Johnstown Never Believed Trump Would Help. They Still Love Him Anyway.

[IceSpear]

Very interesting article: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/08/donald-trump-johnstown-pennsylvania-supporters-215800

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I feel as though I've written these posts on here word for word. No matter how little Trump accomplishes, his voters don't care. It's time for Democrats to accept this and swallow the REAL reasons why deplorables still love him. And it has nothing to do with policy.

[TheSaint250]

Very interesting article: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/08/donald-trump-johnstown-pennsylvania-supporters-215800

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I feel as though I've written these posts on here word for word. No matter how little Trump accomplishes, his voters don't care. It's time for Democrats to accept this and swallow the REAL reasons why deplorables still love him. And it has nothing to do with policy.

Loyalty to party is quite strong

[Beet]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

[IceSpear]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

[JA]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

You mean the theory liberals (intentionally or unintentionally) seem incapable of comprehending?

[IceSpear]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

You mean the theory liberals (intentionally or unintentionally) seem incapable of comprehending?

I'm sure the guy who called the NFL "N***ers For Life" would be a solid Democratic voter if only they proposed seizing the means of production. Lol

[Hindsight was 2020]

Oh god Im sick of these f**king articles. These people aren't a majority nor are they the only reason Trump won.

[IceSpear]

Oh god Im sick of these f**king articles. These people aren't a majority nor are they the only reason Trump won.

Keep telling yourself that. Did you ever think that maybe there's so many "of these articles" because they represent a vast undercurrent in American politics?

Pray tell, what OTHER reason is there to approve of Trump other than racial grievances and other bigotry aided by dog whistles and bull horns? Because obviously he has not accomplished much objectively, but the data shows the majority of his voters still love him and would never change their mind.

[Sestak]

Oh god Im sick of these f**king articles. These people aren't a majority nor are they the only reason Trump won.

Keep telling yourself that. Did you ever think that maybe there's so many "of these articles" because they represent a vast undercurrent in American politics?

Pray tell, what OTHER reason is there to approve of Trump other than racial grievances and other bigotry aided by dog whistles and bull horns? Because obviously he has not accomplished much objectively, but the data shows the majority of his voters still love him and would never change their mind.

One-issue voters?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

You mean the theory liberals (intentionally or unintentionally) seem incapable of comprehending?

I'm sure the guy who called the NFL "N***ers For Life" would be a solid Democratic voter if only they proposed seizing the means of production. Lol

I mean, I'm sure many people who used the n word casually happily voted for the same Democratic administrations that enacted the CRA. Heck, they even voted for Obama! (and you are right in the sense that just believing they are leftist sleeper cells is also delusional)

Look, I'm not black so I'm not going to go too down this route. But to bring it closer to myself, if I'm honest with myself a lot of traditional Labour voters probably think that trans people are weird and would make crude jokes about Thai ladyboys or whatever. But at the end of the day, I don't care what they personally feel, as long as they vote the right way. That's the nature of political coalitions.

The vast majority of people are not so bigoted that they are willing to sabotage themselves to prove some point. If the Democrats offered a coherent solution to their problems, then they will vote for them. But from their perspective, they don't, nobody does; and so why not vote for some moron? Politics doesn't matter.

Indeed, the main problem with these articles is they seek out the Trump-lovers, and ignore the far more numerous types in these areas: the non-voters. Probably more useful, although I imagine they don't jump out and gab to Politico journos.

[Yank2133]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The 1966 mid-terms kind of debunks this theory.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The 1966 mid-terms kind of debunks this theory.

Is this implying that everything was going rosy for the Johnson administration, and the only explanation for the fallback was the CRA? Like, I would have voted for Democrats (unless I had some sort of nasty southerner) but it wasn't completely illogical for people to turn away at that point.

[Yank2133]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The 1966 mid-terms kind of debunks this theory.

