Poll: Do you agree with Sen Corker saying the GOP is in a "cult-like situation?"

[RINO Tom]

"Cult" is too strong of a word.  Many Republicans - including Republican voters - see any compromise or turning on Trump as a forfeit to liberal ideas in these very polarizing times.  This has led to a lot of shameless flip-flopping and seemingly blind following of Trump.  I'm with Mr. Morden that this would be the case with any GOP President.  With that said, Trump IS the GOP President, and that's the only reality we have, so GOPers are certainly following Trump with a scary amount of loyalty.  The reason I shy away from "cult" is because I don't think it's particularly specific to Trump with MOST Republicans ... Trump's nomination and election exposed most Republicans as foot soldiers for the right who would back anyone with the R because they see that as literally their only other binary choice against liberalism.  Sad.

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

He is just the figurehead of his party at the time. The same as was with Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush.

One thing I notice about liberals is that they constantly want change, to the point of sometimes pushing too hard too fast. Donald Trump is not that politically different from Reagan or Clinton. Bill Clinton stood infront of African American prisoners for a photo opportunity. Bill Clinton said we needed to end illegal immigration. As Tom Brokaw once said, "On race, he (Reagan) was stuck in the late 1930s/early 1940s." Trump really isn't even as "radical" according to what the left believes is radical. But Obama was. That's the key.

Liberals, especially the youngest among us, have no memory of the post Reagan/Bush America of the 1990s, or the gung-ho wartime attitude that permeated following September 11, 2001. They might not realize what an aberration Barack Obama was for the United States. I'm not speaking about the color of his skin, I'm speaking about his relatively negative view of the United States in the grand scheme of things. From his "cling to guns and religion" comments to saying "police acted stupidly" to saying "I don't want to get into a notion of America winning" to telling Christians to "get off your high horse". No American President would have EVER said that stuff, regardless of being a Democrat or Republican. Ever.

He said and did things that, in the context of the 43 other men who occupied the office, was disgraceful and came across "un-American". All Donald Trump did, was steer the wheel back to the middle ground. To young idealistic liberals, that's "extreme". But to millions of other Americans, Trump is more normal than Barack Obama.

Obama said things that, quite frankly, needed to be said. For all this crap I hear about Trump being a "tell-it-like-it-is" guy, Obama was far more honest about the flaws in American society that we need to address.

It's not proper political etiquette. I remember six years ago when Mitt Romney went on a foreign trip to some country and made an insult, I told a buddy of mine, "That's like being invited to someone's house and criticizing their furniture."

I believe Obama was the aberration. Why do you think the conspiracy nuts always think he was some sort of a Manchurian candidate? He was so foreign from the other 43 men who occupied the office. I mean, for example, Presidential administrations never sent White House officials to the funerals of police killed in the line of duty. True. But they NEVER NEVER NEVER would even slightly possibly give ANY consideration to sending White House officials to the funerals of felons justifiably killed by law enforcement. Shootings cleared by grand jury. Think about that statement. How foreign to all previous precedents set by White House officials in the past was that?

I believe TRUMP is more normal than Obama. Sincerely, I'm not trying to start an argument. I'm being honest. I used to see posts on his forum two years ago estimating that Trump would receive like, 39 million voters or something like that. I remember saying, "You realize even if he loses, he's likely getting 59-62 million?" and I would get mocked. Basically, in a nutshell, the American public by and large, alot of it, normalized Donald Trump. Then when he was "bad", they had an EXTREMELY HIGH tolerance for him.

This is a very enlightening response, and please do not take that as a compliment.

[JA]

No. It’s not Trump’s fault that the Establishment has been so out of touch with their base that he has developed such a connection with GOP voters. Sure, that means ordinary Republicans are ing insane, but that’s largely the GOP’s own fault with its absurd policies and rhetoric for all these decades.

[Mr. Smith]

well duh, that's just how parties are when they have a good figurehead.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

well duh, that's just how parties are when they have a good figurehead.

No, that's just how parties are when they have pushed anti-intellectualism for 50 years. *cough* The Republican Party *cough*

Also, studies show that conservatives are much more susceptible to believing in demagogues and false information than liberals.

[Virginiá]

well duh, that's just how parties are when they have a good figurehead.

No, that's just how parties are when they have pushed anti-intellectualism for 50 years. *cough* The Republican Party *cough*

Also, studies show that conservatives are much more susceptible to believing in demagogues and false information than liberals.

