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In fact, I’ve found a single statistically significant variable predicts whether a voter supports Trump—and it’s not race, income or education levels: It’s authoritarianism.
That’s right, Trump’s electoral strength—and his staying power—have been buoyed, above all, by Americans with authoritarian inclinations. And because of the prevalence of authoritarians in the American electorate, among Democrats as well as Republicans, it’s very possible that Trump’s fan base will continue to grow.
My finding is the result of a national poll I conducted in the last five days of December under the auspices of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, sampling 1,800 registered voters across the country and the political spectrum. Running a standard statistical analysis, I found that education, income, gender, age, ideology and religiosity had no significant bearing on a Republican voter’s preferred candidate. Only two of the variables I looked at were statistically significant: authoritarianism, followed by fear of terrorism, though the former was far more significant than the latter.
Authoritarians obey. They rally to and follow strong leaders. And they respond aggressively to outsiders, especially when they feel threatened. From pledging to “make America great again” by building a wall on the border to promising to close mosques and ban Muslims from visiting the United States, Trump is playing directly to authoritarian inclinations.
But Hetherington has also found, based on 14 years of polling, that authoritarians have steadily moved from the Democratic to the Republican Party over time. He hypothesizes that the trend began decades ago, as Democrats embraced civil rights, gay rights, employment protections and other political positions valuing freedom and equality. In my poll results, authoritarianism was not a statistically significant factor in the Democratic primary race, at least not so far, but it does appear to be playing an important role on the Republican side. Indeed, 49 percent of likely Republican primary voters I surveyed score in the top quarter of the authoritarian scale—more than twice as many as Democratic voters.
We have heard the line repeated over and over again that the Left and their ideologies are authoritarian in nature and are a threat to this country.
Authoritarians obey. They rally to and follow strong leaders. And they respond aggressively to outsiders, especially when they feel threatened.
originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: neo96
If that is what you believe, then perhaps you did not read it properly. It specifically said that the dance has changed, and that those leading it have changed roles in the dance. That is the exact opposite of business as usual.
favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom:
of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.
exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others:
originally posted by: Annee
originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: neo96
If that is what you believe, then perhaps you did not read it properly. It specifically said that the dance has changed, and that those leading it have changed roles in the dance. That is the exact opposite of business as usual.
I find it ironic that the Right keeps claiming the Left wants to control people.
Here's your mirror.
au·thor·i·tar·i·an
ADJECTIVE
favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom:
originally posted by: Krazysh0t
I know right. Banning muslims (temporarily), forcing mexico to build a wall. Sounds pretty authoritarian to me...
originally posted by: Annee
I find it ironic that the Right keeps claiming the Left wants to control people.
Here's your mirror.