Why Thousands of Republicans Are Leaving the Party

[babylonsister]

https://politicalwire.com/2021/02/10/why-thousands-of-republicans-are-leaving-the-party/

Why Thousands of Republicans Are Leaving the Party
February 10, 2021 at 6:07 am EST By Taegan Goddard

“In the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the phone lines and websites of local election officials across the country were jumping: Tens of thousands of Republicans were calling or logging on to switch their party affiliations,” the New York Times reports.

“An analysis of January voting records by The New York Times found that nearly 140,000 Republicans had quit the party in 25 states that had readily available data (19 states do not have registration by party). Voting experts said the data indicated a stronger-than-usual flight from a political party after a presidential election, as well as the potential start of a damaging period for G.O.P. registrations as voters recoil from the Capitol violence and its fallout.”

[redstatebluegirl]

1. They will still vote for them just watch.

[Bettie]

16. I'm still hoping for a split

which would be good for the entire country!

[lagomorph777]

27. I think Trump's gonna start his own party. That will sink 'em for sure.

[Montauk6]

2. Which may be why I'm cool on The Lincoln Project and others of that ilk...

Somehow I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, viz. an aw-shucks nice-guy conservative they can feel safe going back in the water for.

Let them start truly embracing progressive/liberal policies, then I'll buy their motives. Shame and embarrassment is not a valid agenda, I'm just saying.

[gab13by13]

8. I'm just saying,

thank god for the Lincoln Project, it keeps the insurrection in the limelight. Once this impeachment trial is over the MSM will allow its memory to fade into the sunset. The Lincoln Project has been a valuable asset to keeping the sedition front and center.

[Montauk6]

13. Time will tell...

Hey, I hope I'm wrong.

[paleotn]

19. Don't forget the trials and investigations

Justice Dept isn’t going to let this just drop. You can count on that. Really, we’re only getting started. This shit is that bad.

[Hortensis]

3. Some of course are leaving because the GOPQ isn't extreme enough.

We'll see what all this means over time. Last fall saw the movement of repelled voters away from the GOP seemingly mostly replaced by a surge of previously nonvoting RW yahoos coming out of the woodwork to support Trump.

And the GOPQ had already become extremist! I read that a bunch of former Bush officials have left the party, what's become a Trump cult, and goodness knows that corrupt, warmongering and sacking authoritarian white male administration wasn't exactly a shining light of conservative principles, or any kind of principles. They set the stage for Trump.

In a larger view, while the percent of Americans with college degrees rose 5%, the GOPQ percent with degrees DROPPED 7%.



And where the women's votes are going. There are 2% more women than men, and Dems are getting those and a lot more. Women have always averaged less conservative than men, anyway.


These overall more moderate voters fleeing the GOPQ have of course left the conscienceless cowards in office even more dependent on pleasing the Trump cult. We know many "indies" will vote Republican anyway, of course, but these big movements away from what's become insane-degree extremism suggest the percentages should be smaller in future.

[AllyCat]

6. Except white women. Most white women voted for the Orange One

Still blows my mind.

[yardwork]

7. An even higher percent of white men voted for Trump.

The Republican Party is becoming even more exclusively male and white. At some point that lack of diversity becomes an extreme weakness, as we saw on January 6.

[Hortensis]

29. Absolutely to all. Rather amusingly, GOP female house reps

dropped critically to 13 in 2018, and those 13 were so angry they were complaining publicly about primary discrimination and a hostile workplace -- in the Republican caucus in Congress! A couple announced they weren't running again. (Poor things. Bless their hearts.)

Anyway, that much success before they could get away with it was a PR emergency for the white, male GOP, so they -- quick -- helped elect a new set of disposable women in 2020, who turned out to include Boebert and Greene. And as you say.

[Hortensis]

11. Except the 45% of white women who voted for Biden of course.

In 2016 47% of white women voters, already Republican oriented, voted for Trump, 45% for Hillary.

The #s of non-college-educated women were far higher for Trump, while college-educated were higher for Hillary. So for 2020 the Republicans/Trump concentrated heavily on holding onto their lower-educated women, who of course average older.

Mind-blowing, anyway. We've all seen the kind of poison Fox and others have been putting out since the 1990s. Conservatives, and others, don't just pop back from being modeled into the worst versions of themselves.

[judesedit]

15. Mine, too. I am a white woman. They're thick-skulled, greedy, or racist.

Or, let's not forget, brainwashed by Faux Noise. Very sad. We need Civics, Political Science, and the real white History taught in all schools.

[IronLionZion]

22. There is diversity within white women

there are plenty who voted Dem. But then there are way too many who decided to maintain their white privilege and power instead of electing Hillary, a qualified white woman, in 2016, or Kamala, a qualified brown woman in 2020.

It baffles me how anyone can vote for Trump, a flaming pile of toxic waste, yet plenty of white hispanics did. Ironically, his share of the vote among black and latino men and younger voters increased (in my city at least) in 2020 but that's likely because many of them stayed home in 2016. Our local media also claimed the increase in younger voters were likely people who moved here to work in his administration or adjacent conservative policy/lobbying/contracting firms.

[IronLionZion]

20. It's good if those Q types can't vote in partisan primaries

If independents challenge GOP candidates from the right in general elections, it can benefit us.

