I think the biggest stunt the GOP ever pulled, was convincing the "average joe working american" ...

[daedalus_dude]

... that a bunch of billionaires from Texas are "in touch with them" and would be best suited to represent their interests, and that in contrast, the party which has strong ties with the labour movement consists of "elitists with all that money behind them".

IMO, if it wasn't for the widespread racism, anti-intellectualism and nationalism, they would have never been able to pull it off.

[zbdent]

1. or a guy who makes $20,000,000 a year whining about how he can't afford things

really is just like them, too ...

[anniebelle]

2. It's truly amazing, isn't it?

I read the letters-to-the-editor in our rag of a paper here in this bright red state, and it's always the ones that don't have a pot to piss in that are the tea baggers and anti-everything that's good for the working man. We have all these millionaire reps and senators in our state and all these poor working class (most have jobs at wal-mart in this area) re-elect them every cycle. 2010 we're expected to even pick up a repulikkkan governor. :argh:

[mediaman007]

4. We don't see too many well-off Republicans at the Teabag protests.

They are at the club just smiling as the racists and superstitious do their bidding.

[Craftsman]

3. What is worse is the dems helping them by not stopping free trade

and stading up to the banks and Wall St. Many dems are just in bed with business and banks as the rethugs.

[WVRICK13]

5. The Poorest People Support

the GOP. I noticed the majority of clients coming to the agency I manage for food pantry vouchers, rent assistance and utility assistance had Bush/Cheney stickers before the elections in 2000 and 2004. I wanted to tell them to ask a Republican for help but I am not allowed to discuss politics at work. How can Americans constantly vote against their own best interest? I fight a hard battle every day advocating for the rights of the poor only to be cursed and spit at by the very same people when they saw my Obama bumper sticker. Good grief, maybe I am more ignorant than they are.

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Smirk." - Republicon Homelander Fatcats

[bullimiami]

7. and theyve blended it with the magic of the church.

because god wants them to vote republican, tithe a goodly sum and mind their place in society.

[Enthusiast]

11. They can only do this

because their manipulators keep harping on several key issues. Those are: abortion, guns, land use issues, gays and the imagined sense of ultra nationalism.

Detractors of the Democrats always say "They want to kill babies. They want to take our guns away. They are tree huggers. Democrats want to make your children gay. Democrats hate the country and are weak on defense. Democrats want to give your job to black people or Mexican illegals. Democrats took God out of school."

In the face of this massive misinformation campaign it is astonishing that President Obama was elected.

[la_chupa]

8. they're better at language than we are

They managed to convince people that the "death tax" was coming for them even though when you call it an "estate tax" and explain what it really is, most people are for it.

It's not "pro choice" it's "pro abortion" or perhaps "pro baby murder".

There are other examples, but I'm still working on that first cup of coffee and can't think of any.

[trotsky]

9. One reason why they were successful...

was convincing Joe American that the only thing keeping him from being just as rich as the Texas billionaires was liberal economic policies. THAT'S the self-perpetuating meme.

Joe: "Damn, I sure struggle and never seem to get ahead. The system seems stacked against me."
Rush: "Welfare queens are given all your tax money by liberals!"
Joe: "THAT must be why I can't get ahead! Damn those liberals!"

[Vinnie From Indy]

12. It's called scapegoating

And, it has been perpetrated by certain classes since time began.

What the GOP does is really nothing novel or new. They simply have better amplification with our modern media.

[trotsky]

13. Absolutely true. They've elevated it to an art form. n/t

[jonnyblitz]

10. I find the DEMS are becoming just as out-of-touch and horrid

and many here are making excuses for it or denying it.

[rudy23]

14. That's where race comes into play. That's the "common ground" the billionaires play on.

They get working class "joe"'s riled up about the other races taking from them, the way billionaires get riled up about the lower classes taking from them. So they relate on a persecuted white person level.

[daedalus_dude]

15. lol, yeah. So the dems are "out of touch" because they are not racists.

[rudy23]

16. Exactly. They live in an ivory tower, obviously untouched by the realities of the riff-raff

That is precisely how Democrats are painted. Obviously the reason they're not racists is because they have so much money to spare, they don't mind having a bunch of minorities on welfare draining their tax dollars---they can afford it.

The Repubs have great success painting our idealism as a luxury that only the elite can afford.

[redqueen]

17. But we have our members here saying the opposite about the Dems...

that they're all just parasites, and they're only interested in getting rich.

So... it's more than racism and anti-intellectualism at play, IMO.

It's exploiting fear.