Is this implying that everything was going rosy for the Johnson administration, and the only explanation for the fallback was the CRA? Like, I would have voted for Democrats (unless I had some sort of nasty southerner) but it wasn't completely illogical for people to turn away at that point.

I am not referring to CRA/VRA specifically, those were definitely causes. But what really caused white voters to flee was LBJ's domestic policies were also beneficial to minorities. That is one big difference between the Great Society and FDR's New Deal. A lot of New Deal programs under FDR cut out minorities (it is one reason why there has been such a huge wage disparity among whites and blacks in this country).

LBJ didn't and that was the primary reason they fled. These white voters don't have a problem with government programs or handouts, they just think no one is deserving besides them.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I can think of no other reason why the popularity of Lyndon Johnson might have been quite low in 1966, none whatsoever.

[Indy Texas]

I can think of no other reason why the popularity of Lyndon Johnson might have been quite low in 1966, none whatsoever.

Working class whites were very supportive of Vietnam, and they resented the protesters who they saw as out-of-touch, spoiled college kids.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I know it's a popular theory, but I am deeply sceptical that people - who had happily voted for the New Deal coalition for a few decades by then - suddenly realised that the dreaded blacks were getting the same cash as me, whaaaa? We can see that in the future when Reagan and his cronies really started to ham things up to balkanise the electorate, but I don't really think it's a good explanation for that Midterm - the GOP had yet to really roll out that piece of propaganda as they did for devastating effect in later decades.

[Intell]

1. Johnstown voted for Clinton, like omg.

2. Johnstown voted even stronger for Obama and democratic candidates before him.

[Kingpoleon]

As far as the New Deal and the Great Society are concerned, welfare has always, always been to some extent racist - though that, like racism in general, is on the decline and more and more subtle. The Federal Home Loan Banks policy of redlining is one of the more blatant forms of racism in government services.

[JA]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

You mean the theory liberals (intentionally or unintentionally) seem incapable of comprehending?

I'm sure the guy who called the NFL "N***ers For Life" would be a solid Democratic voter if only they proposed seizing the means of production. Lol

Nice strawman argument. Except the economic anxiety theory has never applied to (a) regular Republican voters or (b) ardent Trump supporters. It's designed to explain the American voters who switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016; I'd also contend that it should apply to those who voted for Obama in 2012 but abstained in 2016.

I don't think any rational person believes by adopting a Socialist or even Social Democratic/Populist policy program and rhetoric would win every working class voter. It's about reclaiming many of the White working-class voters who're open to such policies yet have been alienated from the Democratic Party, which could include many Republicans, but especially voters who don't participate. Turnout is always considerably higher the further you climb the socioeconomic ladder, so a lot of White working-class voters simply don't vote due to alienation from the existing political system. The point is to correct that; if we can drive up turnout for Democrats among currently abstaining White voters then you'll see the Republican percentage share of this demographic decline considerably.

[IceSpear]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

You mean the theory liberals (intentionally or unintentionally) seem incapable of comprehending?

I'm sure the guy who called the NFL "N***ers For Life" would be a solid Democratic voter if only they proposed seizing the means of production. Lol

Nice strawman argument. Except the economic anxiety theory has never applied to (a) regular Republican voters or (b) ardent Trump supporters. It's designed to explain the American voters who switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016; I'd also contend that it should apply to those who voted for Obama in 2012 but abstained in 2016.

I don't think any rational person believes by adopting a Socialist or even Social Democratic/Populist policy program and rhetoric would win every working class voter. It's about reclaiming many of the White working-class voters who're open to such policies yet have been alienated from the Democratic Party, which could include many Republicans, but especially voters who don't participate. Turnout is always considerably higher the further you climb the socioeconomic ladder, so a lot of White working-class voters simply don't vote due to alienation from the existing political system. The point is to correct that; if we can drive up turnout for Democrats among currently abstaining White voters then you'll see the Republican percentage share of this demographic decline considerably.