[KentuckyWoman]

4. My brother is one.

I am still baffled on why he hitched up to Trump in the first place, let alone stay with him 4 years.

Jan 6 jerked him to his senses. I suspected he is not alone. Looks like the stats show it.

[Jon King]

5. Nice, but demographics will make them change policies....

Thats good news however changing demographics is the key. The metro areas of all swing states are changing fast. Not only are Repub voters dying off at a greater rate, they are being replaced by groups that tend Democrat at a greater rate,

Of course thats part of the reason the help on to 2020 for deal life. Bluster all they want but any Trump like candidate in 2024 would get crushed, and by 2028, forget it, demographics will have flipped NC and maybe TX.

They have to cleanse from Trumpism to ever hope for the Presidency again.

[gab13by13]

9. Spot on,

The GQP will be hurting when it loses Texas, losing Florida would also be a killer.

[uponit7771]

18. +1, the country has too much work to do wasting time with crap from the right that doesn't work

[diverdownjt]

10. I think I would prefer the total anonymity of NO party affiliation in registering to vote....

This could really help in the future, just register and figure yourself out later. Plus it adds a little more mystery
to the outcomes. It would really help those who don't know themselves yet...like every 20yr.old.

[Phoenix61]

23. That would mean open primaries. Not sure how

I feel about that. The argument against is that one party could vote for the easiest to beat opponent. Social media being what it is I can see that being an issue for statewide races. I’m in Florida which is heavy repub and shady as all get out.

[Nanjeanne]

12. They will not vote for Dem policies. They are registering their annoyance with

their party crazies. They will still vote for R policies and elect R politicians.

Anti Trumpsters are just that. They are still Republicans. And some leaving are more than likely pro Trumpsters waiting for the new Patriot party.

[Turin_C3PO]

14. Some maybe

but polls show Trump has lost a not insignificant 20% of his support among Republicans. Things are actually going in the right direction for Dems.

[lindysalsagal]

28. The freepers declare they'll never vote, again. No idea if that's reliable, but it's being said quit

quite often. I'm ok with that, if it comes to pass, and it did in GA.

[SmartVoter22]

17. Some are old and dying off

The early "NeoCons" from the 1950's
... the anti-commie, John Bircher types whose disdain for 'coloreds' exceed the left wing political extremes.

The "Goldwater-Let's Be Offensive" from the 1960's
... The whole Vice is OK if we say it, so let's start saying it.

The "Reagan Delusion" from the early 1980's
... The whole let's just start denial. Avoid everything we don't want to talk about. HIV, Gays, Drugs and make a bigger mess.

The "Bush EX War Option' from the early 2000's
... Let's start a war, base it on a lie and see if we can take the lying thing any further.

The "Trump Boy Band Devotees" 2016-21. Act like 11 yr old girls gushing over a boy band poster.
... Let's just be as stupid as possible and claim its free speech and play the victim until the nation pukes.


Anyway, I do think there are thousands of the very older GOPs dying off. The Neocons, Goldwater and Reagan followers are all in their 70's to 100's and they are not being replaced at numbers needed to sustain party membership levels.
The Bush & Trump followers are well, let's just say they are not quite in touch with reality, because TV has taught them to 'follow a script'.

Younger people, by margins higher than the anti-Viet Nam Nam movement and the 26th Amendment produced are against almost all GOP ideas, plots, plans, puffery and puddin pops.

[not fooled]

21. Great post

The modern history of the GOPee in less than 500 words.

[Phoenix61]

24. The irony of them not taking covid seriously from the start.

Those most affected are, quite literally, their base. Take Florida for example with an older population. I truly don’t understand what DeSatan, Rubio, and Scott are thinking.

Also, excellent summation of the Repubs.

[tanyev]

25. Read an interesting article a while back about societal change.

Wish I'd bookmarked it, because I can't find it now. The gist was that the main way change happens is through generational die off. Campaigns to educate or change minds of older generations are not very successful. I'm no spring chicken myself, so I'm not trying to make this an ageist thing. Some in the older generations will embrace change, many will not.

[Chainfire]

26. You can get the person out of the party, but can you get the party out of the person?

[BlueWavePsych]

30. K&R

[Aussie105]

31. I don't get it.

Republican voters had 8 years of the GOP blocking what Obama tried to do.
(Insert Mitch McTurtle insane cackle here.)

They had 4 years of Trump trying to demolish Democracy and burn the Constitution.
(Insert Mitch McTurtle insane cackle here.)

Now THIS, this is the point where they cry 'Too Much!' ??

Just not paying attention, or a collective intelligence deficit?

[betsuni]

33. Government is only bad when Democrats are in charge.

When Republicans are in charge, Democrats are still in charge somehow. This doesn't apply only to Republicans, a lot of people blame Democrats for everything for some reason.

[smirkymonkey]

32. And yet we will hear about large "percentages" of republicans who support

extremely unpopular views, even though they are a declining population. My wish is that they die out completely.

[Dorian Gray]

34. Good luck

in that future landscape, Republicans. They're going to have to deal with only the hard core MAGAs remaining while the more reasonable people leaving in droves. They'll swing more MAGAtty, making more people leave.

It'll be a vicious cycle.