Seniors Are More Conservative Because the Poor Die Off

I'm not saying that's wrong, but it's also more complex than that. It's not only the ultra rich supporting them. Take it from someone who lives amongst them.

Is there a massive corporate / monied influence behind the GOP? Sure, but that's true of the Democrats too. Given that that's our only options as long as we have a first-past-the-post, winner take all voting system (unless or until we institute ranked choice or some other alternative voting system), then the Democrats are the only one of those two parties that at least takes some actions and speaks words in support of the poor and middle classes. If you look at their actions, anyone who is not ultra rich should be voting for Democrats over Republicans unquestionably.

However, we have about 48% of our citizens in any given class that aren't the ultra rich who will vote Republican until their dying breath. In my state in particular, about 60% of the population votes Republican, despite being next to dirt poor.

We'll even vote for progressive policies - we legalized weed, voted for Medicare expansion, turned down """Right to Work""" laws multiple times, etc. - and then our own legislature that these assholes voted in will work to undo those measures that passed a popular vote however they can. They keep trying to reintroduce RtW laws every handful of years, they defunded the Medicare expansion. If they fail to stop the progressive policies, then they turn to profiting off of them through crony capitalism like they did with the cannabis industry by only giving out manufacturing and dispensary licenses to a small pool of people, and their cronies of course got first dibs.

So don't have any illusions - poor people vote Republican. In droves. It's due to ignorance, and bigotry, and racism, and a disregard for their own interest, but they do.

That doesn't entirely discount the theory being proposed in your OP article, but it doesn't explain Republican voting blocs everywhere. It just might explain Florida however.

8 comments

I don't know, I think that trend analysis ignores the masses of ignorant poor people who think that Trump & the GOP are going to save them from whatever boogeyman the GOP has constructed for them today.
- Nah, it's t he American gentry that's the core support for the GOP https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/trump-american-gentry-wyman-elites/620151/
  
  I'm not saying that's wrong, but it's also more complex than that. It's not only the ultra rich supporting them. Take it from someone who lives amongst them.
  Is there a massive corporate / monied influence behind the GOP? Sure, but that's true of the Democrats too. Given that that's our only options as long as we have a first-past-the-post, winner take all voting system (unless or until we institute ranked choice or some other alternative voting system), then the Democrats are the only one of those two parties that at least takes some actions and speaks words in support of the poor and middle classes. If you look at their actions, anyone who is not ultra rich should be voting for Democrats over Republicans unquestionably.
  However, we have about 48% of our citizens in any given class that aren't the ultra rich who will vote Republican until their dying breath. In my state in particular, about 60% of the population votes Republican, despite being next to dirt poor.
  We'll even vote for progressive policies - we legalized weed, voted for Medicare expansion, turned down """Right to Work""" laws multiple times, etc. - and then our own legislature that these assholes voted in will work to undo those measures that passed a popular vote however they can. They keep trying to reintroduce RtW laws every handful of years, they defunded the Medicare expansion. If they fail to stop the progressive policies, then they turn to profiting off of them through crony capitalism like they did with the cannabis industry by only giving out manufacturing and dispensary licenses to a small pool of people, and their cronies of course got first dibs.
  So don't have any illusions - poor people vote Republican. In droves. It's due to ignorance, and bigotry, and racism, and a disregard for their own interest, but they do.
  That doesn't entirely discount the theory being proposed in your OP article, but it doesn't explain Republican voting blocs everywhere. It just might explain Florida however.