Fair enough. I can definitely see the logic of your argument. But you're wrong that people have not tried to apply the economic anxiety thing to Trump lovers. I see it all the time.

[KingSweden]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

You mean the theory liberals (intentionally or unintentionally) seem incapable of comprehending?

I'm sure the guy who called the NFL "N***ers For Life" would be a solid Democratic voter if only they proposed seizing the means of production. Lol

Nice strawman argument. Except the economic anxiety theory has never applied to (a) regular Republican voters or (b) ardent Trump supporters. It's designed to explain the American voters who switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016; I'd also contend that it should apply to those who voted for Obama in 2012 but abstained in 2016.

I don't think any rational person believes by adopting a Socialist or even Social Democratic/Populist policy program and rhetoric would win every working class voter. It's about reclaiming many of the White working-class voters who're open to such policies yet have been alienated from the Democratic Party, which could include many Republicans, but especially voters who don't participate. Turnout is always considerably higher the further you climb the socioeconomic ladder, so a lot of White working-class voters simply don't vote due to alienation from the existing political system. The point is to correct that; if we can drive up turnout for Democrats among currently abstaining White voters then you'll see the Republican percentage share of this demographic decline considerably.

Your the first person I’ve seen say this coherently, so for that, kudos.

[JA]

Article 15,862,171,586 on how Trump supporters are retarded. Journalist goes to Johnstown. "I don't trust you," local guy says. Journalists #Persists. Finally, he discovers the holy grail--the N word has emerged from the mouth of the locals. His job is done.

Beet, are you questioning the economic anxiety theory? That sounds very elitist of you.

You mean the theory liberals (intentionally or unintentionally) seem incapable of comprehending?

I'm sure the guy who called the NFL "N***ers For Life" would be a solid Democratic voter if only they proposed seizing the means of production. Lol

Nice strawman argument. Except the economic anxiety theory has never applied to (a) regular Republican voters or (b) ardent Trump supporters. It's designed to explain the American voters who switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016; I'd also contend that it should apply to those who voted for Obama in 2012 but abstained in 2016.

I don't think any rational person believes by adopting a Socialist or even Social Democratic/Populist policy program and rhetoric would win every working class voter. It's about reclaiming many of the White working-class voters who're open to such policies yet have been alienated from the Democratic Party, which could include many Republicans, but especially voters who don't participate. Turnout is always considerably higher the further you climb the socioeconomic ladder, so a lot of White working-class voters simply don't vote due to alienation from the existing political system. The point is to correct that; if we can drive up turnout for Democrats among currently abstaining White voters then you'll see the Republican percentage share of this demographic decline considerably.

Fair enough. I can definitely see the logic of your argument. But you're wrong that people have not tried to apply the economic anxiety thing to Trump lovers. I see it all the time.

Oh, I see it all the time too. And the ones who say it don't understand what they're talking about. The theory is as I explained it above; I didn't create it, but that's what it is. Any departure from that is a misinterpretation of it. So, I'll reiterate it for anyone reading.

The Economic Anxiety Theory does not explain ardent Trump supporters or regular Republican voters. It solely pertains to Obama '12/Trump '16 voters (and, arguably, Obama '12/Abstain '16 voters). It's meant to explain their motivations; not those of any other person or group.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

I can think of no other reason why the popularity of Lyndon Johnson might have been quite low in 1966, none whatsoever.

Vietnam War was already unpopular.

[Badger]

Very interesting article: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/08/donald-trump-johnstown-pennsylvania-supporters-215800

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I feel as though I've written these posts on here word for word. No matter how little Trump accomplishes, his voters don't care. It's time for Democrats to accept this and swallow the REAL reasons why deplorables still love him. And it has nothing to do with policy.

Loyalty to party is quite strong

Except Johnstown and Cambria County, until the last 10-15 years, has historically been heavily Democratic.

[Beet]

1966 was a self-correction election, it's that simple. The massive majorities from 1964 were artificial and could not be sustained.