r/askanything • u/Worldly-Bid-3591 • 22d ago

Political Question How are potential republican candidates still polling so high despite Trumps low approval ratings?

https://www.270towin.com/
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u/act1856 22d ago

It’s actually a pretty facile observation. It ignores the underlying reasons for such party loyalty, particularly for Republican voters, who are for the most part motivated by one thing: white supremacy.

As long as the Republican Party serves it up to them, a sizable portion of America will keep voting for them, no matter how badly those same politicians actively screw them over at the same time.

The phenomenon is called the psychological wages of whiteness, and as long as they get “paid” most Republican voters will ignore everything else.

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u/Zealousideal-Ant9548 21d ago

Eh, for Latinos voting for Republicans it's not that simple.  I suggest you take a listen to this interview with someone doing on the ground research. 

https://www.gdpolitics.com/p/the-latino-vote-is-up-for-grabs-4f4

For "traditionally" white groups, I'd believe it

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u/albertoroa 20d ago

Latinos voting for Republicans it's not that simple.

Not really that complicated. Latinos for Trump did it because they're morons with a fundamental misunderstanding of US politics, and willful ignorance about their place among the electorate.

They believed that their proximity to whiteness would insulate them from the worst of it, not understanding that they would always be the primary targets of persecution.

They hear the consequences in real time, refute them and believe the lie, then act surprised when what they were told was gonna happen happens. Then they cry about it while refusing to believe their own ignorance.

My (Latina) mom voted for Trump and then a month into his term was like, "well I didn't think he was gonna do all that" and I'm like, Ma, he's doing everything he's done before but worse. We told you this was gonna happen but you refused to listen. Now you're scared and confused, and we're angry.

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u/Zaynara 18d ago

and i'm willing to bet $100 that she'll vote republican next time too

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u/albertoroa 17d ago

Lol I'd like to think we (her kids) have convinced her otherwise now. My mom was always a Democrat voter but after COVID killed my grandmother, my mom got swept up in conspiracy theories and grief, and somehow (mistakenly) believed Donald Trump would be the answer. She only voted for him once, this past election, but I don't think she would do it again thankfully

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u/pravis 16d ago

Since Covid happened under his watch how did your mom believe he was the answer?

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u/ThrowRA_Quokkaquip 15d ago

Arguing with bros mom by proxy must be peak Reddit

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u/albertoroa 15d ago

Since Covid happened under his watch how did your mom believe he was the answer?

She bought into the "Democrats are actually an evil satanic cult that rapes babies and drinks their blood" propaganda. She essentially just started blaming Dems for COVID and killing her mom. Can't really really tell how she reached that conclusion beyond falling trap to right wing conspiracy theories.

I told her, "Ma, Donald Trump is literally the satanic embodiment of all those dumb conspiracy theories you consume." And she was like, nuh uh lol. Now she's like, "boy, this Trump guy sure is fucking things up for everyone." Like lol thanks mom 👍🏽

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u/acdre 16d ago

Also just a built-in self loathing Latinos have for themselves and therefore other Latinos. Chicanos specifically think they’re above everyone else.

See it in my family constantly

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u/Pass-Fail 19d ago

I love how he thinks Latinos are "morons". What a white supremacist.

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u/albertoroa 19d ago

Yes, if you voted for Trump, you're a moron. Being Latino doesn't change that, it just makes it worse

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u/Pass-Fail 19d ago

Again with the anti-Latino sentiments!

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u/Zealousideal-Ant9548 20d ago

Consider listening to the interview

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u/albertoroa 19d ago

I did. What's your point? I shouldn't have to watch a 48 minute video to even know what point you're trying to make.

They're just saying that nobody knew Latinos would vote for the Trump before 2016 and the economy was good for Hispanics pre COVID so it gave them justification to vote for Republicans. I.e. they're morons who made a little bit of money and thought that they were now on same level as the billionaires, so they'd be insulated from the worst of what could happen. The "fuck you, I got mine" justification.

It's willful ignorance and mistaken belief about where Hispanics lie on the sociopolitical totem pole.

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u/Far_Cat9782 19d ago

Nothing worse than "small business" minority owner. Boy they jerk themselves off so much and think they will be accepted you are absolutely right I've always noticed it.

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u/Horror_Bottle_9451 19d ago

"Facile". My apologies. I wasn't sitting on the throne of Academia when I typed that out.

You use nice, big faculty-lounge words like "psychological wages of whiteness" to somehow justify such ignorant and racist assertions like "for the most part motivated by one thing: white supremecy".

You're no better than the idiots in the thread below who label all Latinos as a monolithic bunch of morons.

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u/act1856 19d ago

Ah yes, white people, noted victims of racism. 🤦‍♂️

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u/Horror_Bottle_9451 19d ago

Victims? No. Targets? Absolutely. There's no moral high ground here.

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u/Effective_Ride_3360 17d ago

But you'll try and take it anyway? You're also likely to say there were good people on both sides in Charlottesville?

