During the course of this election, how have your political views changed?

[Fuzzy Bear]

I've changed my political views in certain ways:

1.  I'm no longer a supporter of Obamacare.  It's a compromise program that no one likes, and became unviable in the long term when the SCOTUS threw out the mandate to expand Medicaid.

2.  I have become a serious supporter of "school choice".  This is due to my 11 year old son being able to attend a religious school with a curriculum and environment far more suited to a child with ADHD.  The public school failed my son in every way; they failed to educate him and (more importantly) they failed to protect him.  Now, atheist scumbags are launching a lawsuit to end the McKay scholarship program that is a Godsend for my son, and I am not sure I could afford his school if I had to pay out of pocket.  (Of course, a number of folks here don't give a crap about my son; they only give a crap about their agenda, so if I have to work two (2) full-time jobs, so be it.)

I've always been anti-Free Trade.  I've always been pro-life.  I've always been for enforcing our immigration laws (though not for "the wall").  But I've also been pro-union, and I've been in favor of some kind of program that would provide universal healthcare for Americans.  And I'm anti-neocon and anti-war in foreign policy.

This campaign didn't so much change my viewpoints as it caused me to change my emphasis on some issues over others.  What it DID cause me to do is identify myself as a Republican and not just a "registered Republican but an independent voter".  I intended at one point to vote for Trump and the Democrats, but I ended up voting Republican for all but a State Senate candidate.  I even voted for Little Marco, and I still don't like him at all.  (Patrick Murphy turned out to be a horrible candidate, however, so it was easier than I expected.)

And I gave up hope that the Democratic Party would get to the point where a moderate like me had a place there.  I used to view myself as a registered Republican, but a Democrat at heart.  No longer.  Thank Hillary Clinton for that.  She called me and my family Deplorable, and the rest of the Democrats shouted "Amen".  Multiply this by millions and tell me if realignment isn't underway.

[Fuzzy Bear]

You really think it's good that the country has legions and legions of economically struggling people who think the root cause of their problems is immigrants and big government, so vote for candidates  who would literally take away the only support they're actually getting? How do you propose these people be swayed to vote in their own interest? The evidence, logic, and facts that we would want to use would be seen as untrustworthy elitist hogwash. The only language they know is "feeling" like something is true. It makes things incredibly difficult.

Well I think that actually campaigning on your economic platform rather than "I am just so shocked at how mean my opponent is and how he violates Our Hallowed Democratic Process!" would be a start.

A very accurate observation by the above poster.  I tend to think that folks who want to talk "character" and "scandal" are folks who are really trying to avoid discussing their policy proposals for fear that they will be found out of sync with whatever mainstream they're trying to appeal to.

[Fuzzy Bear]

They have become more liberal on social issues and more conservative on fiscal issues.  I used to be more for a populist message on the economy... lift everyone up type of thing.  Now as a natural reaction to the ilk that Trump has brought out I have a much more hard line stance on fiscal issues.  Cut taxes, cut social programs, support as much free trade as possible, stop sending money directly from the two coasts to support social programs in the Midwest and South (we pay way more in taxes than we get back). Basically, I want a sink or swim economy.  But I want it to be "fair" on social policies, which means there shouldn't be racial discrimination, gays should have equal treatment, and we shouldn't waste a ton of money on dumb wars.  So on balance, I still support democrats.

 you, buddy.

That being said, I see the appeal of cutting off all of the support that flows from the coasts to the heartland, if only to show these folks how much they rely on the elites that they decry so much. If some temporary tough love is what it takes to show them that they should be voting for Democrats, well... so be it.

 you, buddy.

This experiment would be funny.

 you, buddy.

you, buddy.

...

Those two words are not as clever as you think.

it's the profanity filter lol

Yeah, the f-word is before each 'you'. I'm pretty sure the posters in question have enough experience with the profanity filter to be able to tell.

There are enough ways to say f**k without setting off the filter that it never occured to me that someone who knew of its existence would type the four letters knowing they would get erased and creating the bland " you, buddy." instead of the more impactful "F**k you, buddy".

I wanted the cheap satisfaction of typing the word and hitting 'post' without spending time editing.

You really think it's good that the country has legions and legions of economically struggling people who think the root cause of their problems is immigrants and big government, so vote for candidates  who would literally take away the only support they're actually getting? How do you propose these people be swayed to vote in their own interest? The evidence, logic, and facts that we would want to use would be seen as untrustworthy elitist hogwash. The only language they know is "feeling" like something is true. It makes things incredibly difficult.

That could be applied to the folks you say are "Othered", and not without merit, either.  Folks who haven't yet discovered that Feelings aren't Facts.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I don't think my political views have changed very much, but I've gone from a straight-ticket Republican to a disaffected one, and certain issues that I didn't pay much attention to before (such as my support for America's trade deals, and TPP) are now of paramount importance.

I've sort of going in the exact opposite direction.  I was a very nominal Republican, but now I self-identify as a Republican and not "just a registered Republican".  I've become a protectionist in trade, and I have considered enforcement of immigration laws to be an important issue.

Over the years, I would often say I was a Democrat at heart.  There was truth to this; I was raised by a Democratic family, and I was the youngest Democratic committeeman in Suffolk County history, possibly even to this day.  In those days, one could be a Democrat and something of a social conservative.  Those days are gone; the Democratic Party is given over to the worst of social liberalism that is, in many ways, incompatible with the ethos of working class people.