Talked to a friend from high school, a lifelong Independent.

[pnwmom]

Till Trump.

She voted for HRC but she said she's hoping that there were a lot of Independents who voted for him and won't do it again. And they're probably embarrassed to admit they voted for him.

She said she is firmly on the Democratic side now, in the anybody-but-Trump camp.

I hope her guess is right that there are many others like her. I have noticed on FB that none of my friends who used to be Republican still are. Trump killed the party for them.

[Poiuyt]

1. Trump killed the Republican party for anyone who isn't a fascist

[bmbmd]

2. He didn't do any favors

For the American church, either.

[Patterson]

3. I'm finding out more and more from my Class of 1968 are big Trump supporters.

[BigmanPigman]

8. That is disappointing!

What happened to the happy/loving hippie culture? Did they all become conservative as they got older? What happened to changing the world for the better?

[misanthrope]

18. It became obvious decades ago

For A LOT of those people, they were simply following pop culture trends, just like young people of several generations. Look what Jerry Rubin did. If someone who was as invested in 1960s counterculture as he was fell prey to status quo pressures, what chance did the average bloke stand?

Not to say there weren't stalwarts, but they're in a vast minority.

[barbtries]

22. fox news.

my brother graduated high school in 1966, marched against the Vietnam War, grew his hair long when he got out of the service, was very pro-abortion, an avowed atheist...until fox. since at least 2003 he's a goner.

[rurallib]

9. As someone was organizing our 50th class reunion in 2017

a couple of class members decided to let it be known that they were Trumpeteers. I dumped out of ny ongoing discussions. AFAIK the 50th reunion pretty much died.

[certainot]

21. put a RUSH tattoo on trumps forehead- because that's where he's coming from. associate

him with limbaugh, his friend and neighbor and golf buddy.

tell them trump studied talk radio in 2014 and that limbaugh has been used by the russians since 2008 at least, when manfort was mccain's cochair (in between working for russians - his job for them being getting their friends elected in foreign countries) and limbaugh would not support mccain, the GOP candidate, until minutes after he chose palin as VP. that was timed to minutes before the limbaugh show on the last friday before the GOP convention. and palin was being courted by russian oil and gas interests.

then in 2011 limbaugh pushed for debt default - how many US billionaires would want that?

why was hannity's name redacted from the mueller report? he was mentioned 5 times in the report and in the glossary the only name between GRaff and HAWker was completely redacted. that is weird, they could have just redacted some of the description like most other talk radio related names.

anyway.... they all know limbaugh whether they listen directly or not they know most of the rest of the blowhards on radio and fox have been following his lead for decades. but they won't admit it. he's in a twilight zone. they'll repeat his lies and use his excuses for putting kids in cages, or his stupidity for denying global warming, or supporting an ignorant rapist lying dick, but they don't want to be told, "well, that's what rush says..... but....." or "that sounds like something that came out of limbaugh's ass"....

[PoliticAverse]

4. Who was the last Republican she voted for ? n/t

[pnwmom]

5. I didn't think to ask her that. I just believed that she'd been Independent, as she said,

because I remembered being on opposite sides in high school, when she shared her parents' Republican views.

[PoliticAverse]

6. I know there are a lot of people that call themselves "independent" but actually only every vote

for the candidates of one Party.

Perhaps she just doesn't want to come-out as a Democrat to her parents.

[yellowdogintexas]

12. It is a safe cop out to say one is "an Independent"

In my opinion it just means one is afraid to be open about how one feels about what is going on and not willing to declare party affiliation to avoid unpleasant conversations.

It cracks me up when Texas boast about being "Registered Independents" There is no party affiliation on Texas Voter Registration forms so no one is a 'registered' anything other than a voter.

As a precinct chair the only way I can locate the Democratic leaning voters is by flagging voters who showed up for Democratic Primary elections. If people skip primaries, we have absolutely no way to identify their party of choice without knocking on their door or calling on the phone.

There is also no official Independent Party here. We have Green and Libertarian and the occasional outlier like Ross Perot.

[Wounded Bear]

13. That's been my experience...

if you poke at an "Independent" a bit, they soon reveal their conservative leanings and how almost exclusively they vote Repub.

[xmas74]

19. I've met Independents who voted both sides

But it's usually on the municipal and county races. They grew up with Ray or Jean and they're voting for them no matter the party. State races this has happened, depending on if they are familiar with the candidate. Federal, usually a party.

Fwiw, I know several Dems who voted for a Republican in the Nodaway County sheriff's race here in Missouri. The incumbent, a Democrat, was involved in the Daisy Coleman case and said she lied about her rape. Evidence showed it wasn't a lie and the case made international news. It eventually was made into a documentary on Netflix.

[Celerity]

16. I would lay wager she voted Romney

[pnwmom]

20. Could be. But she says she's only going to vote for Democrats now. n/t

[Celerity]

23. +1

[JI7]

7. the bigger problem will be things like foreign attacks in the election

disinformation, voter suppression of minorities.

and of course the msm with their both sides bs and need for a horse race. they will play up a democratic candidate shoplifting gum when they were a kid while downplaying or ignoring the shit trump is doing RIGHT NOW.

[LiberalFighter]

10. Trump hasn't killed enough Republicans.

[patphil]

11. Trump has been busy trimming the Republicn Party down to just his base

ever since he was elected. After the latest at G20, I think he is continuing to shed true Americans in favor of White Supremacists, Neo-Nazi's, and the KKK.
Unless something happens to change this, I don't think he will top 40% in November of 2020.
Not that we should be complacent, but he is his own worst enemy, and I don't think Russian help can counter balance the idiocy of that man.
We are not Russia, we don't have a controlled press, and we do have a choice.
It's up to us to flush this Trump turd down the election shitter on November 3rd, 2020.
Along with the likes of McConnell and all the other Trump cheerleaders in the House and Senate.
The nation's future depends on it.

Patrick Phillips

[yaesu]

14. I no longer have any repug friends, all my friends are voting Dem. nt

[watoos]

15. Something else,

Whoever our nominee is will be picked apart by the M$M. The M$M is not our friend.
Steve Kornacki and Tweety would drive me up a wall if I watched them.

[kimbutgar]

25. And don't forget chuck toad

He pisses me off even more.

[aeromanKC]

17. The 2018 Blue tsunami happened in 2016 Swing and Trump districts

This is very encouraging for 2020!! Dems need to keep it going. GOTV!!!

[kimbutgar]

24. Fat Donnie is not gaining support but losing it.

The bloom is off that rose and the petals are dried up and wilted. I live in liberal SF and rarely encounter any supporters. I was in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and did not see any bumper stickers or signs in yards. When I was there in December I saw a lot and then again in February but this time none. The in law family members who supported him did not want to talk politics and sighed when his name came up and changed the subject. In February they did this time no comments.