2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumDo not waste one moment of your time ever trying to get Trump supporters to regret
... that's a pointless endeavor. They never will. You might as well be pissing into a hurricane. Mark my words, folks - anyone who is waiting for Trump fans to say "Oh my God! What have we done??!" will wait until they are a cold, dessicated cobwebby skeleton.
No matter how bad things get they'll either blame it on Obama or whine that Hillary would have been worse than (economic breakdown, martial law, depression, suspension of the Constitution, World War, invasion by aliens, asteroid smashing the earth). These are not people that can reflect on their mistakes and realize where they went wrong. If they could do so, they wouldn't have voted for The Asshole. Period.
Instead, focus your energies on fighting where it counts. Reaching out to independents, Millennials, minorities - people with a chance of seeing reason. Trump supporters have no such chance. They are beyond redemption.
I refuse to go down letting them destroy the house with me in it so I can have one final moment of gloating before I'm annihilated too, as part of some misguided "They'll know how badly they fucked up!" mindset. No. That's the wrong path. They will never know since they have a whole right-wing propaganda machine waiting to tell them how wonderful and amazing Trump is and how #EverythingisAwesome despite all evidence to the contrary.
Anyone who thinks his mindless supporters will turn on Trump when they see those jobs aren't coming back is a misguided fool. Period. THEY NEVER WILL.
I'm going to work on saving the house through every means necessary instead.
Turbineguy
(38,338 posts)that Trump will show them the light.
Eliot Rosewater
(32,534 posts)will say it is liberals fault for not properly funding it.
When they take their social security, and they will, they will say liberals didnt fund it properly, as well.
duffyduff
(3,251 posts)The GOP has no mandate to do this.
Stop believing their b.s. trial balloons. Such ideas would destroy the GOP for good.
potone
(1,701 posts)But they will realize their mistake, even if they won't admit it. The Republicans will control the White House, the Congress and the Supreme Court. They will have no choice but to own the results of their terrible policies. Not even the right-wing press will be able to get around that. After all, it was Bush Jr.'s terrible record that led to Obama's election. Our first opportunity to try to mitigate this disaster will be the midterm elections in 2018. If the country survives that long, we may be able to put the brakes on at least some part of the madness.
Look, I know that I am grasping at straws here; I really feel sick about what has happened, and the final-if expected-blow was the vote in the Electoral College today. How we are all going to get through the next few years, I don't know. But you are right: we must fight them in any and every way that we can. Young people will be crucial to this effort.
mdbl
(5,458 posts)the morons who gave congress it's lowest ratings in history still put the assholes back in office causing the low ratings? They are that insane - so I agree with the earlier post, they don't and won't get it.
LyndaG
(683 posts)Some of them don't seem all that happy. They troll Facebook and other sites, looking to start trouble. Geez, after Obama won, I was too busy celebrating to stur!
Buckeye_Democrat
(15,035 posts)Without liberals to blame, many of them are lost.
mreilly
(2,120 posts)For a group that supposedly "won" they still seem so desperately angry and unhappy. I noticed that when GWB "won" in 2000 and was "re-elected" in 2004.
Angry, angry, angry people.
Historic NY
(37,819 posts)they voted for him they can live and die with him. I don't care any more period about them or Republicans.
ffr
(23,125 posts)If you poke fun at them while doing it in a laughing tone, you'll get through to them. It's the 4 y.o. in them that supports tRump and it's that mentality that can be used against them. It's not hard. There's ammunition everywhere. Just keep applying it relentlessly. It may not change their minds, but it does cause them to avoid crossing your path entirely. I know.
But beware, they lash out when the tables are turned. Bullies don't like to be bullied when that's all they have going for themselves. It burns them to their cores to be laughed at. It's sad really.
They'll threaten you in order to try to shut you up.
doc03
(36,640 posts)Obama being a Muslim, Obama leading from behind, gas prices are Obama's fault and so on. I will call Trump Putin's Puppet,
the Manchurian candidate, call the Whitehouse the Kremlin, screw those assholes.
LaydeeBug
(10,291 posts)Also, why is it, when it's a close vote, the GOP is always on top, in spite of the will of the people?
LaydeeBug
(10,291 posts)saying they didn't vote election day, oh well, HRC carried our state anyway...
I put it nice and simple: "My Daddy fought a war on FOREIGN SOIL** to limit the influence of Russia on a small nation only to see the right wing of the Republic Party become a de facto arm of the KGB. You can *pretend* you had "some special insight" as to what our country needs, but don't you DARE claim to love America, because you don't: You love RUSSIA. So you can put THAT into your Lee Greenwood and fucking CHOKE on it. I'll sit here with my Willie Nelson and be much obliged if I could be left alone by traitors like you, because this wasn't right or left or even right or wrong: this was traitor or Patriot, and I fucking LOVE my country. I *don't* love Russia." Since Rush Limbaugh hasn't told them how to respond to that, they don't know how to react.
Don't call them out on hypocrisy. It's too complex a thought for them. They want to BE racist, they just don't want to be CALLED a racist. You need to tell them they're racist. Really. In no uncertain terms. They don't want *reason*. They don't even want the truth. They want to the TOLD. They want *direction*
**(always emphasize this, bc it resonates for some reason....It's not like we have actually *had* a Civil War since, well, the Civil War, but they all *reverent* when you emphasize the FOREIGN soil part of military service)
mreilly
(2,120 posts)... and thank you, ma'am! And thanks to your Dad too! We will win the war in the long run, but have to give up a battle or two like this.
