021 and 2022 - supply chain disruptions after Covid, increased wages due to low unemployment and good old corporate greed. Anyone who wasn't stupid would also realize that Trump's campaign promises were applause lines that he had no intention of delivering on. Even if there were actions that he could take to lower prices or control inflation, he's too lazy and doesn't care enough about anyone other than himself to look into ways to get it done. He admitted a few weeks ago that he couldn't lower prices. Pick any Trump campaign promise at random and you'll find that it's either impossible to make happen or the consequences of the policy to fix the problem are worse than the problem. Or you would, assuming you're not stupid.
Where do these stupid people get their information from? Not from organizations staffed with professionals who have the know-how and access to find out what the facts are in a given situation. Not from fact-checkers who investigate public statements of politicians and assiduously research their claims and compare them to actual facts? No, these stupid people distrust everything that major media sources have to say, not because they have evidence to debunk them, but just because. Instead they get their information from podcasters and social media accounts who traffic in conspiracy theories and batshit crazy ideas. Not only get their information there, but swear by it. It's part of why they stay stupid.
I have no expectation that the stupid ones will become less stupid, all I can do is be less stupid myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment