I would say the answer is a combination of greed and tribalism.
We evolved living in groups, distrusting/hating people from outside our group who do not look like us, worship like us, etc.
At the same time, the socio-economic paradigm in the developed world of 1000 years ago, i.e., medieval Europe, morphed from feudalism to free-market capitalism, eventually giving rise to greed and, in general, indifference to the suffering of others.
At left we see how far American politics has shifted–from something that actually made sense just a decade ago, to something that is now completely insane.
Is this really “huge?”
If you’re a voter at either end of the state, i.e., an easy drive to downtown Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, you already understand the danger that Trump represents to the republic, to international relations, to women’s rights, and to science-based policy making.
But suppose you’re in the middle of the state, and you have essentially the same political sensibilities as the folks in Mississippi or Alabama. Fox News has convinced you that the Democrats have opened the southern border to vermin who are flooding in and taking your jobs. Are you swayed by the fact that some Harvard-schooled Republican doesn’t support your hero?
Sorry. I’d like to think so, but I’m having trouble believing that.
As the entire electorate knows, Trump has made numerous attempts to set aside the U.S. Constitution in order to retain power after his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
There is, however, an important difference between the MAGA base and the majority of Americans: most of us actually care that Trump committed treason.
If you’re a Republican politician and you’ve lost Fred Upton, you’re in deep fertilizer.
From The Los Angeles Times: Due to his environmental policies, Upton represents one of the biggest threats to planet Earth on planet Earth.
Making a statement, regardless of how stupid and obnoxious, wouldn’t disqualify a person from being president, though it should dissuade anyone who cares about this country and understands the principles on which it was founded from voting for him.
What I noticed about this is that the name “Donald Trump” didn’t arise once in his endorsement, nor did any of the phrases commonly attached to the former president, e.g., “criminal sociopath.”
I think I speak for at least 99% of progressives when I say that I care about the safety and well-being of police officers. At the same time, I resent the efforts of the extreme right-wing to suggest otherwise.
This is a reference to things like the costs of increases in mental health treatment, violent and nonviolent crime, and ultimately, lower productivity of the individuals in the workplace.
Here’s the part I don’t get. Trump lost in 2020 by seven million votes, and the events that have occurred since appear to help his opponent.
In particular, we have the revelations concerning Trump’s criminality. This is likely to drive larger voter turnout, most of which will be opposed to the former president’s re-election.
There must be something I’m getting wrong here, but I can’t imagine what it is.
