(October 9, 2016 at 1:01 am)Cato Wrote: Again, people aren't voting for Trump because of policy position; they're voting because he doesn't represent politics as usual. This is why his outlandish quotes don't mean a fuck... The more outlandish the better.
If the Dem voters had the cajones of the GOP voters Sanders would be the nominee. Why the left thinks this election has anything to do with policy position is beyond me.
There's that, but being in a Republican family, the No True Scotsman aspect of it is absolutely true. They blame the last two Presidential election losses on the candidates' moderate (to them) nature. That's why the field has generally moved more evangelical and Tea Party. It's a reaction to the base demanding that they go hard right, and it's why classic conservatives like Jeb, Christie, and Kasich never had a chance.
To many of the Republican voters, it's not just that Trump is an outsider. If that mattered most to them, Ross Perot would've won in his day. No, what's important is the type of outsider Trump is. And the common refrains from supporters are "he tells it like it is," "he's not afraid to be politically incorrect," and so on. And that's what these people are looking for - cultural conservativism first, from which political conservativism will flow.
I'm not just pulling this from my ass. My brothers, my cousin, their friends and coworkers all think along these lines. They don't necessarily like Trump as person, but they like that he's not cowed by modern social pressures and believe that strength will allow him to repeal Obamacare, to restructure/eliminate welfare, to combat BLM and regain control of our cities, to defeat ISIS, to get another conservative judge (or two) in SCOTUS, etc.
I'm not saying it's logical, but it is what's going on, at least partially.
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"