Ditto. Historical polling of how voters view the economy/trust the government under each president shows considerably more drastic shifts for Republicans. Numerous polls of Republicans under Trump have shown massive shifts in all sorts of views, conveniently to align with Trump. I imagine if you were to rank each person's susceptibility to cults, conservatives would probably ranker higher. They seem to have a soft spot for a strong, domineering leader with authoritarian traits.

Democrats aren't immune from this but their views on issues/confidence in the economy are notably more consistent from one president to the next.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

well duh, that's just how parties are when they have a good figurehead.

No, that's just how parties are when they have pushed anti-intellectualism for 50 years. *cough* The Republican Party *cough*

Also, studies show that conservatives are much more susceptible to believing in demagogues and false information than liberals.

Ditto. Historical polling of how voters view the economy/trust the government under each president shows considerably more drastic shifts for Republicans. Numerous polls of Republicans under Trump have shown massive shifts in all sorts of views, conveniently to align with Trump. I imagine if you were to rank each person's susceptibility to cults, conservatives would probably ranker higher. They seem to have a soft spot for a strong, domineering leader with authoritarian traits.

Democrats aren't immune from this but their views on issues/confidence in the economy are notably more consistent from one president to the next.

Yep.

[Mr. Smith]

So? the GOP have always been the single-minded party on something vs. the "big tent" Democrats which are nearly impossible to herd.

That's probably why they lost 4 elections but still got their guy in.

But when Obama was the shiny Apple gadget in '08 - '09, when Bill could do no wrong to the point of even being "the first black President"...the things that got done. The deification of JFK arguably was what defeated Goldwater and got The Great Society rolling, even if LBJ was an excellent craftsman.

Now contrast the status of Carter.

 

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

"Cult" is too strong of a word.  Many Republicans - including Republican voters - see any compromise or turning on Trump as a forfeit to liberal ideas in these very polarizing times.  This has led to a lot of shameless flip-flopping and seemingly blind following of Trump.  I'm with Mr. Morden that this would be the case with any GOP President.  With that said, Trump IS the GOP President, and that's the only reality we have, so GOPers are certainly following Trump with a scary amount of loyalty.  The reason I shy away from "cult" is because I don't think it's particularly specific to Trump with MOST Republicans ... Trump's nomination and election exposed most Republicans as foot soldiers for the right who would back anyone with the R because they see that as literally their only other binary choice against liberalism.  Sad.

Unquestioning obedience and loyalty to the leader of the group because he's the leader... It sounds like you're saying that the GOP is not a bunch of cultists worshipping Trump as a mango-messiah, but instead are a bunch of cultists worshiping Trump because he's the leader of their cult.

I'm don't see any practical difference.

[SNJ1985]

Any Republican president, especially one who gets such strong opposition from the left, is bound to receive ''cult-like'' support from the base. This phenomenon is not unique to Trump. Trump's unwavering support from his base has far more to do with solidarity against the left than any genuine belief that he is perfect and infallible.

[IceSpear]

Any Republican president, especially one who gets such strong opposition from the left, is bound to receive ''cult-like'' support from the base. This phenomenon is not unique to Trump. Trump's unwavering support from his base has far more to do with solidarity against the left than any genuine belief that he is perfect and infallible.

"I just released poisonous gas into the atmosphere, now you can't breathe. CHECKMATE LIBS! LOL!"

"omg dude, imagine how many liberal tears we'd create if we poisoned our own water supply! LOLOLOL!"

[Progressive Pessimist]

Retirement=sobriety for Republicans. It's just too bad about those that are still in power.

[Nyvin]

It does explain why educated people are leaving the Republican Party.   

[Panda Express]

Sunk-cost fallacy doesn't just apply to money - it can apply to emotional investment as well. A lot of people invested themselves emotionally in Trump and instead of cutting loose, they'll continue to dig in and detach themselves from reality. Admitting you were wrong/conned is a difficult thing for most people.

Anyways, the cult thing isn't anything new.  Remember this from the Bush era?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxdt_f0hwUg
 

[junior chįmp]

Sunk-cost fallacy doesn't just apply to money - it can apply to emotional investment as well. A lot of people invested themselves emotionally in Trump and instead of cutting loose, they'll continue to dig in and detach themselves from reality. Admitting you were wrong/conned is a difficult thing for most people.

