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Where are the Republicans that have been saying how they support our troops?
u/Dionysus_the_Greek
Which side are they on?
The only side they’re on is the “Republican” side. If you look behind that, there’s nothing.
Republicans don’t care in the slightest about actual policies, or their supposed “principles”. They just care what the Party (and particularly Donald Trump) is in favor of at any given moment. Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Democrats maintain fairly consistent opinions about policy, regardless of which party favors it, or who is in power.
The Party of Principles:
- Exhibit 1: Opinion of Syrian airstrikes under Obama vs. Trump. Source Data 1, Source Data 2 and Article for Context
- Exhibit 2: Opinion of the NFL after large amounts of players began kneeling during the anthem to protest racism. Article for Context (viewing source data requires purchasing Morning Consult package)
- Exhibit 3: Opinion of ESPN after they fired a conservative broadcast analyst. Article for Context (viewing source data requires purchasing YouGov’s “BrandIndex” package)
- Exhibit 4: Opinion of Vladimir Putin after Trump began praising Russia during the election. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 5: Opinion of “Obamacare” vs. “Kynect” (Kentucky’s implementation of Obamacare). Kentuckians feel differently about the policy depending on the name. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 6: Christians (particularly evangelicals) became monumentally more tolerant of private immoral conduct among politicians once Trump became the GOP nominee. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 7: White Evangelicals cared less about how religious a candidate was once Trump became the GOP nominee. (Same source and article as previous exhibit.)
- Exhibit 8: Republicans were far more likely to embrace a certain policy if they knew Trump was for it—whether the policy was liberal or conservative. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 9: Republicans became far more opposed to gun control when Obama took office. Democrats have remained consistent. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 10: Republicans started to think college education is a bad thing once Trump entered the primary. Democrats remain consistent. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 11: Wisconsin Republicans felt the economy improve by 85 approval points the day Trump was sworn in. Graph also shows some Democratic bias, but not nearly as bad. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 12: Republicans became deeply negative about trade agreements when Trump became the GOP frontrunner. Democrats remain consistent. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 13: 10% fewer Republicans believed the wealthy weren’t paying enough in taxes once a billionaire became their president. Democrats remain fairly consistent. Source Data and Article for Context
- Exhibit 14: Republicans suddenly feel very comfortable making major purchases now that Trump is president. Democrats don’t feel more or less comfortable than before. Article for Context (viewing source data requires purchasing Gallup’s Advanced Analytics package)
- Exhibit 15: Democrats have had a consistently improving outlook on the economy, including after Trump’s victory. Republicans? A 30-point spike once Trump won. Source Data and Article for Context
Donald Trump could go on a stage and start shouting about raising the minimum wage, increasing taxes on the wealthy, allowing more immigrants into the country, and combating climate change. His supporters would cheer and shout, and would all suddenly support liberal policies. It’s not a party of principles–it’s a party of sheep. And the data suggest that “both sides” aren’t the same in this regard. It’s just Republicans.
