Does Social Issues matter when deciding your political affiliation?

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

It's a matter of priorities.

I was first old enough to vote in 1980. I voted for Ronald Reagan twice and once for the elder George Bush. My priority then was strength in confronting the Soviet Union. I felt that Democrats of the time were weak in confronting the Soviet threat. Other issues were secondary. I also thought of the Republican party at that time as the party of common sense.

Things had changed by 1992. The Soviet Union no longer existed. Climate change was beginning to be recognized as a major threat. Bill Clinton was a very different Democratic candidate for President. He wasn't weak on national defense. He struck me as a sensible and capable leader. At the same time George Bush rejected the idea of dealing with climate changed. So I voted for Bill Clinton.

By 2000, my personal priorities had shifted somewhat. I had become a "militant atheist" at that point so the fact that the Republicans were firmly in bed with the religious right made me seriously oppose them. The rise of right-wing talk radio spearheaded by Rush Limbaugh began to make me look at them as irrational. The machinations of Newt Gingrich reinforced that thinking.

I was unhappy that Barrack Obama won the 2008 Democratic primary against Hilary Clinton as I perceived him as weak. I am still at the center or maybe a bit to the right when it comes to matters of national defense. Still, I embraced the Presidency of Barrack Obama - a very good and decent man IMHO.

Then came the collapse of the Republicans. I didn't see this coming. I (I am white) naively thought we had put racism behind us in the 1980s. But the election of Obama was like turning off the kitchen light and embolding the cockroaches of white supremacists to scurry out from under the refrigerator. Suddenly, it became fashionable to be a racist. again. And then it got much worse. Republicans not only embraced racism but ignorance. Science itself is rejected.

Then it got MUCH worse. Incredibly, Donald Fucking Trump was actually elected President of the United States. Five years later, I'm still flabbergasted. Now, we have a political party that not only is in bed with the religious right and white supremacists, embraces scientific ignorance like a badge of honor but also is actively engaged in an effort to overthrow democracy itself!

Social issues! Are you kidding me? Here in the US, we have a political party that is nothing less than an enemy of all that is good and decent. That is the ONLY issue as far as I'm concerned.

I'm presuming you refer the bunch called "The Grand Old Party" . I guess working from the principle that if you're going to tell a big lie, do it in the title.

Although my view as an outsider is perhaps not as extreme, I more or less agree. 

I've always thought of the US Republicans as being for the silver tails. IE run by people who have money and are gonna keep it come hell or high water (that includes not paying taxes if possible) Also the party of the middle class and those who have been conned into believing they either are already middle class or will be if Republicans are in power.  I don't consider those people especially immoral. 

IMO most people (including me) vote in their own perceived best interests. From time to time, I come across people claiming to vote for the common good.  I will need some substantial evidence  to believe such a claim. In my experience, altruists are pretty thin on the ground

Perhaps part of the problem has to do with what constitutes American Democracy: This Republican democracy emphasises individual rights. To the extend that The Libertarian view of "I'm OK, fuck you Jack" is common.

Australia has a Parliamentary Democracy with an emphasis on the common good. It also helps that we the people do not elect our head of government***. A Donald Trump is constitutionally impossible here.

***Our Head of State is Elizabeth 2 of England. She has the power to prorogue government. She did so in 1975 . Another reason many Aussies want to get rid of her.


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If you haven't done so, I recommend  the 2013 documentary with Gore Vidal ; The United States Of Amnesia"