Game-Changer? Republicans now more critical of free trade than Democrats

[ApatheticAustrian]

APPROVE of "imposing stiff tariffs or other taxes on U.S. companies that relocate jobs" Democrats: 49%


55% of conservatives say the free market is failing. Only 31% of liberals agree.



57% of Republicans think free markets hurt us.
78% think gov should bribe companies.
75% think gov should threaten companies.



https://twitter.com/williamjordann/status/806258735521890304



https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/806273476906590208?lang=de

[Boston Bread]

I assume the "Welp" was accidentally copied from Shapiro's tweet and not your own opinion.
edit: I see you removed it.

I think most leftists should approve of public opinion changing in this area. It gives Democrats a chance to offer real populism once Trump fails to deliver.

[Mr. Morden]

I think Republican voters have been more critical of trade than Dems for a while now.  From earlier this year:



And then going back years before that:

[ApatheticAustrian]

I assume the "Welp" was accidentally copied from Shapiro's tweet and not your own opinion. I think most leftists should approve of public opinion changing in this area. It gives Democrats a chance to offer real populism once Trump fails to deliver.

absolutely....even while i approve of following shapiro, one of the greatest straight-shooters and honest guys on the right, imho.

otherwise i agree: straw-men are burning everywhere and the new level playfield makes it easier for the next bernie sanders.

[Mr. Morden]

I think some of the shift from years past is in the widening education gap between the parties.  Voters with higher education levels are the most pro-trade:

[JA]

This is a result of the emergence of nationalism and white racial resentment as the core of the GOP; no longer fiscal restraint and laissez-faire capitalism (which they always sucked at anyway, tbh), which only masked the underlying sentiments of its voters. Nationalism will run over the free market whenever necessary to fulfill its goals; it has no other purpose than to satiate the populist desires of the uneducated public. I imagine educational attainment would shed a lot of light on the real underlying cause of this difference. Democrats are more educated and composed of groups suspicious of rightwing populist rhetoric, thereby making them more inclined to support globalization.

Personally, I definitely think the focus of corporations on shareholders and their mad dash for extreme profit at any cost (including decimation of entire communities and such low wages that make workers dependent on welfare) must be changed. But buying off corporations and threatening to create trade wars is not the answer.

[Phony Moderate]

This was the case a century ago o/c.

[Make My Bank Account Great Again]

This is a result of the emergence of nationalism and white racial resentment as the core of the GOP; no longer fiscal restraint and laissez-faire capitalism (which they always sucked at anyway, tbh), which only masked the underlying sentiments of its voters. Nationalism will run over the free market whenever necessary to fulfill its goals; it has no other purpose than to satiate the populist desires of the uneducated public. I imagine educational attainment would shed a lot of light on the real underlying cause of this difference. Democrats are more educated and composed of groups suspicious of rightwing populist rhetoric, thereby making them more inclined to support globalization.

Personally, I definitely think the focus of corporations on shareholders and their mad dash for extreme profit at any cost (including decimation of entire communities and such low wages that make workers dependent on welfare) must be changed. But buying off corporations and threatening to create trade wars is not the answer.

Plus why do corporations need to outsource their jobs now when they have a President in office who will give them anything to come back and stay? Awesome strategy!

[Frodo]

It figures that white, male, middle-aged to elderly conservative Republicans who are relatively well-off would be most supportive of protectionism.   They can better afford the higher prices.  

[Make My Bank Account Great Again]

America is drifting into fascism...In 2000, Nobel award winning sociologist Johan Galtung wrote a book saying the American Empire would collapse by 2020 and that the US will drift into a temporary fascism that will either make or break this country.

This is essentially what's happening right now.

Nice try Johan but we know it's you with your low key humblebrag.

You're Bernie Sanders in drag anyways.

[Shadows]

If a Sanders type candidate with strong anti-FTA record runs with opposition to NAFTA etc as the key plank, then there is significant chance of cross-over vote!

[mvd10]

Yet another reason for the Republicans to bring in more (college educated) minorities instead of going down the FN road (but it's probably too late for that). I judt hope there still will be a party for fiscal conservatives in 10 years. But maybe these people are just saying whatever Trump says, so if he ever passes a FTA they might eat it up because it's God emperor Trump's FTA.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

It figures that white, male, middle-aged to elderly conservative Republicans who are relatively well-off would be most supportive of protectionism.   They can better afford the higher prices.  

I'd love for you to take that opinion to Ashtabula county, OH and try it on for size.

