Liberals often wonder how their conservative friends can possibly vote for candidates like Trump and others who they see as deeply flawed. Comedian Bill Maher has offered a helpful insight: It is because conservatives are so repelled by the Democratic agenda that they would vote for practically anybody else instead.
There is some truth to that.
After going off on a rant about Georgia senatorial candidate Herschel Walker, Maher offered to translate for the liberal tribe how someone like Walker could have any support. He said Republicans are essentially telling liberals: “Do you see how much we don’t like what you’re selling? All this socialism and identity politics and victimhood and oversensitivity and cancel culture and white self-loathing and forcing complicated ideas about race and sex on kids too young to understand it. Literally anything would be better than that.”
The honest, moderate Democrat will secretly admit in their heart of hearts that, yeah, sometimes their progressive wing, which seems to be running the party these days, has gotten pretty nutty.
To illustrate an example of the Democrat’s unwillingness to say, “This is just too doggone crazy,” to any woke cause, Maher offered pictures of the transgendered elementary school teacher who was allowed to teach small children while wearing a grotesquely oversized breast prosthesis (sort of giant falsies on steroids) just because (s)he felt like it, and could. Obviously, the dutifully liberal school administration felt that they must accommodate her because, well, because she is transgendered and this is what she felt she needed to wear to feel her “authentic” self. Democrats don’t seem to have the word “no” in their vocabularies when it comes to their causes.
The Democrats weren’t always too intimidated to confront their extremists. One of Bill Clinton’s shrewder moves during his 1992 campaign was to publicly criticize Black rapper Sister Souljah, who during the Los Angeles riots, said, “If Black people kill Black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?” Picking a fight with an extreme member of your constituency reassured a lot of moderates.
Sometimes the Democrats will even abandon one of their causes in the service of advancing a newer, more exciting cause. Consider their insistence that biologically male trans athletes be allowed to compete in women’s sports, and the telling spectacle of swimmer Lia Thomas going from obscure male athlete, to a dominating force as a woman. After fighting for Title IX, they chose to eliminate the opportunity of women to meaningfully compete in most sports, to serve the Orwellian fiction that there is no unfairness in allowing a biological male to compete against women.
It often seems like the Democrats deliberately try to shock and offend moderates and conservatives with nonsensical stunts. For example, what free-associational brainstorm came up with the idea of having drag queens perform readings for young children? What’s the point, other than shock value? The Democrats are like a young boy who has just learned a new swear word and is determined to use it as much as possible to impress his pals with his naughty antics.
Obviously, most of the motivation to support a flawed candidate comes from the pragmatic quest to keep “your side” in power. And both parties do this. To illustrate the Democrats’ willingness to accept a politician “with baggage,” consider the episode of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, who faced calls to resign when caught appearing in blackface in old photos. Now, one thing that Democrats have repeatedly demonstrated that they won’t tolerate is blackface, so they were forced to look at the next in succession. However, the lieutenant governor, a Democrat, was then facing rape and sexual assault charges, a big no-no, so they were forced to look at the third in succession, the attorney general, also a Democrat. Unfortunately, he also had a “blackface problem” in his history. The party then found that the fourth in succession had a far worse disqualification—he was Republican! So the party’s “high-minded” moral concerns quickly evaporated and yielded to practical concerns, and the party decided that blackface and sexual violence weren’t that big a deal after all, and Northam was suddenly deemed politically “rehabilitated.”
Joe Biden is another example of a problematic candidate who the party pragmatically coalesced behind in order to win. Stuck with a history of endorsing supposedly racist law and order policies, facing allegations of sexual assault, with video of inappropriate nuzzling and pawing of women and girls, the Hunter Biden corruption scandals, and being only occasionally coherent, he was no one’s idea of a viable candidate until the party realized that no one else in the “Democratic clown car” was moderate enough to beat the loathed Trump.
So, when you wonder why we will vote for someone like Trump or other flawed Republicans, take a hard, clear-eyed look at the Democratic alternative, and ask yourself, “What other choice do we have?” Δ
John Donegan is a retired attorney in Pismo Beach who spends a lot of time in the voting booth holding his nose. Send a response for publication to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 24 – Dec 4, 2022.
Great point, John. I was so upset about Hunter Biden’s laptop that I changed my whole political ideology. Now, Christofascism doesn’t sound so bad to me. I decided I’d be fine with privatizing social security when I heard that kids were being taught about race in schools. More guns? Well, previously I thought the weekly mass shootings were bad, but now that I heard that like 10 trans athletes competed in sports, I think more guns are a good idea. Reproductive freedom sounded like a good idea until I heard about that comedian that was criticized on twitter. Now I think abortion should always be illegal.
Thanks to my friends John and Bill for providing this great cover. Again. This is all because of the Democrats. I totally didn’t want these things before Joe Biden’s presidency. It’s all their fault.
Donegan neglects to admit the fact that deplorables like himself vote for unfit and amoral candidates BECAUSE of their amorality and vileness not in spite of it or because they don’t like the democratic alternative. You see, the “conservatives” today admire cruel, stupid, dishonest, corrupt individuals. When given a choice between a humane proposition and an inhumane one, deplorables will always choose what is inhumane.This is why they worship Trump. He embodies everything they aspire to be; a sociopathic rich big shot who gets whatever he wants by trampling underfoot anyone in his way and considers himself above the law.
Donegan spouts unsubstantiated accusations against Joe Biden but he’s perfectly okay with Trump’s long and documented predatory behavior with women. Hell, the tangerine hellbeast is on record openly bragging about sexual assault.Then Donegan says how the democrats progressive wing is “pretty nutty.” Well, aren’t the MAGA election deniers and conspiracy loons nutty as well? Think of Marjorie Taylor Greene and her claims about Jews controlling the weather and starting wildfires with space lasers. What about unabashed Nazi sympathizers in congress like Arizona’s Paul Gosar or Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano?
Maybe Donegan can explain why caring for transgender kids or allowing drag queens to read storybooks in classrooms are supposedly more outrageous than an attempted violent coup to overthrow democracy, voter suppression or issuing vicious death threats against poll workers, school massacre survivors and bereaved mothers of slain children.
You can argue with almost any of the points he makes, but the basic argument is correct, and it goes both ways. It seems to me that both parties have gone off the rails, that many who vote consistently for one party or the other are aware of it, that a great many voters long for something resembling a “middle of the road” option (although many would disagree on what that might be) and that many would like to see more willingness to compromise and more effort to address problems rather than vilifying the opposition. Maybe the “smoke filled rooms” of past generations of dealmakers were not so bad after all.
Every voter has another choice. Instead of the old incumbent party candidates, they could choose a truly Independent [Decline to State], American Independent, Green or Libertarian if any member of those parties can raise the money and support to get on the ballot.
Have you noticed a lack of non old incumbent party candidates since the “Voter Nominated” [Top Two] Primary and general election?
That is because those new non incumbent party candidates now have to pay the same filing fee the well funded old incumbent party candidates pay AND the media does not even bother to interview or feature any of those not likely to be on the Nov General Election ballot candidates.
I have been running for statewide offices since 1998 so I know how different it is for a new non incumbent party candidate to get any media attention since Prop 10 [Voter Nominated – Top Two].
First order of business is to repeal Top Two. If you don’t there will continue to be two choices. one of each or two of the sem old incumbent party candidates.