The media is still pushing the narrative that we must “understand” the “Trump voter”, and they’re still kicking the dead horses of ‘economic anxiety’, ‘flyover country’, and the like. At the same time, here at Daily Kos, it’s always popular to blast folks for “voting against their own best interests” without really asking “but why?”
For all the harrumphing and condescension, I think they — and we — are missing the core difference between today’s Republicans and/or “Trump voters” and the more liberal side of the universe. Simply put:
They see dots. We see lines.
Consider the typical Republican position that “pro-life” means “anti-abortion” — AND NOTHING ELSE. Food assistance for infants or children in poverty? The Republicans want to gut those funds at every turn. Children’s Health Insurance Program to keep kids healthy? Nope, it’s on the parents. The ACA to make healthcare more affordable for adults? Perish the thought! Price controls on prescription medications? Oh, we can’t interfere in the all-holy free market!
For the longest time, I chalked this up to (a) money and (b) cognitive dissonance...but I’ve come to realize that, by and large, these folks really do see the world differently. What we liberals see as a line — in this example, from reproductive choices to healthcare to how we die — they see as independent points, utterly unconnected...which means that they’re free to make whatever pronouncements they choose at every point.
It’s really the only explanation that works across the board.
Thinking further, the question arises — if you wanted to perpetuate this way of thinking, what would you do?
Why, you’d gut public education...so that the folks like the Parkland students couldn’t “connect the dots” between Ollie North in Iran-Contra and Ollie North as NRA President.
Come to think of it, you’d also make both geographical and economic mobility more difficult...so that folks couldn’t “connect the dots” between rural, suburban and urban life — or across poverty to the middle class — thus keeping us in our bubbles.
Of course, you’d have to also communicate via soundbites, slogans, and bullet points...so that folks wouldn’t “connect the dots” between, say, “tax reform” and “raising taxes on everyone making less than $175,000/year”. (This just happened in my state, Kentucky.)
The entire Republican game plan depends upon preventing voters from connecting the dots.
OK, now that we understand that, what do we do?
Well, this is the hard part. Given the pressures of life common to all of us — money, family, jobs, bills, illness — most folks don’t really have the time to drill down on ‘the issues of the day’ and become deeply informed. (To be honest, this has always been a major blind spot in the DK community; we forget that most of us are (a) political junkies who (b) have the luxury of time and/or technology to spend reading and writing here.)
So, it comes down to what is essentially the oldest political technique in the book — individual engagement.
We have to become teachers; we have to connect the dots for them, at first, and (hopefully) lead them to connect the dots for themselves. Not only must we do this with directly related issues, like expanding “pro-life” to “pro-full-lifespan”, but we must do this with issues they don’t see as related, like “childhood health/nutrition”->”education”->”jobs”->”upward mobility”. We must draw the lines.
Sometimes, you can reach a fairly large audience with Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram, like so:
(I have around 1350 followers on Twitter, of which roughly 1100 are in the US. Even if they didn’t respond to it, they saw it.)
Unfortunately, that only goes so far. Spending time on social media is a luxury that a lot of folks don’t have — and a lot of folks react poorly to political stuff in that arena — so we’re going to have to go one-on-one and small groups. We’ll have to be “dot connectors” at the coffee shop, in the waiting room at the dentist or auto shop, in Sunday School, or wherever else we find the need.
So, they’ll see the light if we just do that?
Nope. Well, OK, every once in a great while you might engage one person who has that epiphany in a single encounter...but that isn’t likely to happen. We’re talking about folks who’ve been seeing the world this way for years, decades, and/or generations. Basically, we’ll have to be the drip-drip-drip of water that erodes a boulder. If we can get one person in that waiting room to admit (or even think), “Well, if that’s true, this really doesn’t make sense”, we’ve planted a seed.
(Why do you think Trump and the Republicans call everything that contradicts their positions and policies “fake news”? Because they don’t want people giving those things a moment’s credence...because then folks will start — you guessed it — connecting the dots...)
OK, I’m in — what do I do now?
Well, first things first — get your facts straight. The first time you throw something out there that is easily debunked, you’ve lost all your credibility. So, don’t automatically tweet/share/recommend or discuss something just because “it sounds like something they’d do”. This really is a one-strike-you’re-out endeavor.
Then, be kind. Didn’t every great teacher you ever had work from a positions of kindness? You aren’t out there to scream at folks...you’re out there to teach them. To be honest, I usually phrase my comments as something like “I don’t know...because [X] doesn’t seem to match up with [Y].” If you’re confrontational, you’ll lose; they’ll just dismiss you out of hand.
Next, be patient. As I said earlier, you’re going to be a drop of water hitting a boulder. It’s OK to end a conversation with, “OK, do me a favor — just go see if I have my facts straight.” or “Well, you can find the video/transcript of what he said online — judge for yourself.” You aren’t likely to be that charismatic liberal who converts flocks of Republicans with the glory of your oratory or the crushing logic of your argument; it’s good enough to be that person who they have to admit (however grudgingly) “knows what they’re talking about.”
Finally, you must endure. A person recently told me that they had dismissed me — for years — as a “bleeding-heart liberal”...but that, when they finally checked out some of my statements, they realized that I had been “right” most of the time. The counterpoint to that experience is the person with whom I’ve been talking politics for 3-4 years, but is still a rock-ribbed ‘GOP can do no wrong’ Republican. You’re going to meet both extremes and a LOT of folks in between; just keep going.
So...go teach. Draw the lines, connect the dots...because I think that is what is needed.
Monday, May 14, 2018 · 5:46:01 PM +00:00
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wesmorgan1
Some readers seem to think that I’m suggesting this approach instead of GOTV, new voter registration, and other programs...FAR FROM IT! I’m just saying that we should be doing this alongside our other efforts. In an age where Presidential electoral votes are decided by less than 1% of the vote and state-level races are decided by drawing lots, every voter counts more than ever before. When we engage on all fronts, we win...and this is just another front.