[RINO Tom]

This could hold through the next decade, I'm not sure, but it is worth noting that Republicans were very in favor of free trade during the Bush Administration (when it was pushing for free trade deals) years, while Democrats were very against it ... put a Democrat pushing for free trade in the White House, and everyone just magically changed their opinions.  If Trump signed the world's biggest free trade deal and told his supporters it was a GREAT deal, they'd support it.

[RINO Tom]

This could hold through the next decade, I'm not sure, but it is worth noting that Republicans were very in favor of free trade during the Bush Administration (when it was pushing for free trade deals) years, while Democrats were very against it ... put a Democrat pushing for free trade in the White House, and everyone just magically changed their opinions.  If Trump signed the world's biggest free trade deal and told his supporters it was a GREAT deal, they'd support it.

This is how some (not all) Bernie supporters end up being Republicans if Trump wins a 2nd term.

Meh, I doubt it ... the important thing here is that nearly every demographic - including Democrats and liberals - were in favor of protectionism.  It's the atmosphere of our country right now.  If you're part of the Democratic leadership, you aren't going to be pushing through any free trade deals, especially when the core of your party - not to name the vast majority of your elected representatives and Senators - oppose them.

On another note, I found it shocking that people making over $100,000 were MORE protectionist than those making under $50,000...  Maybe CrabCake is on to something.

[ApatheticAustrian]

it's always about the "petty bourgeois".

rich people and poor people vote more similar today than those in between.

[RINO Tom]

This could hold through the next decade, I'm not sure, but it is worth noting that Republicans were very in favor of free trade during the Bush Administration (when it was pushing for free trade deals) years, while Democrats were very against it ... put a Democrat pushing for free trade in the White House, and everyone just magically changed their opinions.  If Trump signed the world's biggest free trade deal and told his supporters it was a GREAT deal, they'd support it.

This is how some (not all) Bernie supporters end up being Republicans if Trump wins a 2nd term.

Meh, I doubt it ... the important thing here is that nearly every demographic - including Democrats and liberals - were in favor of protectionism.  It's the atmosphere of our country right now.  If you're part of the Democratic leadership, you aren't going to be pushing through any free trade deals, especially when the core of your party - not to name the vast majority of your elected representatives and Senators - oppose them.

On another note, I found it shocking that people making over $100,000 were MORE protectionist than those making under $50,000...  Maybe CrabCake is on to something.

Well, upper middle class people are way more environmentalist than lower middle class people, and environmental regulations have the same impact on long run prices.

Is this true?  I would be interested to see polling on that, because that doesn't really follow logic.  I see no logical reason there would be a correlation between one's affluence and support for imposing more environmental regulations.

[Indy Texas]

This could hold through the next decade, I'm not sure, but it is worth noting that Republicans were very in favor of free trade during the Bush Administration (when it was pushing for free trade deals) years, while Democrats were very against it ... put a Democrat pushing for free trade in the White House, and everyone just magically changed their opinions.  If Trump signed the world's biggest free trade deal and told his supporters it was a GREAT deal, they'd support it.

This is how some (not all) Bernie supporters end up being Republicans if Trump wins a 2nd term.

Meh, I doubt it ... the important thing here is that nearly every demographic - including Democrats and liberals - were in favor of protectionism.  It's the atmosphere of our country right now.  If you're part of the Democratic leadership, you aren't going to be pushing through any free trade deals, especially when the core of your party - not to name the vast majority of your elected representatives and Senators - oppose them.

On another note, I found it shocking that people making over $100,000 were MORE protectionist than those making under $50,000...  Maybe CrabCake is on to something.

Probably because >$100K are more likely to be Republican, which in turn makes them less supportive of free trade.

I don't think any of this has anything to do with hard-coded ideology. Most people, including most educated/high income people, do not think about policy to the extent that people who post on here do. They think what their "team" wants them to think. This isn't about trade; it's about trade as an instrument for grievance about what America is/should be. It's a stand-in for whether you want an open, pluralistic society (Democrats), or a closed, traditional society (Republicans).

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

This makes a lot of sense when you consider who each party's base has become over the past 15 years. Orange and DuPage county voted for Clinton. The new base Republican is a prime target for a quasi-protectionist message and so are the swing states that put Trump over the top.

Remember, I said for years, the GOP will evolve the minimal amount necessary to win while preserving as much of what it traditional stands for as practical. That is what has happened on this issue.

The GOP establishment (Ryan and others) haven't caught up to reality yet. It seems Mike Pence has though.

And look the difference is not substantial. We are probably not going for 30% tariffs, but this blind adherence to free trade with countries that are playing by different rules, is pretty much dead. You have Fox News Panelists, New Gingrich calling it unrealistic idealism and high minded theory versus practical reality two nights ago.