You strike a chord here since Trump supporters prefer authoritarian rule. Like you said, they want to be told. These are people told what to think. By choice.
LaydeeBug
(10,291 posts)But don't you *dare* let them get away with it...because then they'll just take more. they do not understand 'long view'. They know immediate gratification. They know 'right now', and they think spite is sanctified.
They will repeat over and over again, "Hillary is a criminal". Just tell them "Rush told you to think that, so you *do*, because any asshole with two working brain cells can see that there was never any THERE there, but they kept you distracted so the KGB could take a seat at your table. If you'd feed a Russian before you'd feed *ANY* American, then we both know who the traitor is pal."
When they complain about "political correctness", that just basically means they want to say 'n*gger' and 'b!tch'. Just retort by cussing a LOT, Be like, "Oh I *know*! These motherfuckers want to try and tell ME how to speak when I should just be able to say whatever the fuck I want"
"Sanctity of life"? (Ladies, get your big girl britches on for this one Oh I *KNOW*! I just want to be LEFT ALONE, with NO GOVERNMENT INTRUSION intrusion in my life to do what I want in peace, and fuck whoever I want, and they won't respect the sanctity of my life. FUCK these motherfuckers. <<<----- Does that sound obtuse? I KNOW, but I promise it will resonate with the reddy rednecks.
Silver Gaia
(4,824 posts)20 years living among them later in life, everything you've said here about how to talk to them, Laydeebug, is absolutely RIGHT ON! (Not to mention fun to read!)
nini
(16,707 posts)If was in the trenches in Guam and the Philippines in WWII. He'd be pissed beyond belief to see what has become of this country
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)But, I don't think the OP is referring to them
I think reference is to those who supported Il Douche when he rode down the escalator
StayAt8
(3 posts)These people have no ability for self-reflection at all. Just look at them ridiculing anyone who says they're not happy Trump won. The same people who cried cried cried about Obama for 8 years turn around now and say "get over it." And they really mean what they say somehow. WTF?
paulkienitz
(1,318 posts)Many of them came to regret W, and he never shat on them nearly as hard as Trump is already starting to do.
Trump is going to be broadly hated before long. I just hope we will still have enough voting rights for that to be enough.
Bit you're right in that they'll never come to that regret because of anything we say to them.
kentuck
(112,695 posts)it is useless to try to persuade Trump supporters of anything out of their bubble or anything that might reflect negatively on their Esteemed Leader.
texasmomof3
(108 posts)for the reminder even though we know this to be true. I read where Newt said he couldn't imagine what Trump would have to do to make him mad because he was so thrilled HRC wasn't going to be president. Seriously? How is that intelligent or objective? This kind of thinking is what we are up against.
Equinox Moon
(6,344 posts)I met him where he was at. That is the trick.
1) I talked about the EPA and trumps disaster appointment.
2) I helped him understand why Obama has not been able to fix the broken aspects of ObamaCare, which is that the republicans refused to do anything.
I stayed cool-headed. I listened to his complaints and he listened to my FACTS. It worked. He said he will read about the issues I brought up, and that he did not know of it, and he was concerned to hear about it.
I talked about the issues that were on his agenda, not mine. That is what worked. In this case anyway.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,314 posts)jaxind
(1,074 posts)Why would they ever regret voting for Trump (no matter how much harm he does to this country)? These are the same people that still don't regret they voted for the 2nd Bush!
Ilsa
(62,225 posts)Stand for false equivalency, claims that HRC will be worse or that she's an unconvicted felon. I'll remind them of the words of trumputin, comey, etc.
The Liberal Lion
(1,414 posts)not talking to them period outside of instances where you absolutely must. When it comes to politics I decided to let them talk to themselves in their own echo chamber. I don't comment on their threads, I don;t let them see my post. I don't want to hear from them and I don't want to debate them. These people feed off your disappointment and your outrage. They are only entertained, even when they appear to be listening, when you try to explain how things are actually going on. Save your breath and your efforts. Trump will be an absolute disaster, a calamity. If they don't have you to even talk to they will eventually turn on themselves and Trump. Reserve your natural desire to help someone see the light, sometimes you can't even lead the horse to water, sometimes you have to let it thrust, and allow it to find it's own way or die. Talk to your friends who share your ideas. Create self supporting communities with like minded folks. Just stay as far away from trump voters as you can. It's going to get messy and it's going to get messy real quick. Let them get everything they have coming to them as a result of electing from this abomination. Sure there is going to be much pain for us too, but console yourself with the coming schaddenfreude you'll be able to share in with your like minded comrade. You'll be the better for it.
exboyfil
(17,987 posts)I think they actually feed on it. Especially before Jan. 20th it is difficult to point impeachable offenses. After Jan. 20th my Senators and Representative should expect frequent emails regarding the Emoluments Clause.
exboyfil
(17,987 posts)a high school friend saying we got to support the new president and cheer for the success of the country. I composed a long response pointing out McConnell's hypocrisy on making Obama a one term president, Trump's questioning Obama's legitimacy in two ways (birth location and popular vote), and the prayers of many Republicans to make Obama a one term President. I decided to delete it and stop following him instead. I have already done that with several other Republican friends.
They are invested in Trump's success. You are right that they cannot be convinced otherwise directly.