Anyways, the cult thing isn't anything new.  Remember this from the Bush era?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxdt_f0hwUg
 

Yeah....while the Trump cult seems bad...the Bush cult in its heyday 2002-2005 was worse.

[Person Man]

Sunk-cost fallacy doesn't just apply to money - it can apply to emotional investment as well. A lot of people invested themselves emotionally in Trump and instead of cutting loose, they'll continue to dig in and detach themselves from reality. Admitting you were wrong/conned is a difficult thing for most people.

Anyways, the cult thing isn't anything new.  Remember this from the Bush era?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxdt_f0hwUg
 

Yeah....while the Trump cult seems bad...the Bush cult in its heyday 2002-2005 was worse.

I dunno... maybe..

[courts]

I don't really see how Donald Trump is any different from previous conservative leaders.  He's just more direct and blunt - everything he stands for is what the conservative movement has always stood for.  It's just a new coat of the same paint.

Basically if you go back 100 years you'll find there's always been a nativist, nationalist, white grievance movement in this country and that cultural conservatives (whether they were Democrats or Republicans) have always been aligned with those beliefs.

Donald Trump, the Bushes, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon - they are all the same, just different in their personal style.  All of them were the candidates of white conservative America.

Nonsense. The Buchanan candidacy showed that GOP elites were disconnected from their culturally conservative base. By HW Bush the cracks were there. Also, to put Eisenhower and Nixon in this group, or honestly even Hoover and Coolidge, is ludicrous.

Sure, I disagree with most of the Republican talking points from 1920s-1990s. But this is something totally different- a near racial movement that is trying to take control over the country.

Republicans in the 1920s were more right wing than Republicans are  now

Maybe, especially on economics. However, the most culturally conservative people were probably Democrats at that time!

The 1924 Immigrantion Act passed under GOP rule

The GOP was very anti catholic then too

Also they were much more vigorous in support of prohibition than the Dems too

In my view, that was rural vs urban, not Dem. v. Rep.

Yes, so were many Democrats in the South and the Midwest.

Need I remind you that a lot of the strongest supporters of Prohibition were Southerners?

Listen, I'm not saying that the GOP didn't have significant strains of cultural conservatism back then. However, it was more eclectic, with different factions being more or less conservative. It wasn't like it is now. For cultural issues, that can be scary.

that's true..but on the other hand as has been pointed out before a lot of that had to do with the reality of segregation.also the ethnic composition of the parties.particularly in the middle of the 20th century

[junior chįmp]

Sunk-cost fallacy doesn't just apply to money - it can apply to emotional investment as well. A lot of people invested themselves emotionally in Trump and instead of cutting loose, they'll continue to dig in and detach themselves from reality. Admitting you were wrong/conned is a difficult thing for most people.

Anyways, the cult thing isn't anything new.  Remember this from the Bush era?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxdt_f0hwUg
 

Yeah....while the Trump cult seems bad...the Bush cult in its heyday 2002-2005 was worse.

I dunno... maybe..

Before right wing cultists were comparing Trump to Reagan....they were doing the same with Bush Jr. back in thr day:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

This right wing cult had a hard on for Dubya...chucked him aside and went back to having a hard on for Reagan and now they're having a hard on for Trump.

[pbrower2a]

Sunk-cost fallacy doesn't just apply to money - it can apply to emotional investment as well. A lot of people invested themselves emotionally in Trump and instead of cutting loose, they'll continue to dig in and detach themselves from reality. Admitting you were wrong/conned is a difficult thing for most people.

Anyways, the cult thing isn't anything new.  Remember this from the Bush era?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxdt_f0hwUg
 

Yeah....while the Trump cult seems bad...the Bush cult in its heyday 2002-2005 was worse.

I dunno... maybe..

Dubya was effectively the front man for Karl Rogue.

[MillennialModerate]

OBVIOUSLY this is true.

We always had Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives. And as a rule you’d have issues with what the other side did, but you respected the other side. There were some fundamental issues where everyone agreed as AMERICANS. And there were situations where even Dem politicians or Dem voters would be critical of the Dems (LBJ’s Vietnam policy) and the Republican politicians and Republican voters would be critical of Republican politicians (Watergate).

Not anymore. Now we can’t even agree on some basic truths. Especially on the right. Anything reported negative about Trump is deemed exaggerated, false, manipulated, incorrect or flat out FAKE NEWS. And anything positive about Trump is gospel... it’s laughable and pathetic.! Cult like is the best way to describe it