Trump voters have lost faith in our institutions and also think immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country. These two things are extremely related
For many Americans, lost faith leads to a search for scapegoats leads to eugenics. This is not an endorsement, it is a thing that's happening
Pundits: Trump voters support him because they've lost faith in meritocracy/our institutions
Trump voters: Actually, we agree with him that immigrants are poisoning our blood and we like his promise to prosecute our enemies without cause
Pundits: It's the meritocracy, right?
What does “lost faith in our institutions” mean then? How do you measure that loss of faith w/o resorting to tautology like “when we see violent rhetoric aimed at scapegoats that means loss of faith and the loss of faith is what causes the scapegoating.”
"Lost faith in institutions" is journalist-speak for "white reactionaries losing their peanuts over the fact people who aren't white are allowed to serve in/work for our government."
There's some of that to be sure: the Obama election and the emergence of Trump as the birth certificate truther at same moment. But there is also the reelection of Obama and the fact that resentment over race has been going on a long time. Attacks on "woke" and DEI are just the latest version.
I guess my point is, the "loss of faith in institutions" is made up bullshit. It's a thing journalists say to try to make the horrible things Trump supporters actually believe and want sound more palatable or justified.
You're not wrong about the use of that phrase to make MAGA seem like a regular party, and it's very irritating. I stand by my original point, but msm isn't making the full argument right now and that is very not good
I thought this was a pretty good on what might be called "loss of faith" or more precisely destruction of party system, and the rise of Trump and his voters. "Loss of faith" implies it's all individuals making choices, as opposed to a more structured outcome like this. www.vox.com/politics/240...
I don't know if I agree with this premise. This article treats the hollowing out of political parties as the cause, rather than a symptom, of what's happening. IME, Trumpism is a continuation of the US's long history of white supremacist authoritarianism.
It's helpful to understand the major political parties in the US as coalitions, rather than monoliths with a single demographic. On the right, that coalition includes the wealthy looking to protect and expand their wealth, conservative Christians, and working class white people.
What they have in common is white identity and a desire to preserve their own cultural, political, and economic power.
The shifts in the Republican party over the last decade are more whose voices are loudest in the coalition, not who is in the coalition.
Yes but precisely because it is a long tradition and it has failed to take over the party before, something must have changed since the days of Wallace, et. al. I mean you had Lester Maddox, Wallace, Buchanan, Helms, and none of them were able to do what Trump did.
Trump's appeal is that he bluntly says what Republican leaders of the 80s, 90s, and 00s--who were primarily interested in protecting their business interests and wealth--would only hint at in code. He says what they've long said privately and made them feel comfortable saying it out loud.