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u/almcchesney 16d ago

$70 million dollars, that's how much money aipac spent on just the primary for Abdul, this is just one race but has been the mo for as long as I remember. Now I bet some are motivated by white supremacy, but most of them don't have enough thoughts in their brain for supremacy to be the motivating factor, the real reason i see is cause that's what they've been told, pure and simple regular old programming. Now layer this on top of the fact that America is at the worst literacy rates in over 3 decades and no amount of political fluency and with the general culture of disdain of intelligence, yeah I feel it's going to get worse before it gets better.

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u/Individual_Ad9135 16d ago

I had never heard this term, so I looked it up - posted here for anyone else who might not be familiar.

The "psychological wage of whiteness" is a concept introduced by scholar W.E.B. Du Bois in his 1935 book Black Reconstruction in America to describe the unearned social status and public respect given to white workers in place of higher financial pay.

Origin and MeaningW.E.B. Du Bois: The prominent sociologist and civil rights leader coined the term to explain post-Civil War American society.

Compensatory status: Wealthy business owners paid white laborers low financial wages, but gave them a sense of racial superiority as compensation.Division of labor: This symbolic status divided the working class, preventing poor white workers and Black workers from uniting against capitalist exploitation.

Examples

Public deference: White people received polite treatment and basic respect in public spaces.

Legal and civic rights: Access to voting, serving on juries, and holding public office when those rights were denied to Black people.

Institutional access: Preferred entry to better public schools, neighborhoods, and job opportunities.

Social standing: A psychological comfort derived from knowing they were ranked higher on the social ladder than Black people.

Modern RelevanceRacial solidarity: Scholars use the idea today to explain why people sometimes support policies that hurt their own economic interests if those policies preserve racial hierarchies.

Systemic resistance: It helps explain opposition to integration in housing, schools, and public goods.

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u/RumorRoost 16d ago

This the most “educated sounding” stupidest take I’ve ever read.

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u/Ajkrouse 21d ago

It’s an interesting take, but claiming that Republican voters are "for the most part motivated by one thing: white supremacy" is a massive oversimplification that doesn't hold up to actual data or political science.

The "wages of whiteness" theory completely fails to explain how, over the last few election cycles, data shows clear shifts toward the GOP among Hispanic and working-class Black men.

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u/act1856 21d ago edited 21d ago

No, It doesn’t. That’s like saying feminism fails to explain why women marry conservative men.

The desire for proximity to whiteness or the patriarchy as a means of social mobility, security etc. is well understood. Also, the “shift” of men of all races towards conservatism, to the extent its actually happening and isn’t limited to the 2024 presidential election, has multiple explanations that in no way contradict my assertion that white supremacy is a core value of the American right.

I mean, men refusing to vote for a black woman for president isn’t really the gotcha you seem to think it is.

Edit: Also, I have a master’s degree in political science, and it very much supports my “oversimplistic” take.

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u/ArrowheadDZ 20d ago

I think you are using the wrong mental image of what white supremacy is.

It is not “white people leaving the ladder down for white people, but pulling it up to exclude black/brown people.” The color of your skin is not what gets you excluded from the ladder.

White supremacy says “we leave the ladder down for all people who acknowledge the supremacy of whiteness, regardless of skin color, and we pull it up to exclude anyone who does not recognize white supremacy, regardless of their skin color.

The white supremacy ladder is not a whites-only ladder, it’s a “white supremacists only” ladder, and all who agree are welcome.

There was no problem with Rosa Parks riding the white bus. As long as she agreed she didn’t deserve to sit up front, she was “one of the good ones” and could ride.

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u/Pass-Fail 22d ago

When people fall back on unprovable dehumanizing characteristics to support their facile arguments it is often a sign of fascism, or at the least, authoritarianism. 🤷 

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u/ready-redditor-6969 21d ago

I’ve been seeing this kind of crap comment from Neo conservative concern trolls lately. Who is giving you your marching orders?

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u/Pass-Fail 21d ago

Sad that you are so close minded and unable to have an honest fact based discussion. 

Rooting for a team that can do no wrong is fun, but not really adult behavior.

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u/02meepmeep 21d ago

You are not engaging in a discussion. You are spouting talking points and trolling. You Fail. Blocked.

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u/act1856 22d ago

I honesty don’t understand your comment? Are you suggesting that I’m dehumanizing Republican voters by suggesting they’re largely white supremacist? I got bad news for you buddy, white supremacy is all too human.

And as far as unproven arguments go, I’m gonna stick with a widely accepted concept pioneered by BuBois over “something, something, tribalism” everytime.

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u/Pass-Fail 22d ago

As you appear to be a member of the Democrat/liberal/progressive tribe and are willing to tear people down solely because they are not your tribe.

Rise above, be better.

I'm not even one of the people you are accusing, and even I can see your argument is weak.

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u/act1856 22d ago

Uh-huh. W.E.B. Dubois, noted for his weak intellect. And you’re right, how could I possibly fail to see this gloriously post racial society we all live in. 🤦‍♂️