I keep saying this irl, but maybe it needs to be said online too.
There are Republicans that would switch votes, or abstain, if approached right.
There are Republicans that are clinging to identity rather than supporting what the party does and stands for now. And it’s largely in the oft maligned baby boomer segment. They can, and will, abandon support for the party with enough work from people near and dear to them, assuming they aren’t rabid far right. If they already buy into hate, there’s not much that can be done.
But I’ve seen it happen, and more than once. With a gentle, loving hand, the ones that aren’t fueled by hate can be guided to libertarian support instead, because there’s a decent sized segment of the old guard of the party that only hangs on because they’ve always been Republican, despite the party leaving them behind. They still buy into capitalism and that’s why pointing out that libertarian candidates exist, while pointing to their own beliefs about things like LGBTQ rights (or other non Republican issues that other parties support) to get them thinking in new ways.
Is it hard work? Yeah. Is it worth it? Hell yeah. It isn’t even worth it because of voting, it’s getting them to act on their thinking as it changes, in every way, that’s important.
But you can’t go in all internet crazy and think that you can dunk on them, or convert them by dint of volume. You can’t gish gallop them. You have to make it about real people, and it has to be done with compassion and empathy. Make them allies to you, and give them a path out of the ugliness. Don’t convert them, help them and show them a different way so they can see other options as realistic.
I keep saying this irl, but maybe it needs to be said online too.
There are Republicans that would switch votes, or abstain, if approached right.
There are Republicans that are clinging to identity rather than supporting what the party does and stands for now. And it’s largely in the oft maligned baby boomer segment. They can, and will, abandon support for the party with enough work from people near and dear to them, assuming they aren’t rabid far right. If they already buy into hate, there’s not much that can be done.
But I’ve seen it happen, and more than once. With a gentle, loving hand, the ones that aren’t fueled by hate can be guided to libertarian support instead, because there’s a decent sized segment of the old guard of the party that only hangs on because they’ve always been Republican, despite the party leaving them behind. They still buy into capitalism and that’s why pointing out that libertarian candidates exist, while pointing to their own beliefs about things like LGBTQ rights (or other non Republican issues that other parties support) to get them thinking in new ways.
Is it hard work? Yeah. Is it worth it? Hell yeah. It isn’t even worth it because of voting, it’s getting them to act on their thinking as it changes, in every way, that’s important.
But you can’t go in all internet crazy and think that you can dunk on them, or convert them by dint of volume. You can’t gish gallop them. You have to make it about real people, and it has to be done with compassion and empathy. Make them allies to you, and give them a path out of the ugliness. Don’t convert them, help them and show them a different way so they can see other options as realistic.
It works often enough to be worth it