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Is Racism & Bigotry still the biggest factor in Presidential Elections? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 days ago by BadmanDan@lemmy.world to c/AskUSA

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Just gonna keep this short and to the point.

We all know FDR only went so far with including black people in new deal programs to appease the southern coalition of Dems. He also denied entry for Jewish Refugees and deported many Mexicans during the Great Depression.

Once LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act, Dems essentially lost the South forever.

Nixon pulled federal funding from affordable public housing in black neighborhoods and it strengthened his base.

Reagan blamed the aids epidemic on gay people and was embraced by the country.

Obama had to run on being anti-gay marriage in 08, but ran on being pro-gay marriage in 2012 and lost some support.

Trump spent millions in anti-trans ads. And leaned into the trans panic.

I know social issues aren’t everything, but it seems like that’s the direction America has gone post Civil Rights.

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[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah but they want to believe anything simple will fix their lives.

You can substitute any other simple answer. Trade deficits. A lying body of scientists. That a previous leader somehow betrayed them. It doesn’t matter.

Do you think that Dem's solutions are more complicated?

"Lets spend money on improving infrastructure and accept people who are different" seems pretty simple to me. So did 'let people choose who they want to be' and 'maybe the country that prides itself on immigration should welcome immigrants'. In fact, opposing the thing we brag about seems more complicated to me without the racist justification making it clear that it is about racism, not immigration.

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I actually do think the Dem answer is more complex because it doesn't actually provide an explanation to why things are bad. Why could a family in the 70s have a house, car, trips to Disney and 3 kids on a single income, but you can't do that now? Why?

They're burdened by some semblance of responsibility to tell the truth, but the truth is REALLY inconvenient for both parties: both have been complicit in a broad set of neoliberal policy that has led to a concentration of wealth.

Dems, not being able to stomach a bold faced lie, prefer to stay silent. Prefer to NOT reflect on the last 50 years and just say "we'll build more roads". You can shirk your share of responsibility by refusing to honestly review the past.

Was that the problem? Not enough roads and bridges? Is that why I can't afford eggs?

The Republican leadership, however, is completely unburdened by truth.

Why could a family in 1970 blah blah blah... "Because you're paying so much taxes now because immigrants are getting a fortune in welfare"

Yeah. It's WAY more simple. Because it's a lie. It answers the question. It's a fucking lie but it answers the question. The Dems literally don't provide any justification for the current state of affairs.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

I mean, eggs are not the problem. A temporary price increase due to bird flu is not relevant to either party’s policies

Why could a family in 1970 blah blah blah…

because minimum wage was never increased and should be at least double
because death of unions: we need to build those up
because everything is made overseas, let’s bring that back
transition to sustainable energy, high speed rail, EVs are a huge opportunity for better paying jobs. Let’s invest in those
we haven’t built or fixed anything in half a century
modern world requires a good education. Let’s go

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

So if we do those 6 things, I can own a detached home, car, and support a wife and 4 kids on a single income?

"My brother works for a union in a state with a minimum wage twice as much as the federal one, and he still sure as hell can't afford a house, wife, and even 2 kids on his income alone"

"I am in favor of bringing back manufacturing though, that's what all these terriffs are for, so thank god you agree with Trump on that"

Edit: to be clear, I'm not saying you're wrong. I frankly don't think your points are enough. Corporate taxes are a large component that needs reform as well. I'm just saying how this hits the ear of someone who voted R, and why it's still much more complicated than the offered one liner :"You're poor because you're taxed out the butthole to support illegal immigrants". That single sentence lays out a simple cause, as well as suggests an obvious simple answer to the simple problem.