The Democrats Have a Hate Problem – Opinion

There are problems with the Democratic Party politically, socially, as well culturally.

Their political situation is dire. They will be facing a significant wave of opposition in 2022. Joe Biden’s numbers aren’t great. COVID-19 continues to be a problem, as well as the economic challenges. Many high-ranking Democrats have decided to resign. The party can’t decide whether it wants to keep Biden, go with Kamala Harris, or Pete Buttigieg. It’s all basically chaos for them at this point, and there’s no relief in sight.

It is also happening socially on different fronts. Hispanic/Latino voter are moving towards the Republican Party because education, abortion, family and other issues dominate the national dialog. Couple that with the Democratic elite and progressives using “Latinx,” a term that turns out to be offensive to about 40% of those voters. The Republican brand could be more attractive to black families who are looking for education alternatives for their kids.

The Democratic base is experiencing a change that’s noticeable. However, this could have a profound impact on the future of the party. Axios pointed out this morning that the Democratic Party base is plagued by hate.

Nearly a quarter of college students wouldn’t be friends with someone who voted for the other presidential candidate — with Democrats far more likely to dismiss people than Republicans — according to new Generation Lab/Axios polling.

What is the point? Partisan divides — as each side inhabits parallel political, cultural and media universes —make a future of discord and distrust in the U.S. all the more likely.

The numbers are: 5% of Republicans said they wouldn’t be friends with someone from the opposite party, compared to 37% of Democrats.

• 71% of Democrats wouldn’t go on a date with someone with opposing views, versus 31% of Republicans.
• 30% of Democrats — and 7% of Republicans — wouldn’t work for someone who voted differently from them.

Democrats would argue that it is because Republicans hateful, racist bigots are outside the mainstream. However, that doesn’t quite line up with reality. Consider abortion as an example.

One needs only to be familiar with the name Ed Stezler. As a state representative, he wrote the Georgia fetal beat law. His district was Democrat. It was won by Stacey Abrams in 2018, and it barely held. In 2020, after the Georgia legislature passed Ed’s bill, he became the most highly targeted state house Republican in America. Ed was defeated by Democrats across the country. The campaign revolved around abortion. They targeted voters. They knocked on doors. They even had phone banks. They were famous. They were more successful than Ed Setzler, and they outspent the Republicans.

Biden beat Trump in his district. In his district, both Senate seats were taken by Democrats. Ed received 50.5%. The race to make him against abortion was lost.

Abortion Barbie (a/k/a Wendy Davis) ran for Texas Governor and Congress. While she attempted to run on other issues as well, she had already declared herself the Abortion Barbie candidate. Each time, she lost to the abortion candidate.

Terry McAuliffe in Virginia ran hard for the issue of abortion. Exit polls showed that voters cared more about this issue than others and ended up voting Youngkin.

Adding to that Virginia bit, there was some data after McAuliffe’s race against Cuccinelli that a last-ditch robocall on McAuliffe’s pro-abortion position actually helped keep that race close. Without that robocall going out, it’s very likely the McAuliffe victory would have been well over the roughly 48-45 victory it was.

The Democrats routinely call Republicans and their activists “culture warriors,” but when it comes to pushing the country in a particular direction away from where it currently is, it’s always the Democrats who have been at the forefront. They have been working to expand the definition of abortion to allow it to be as easily available as other forms of birth control. Social spending is another area they are pushing to increase its availability while decreasing the eligibility requirements. This creates programs that can’t be afforded.

On issues like education, they are tightening their control as much as possible and shutting families out, even going so far as to label concerned parents as “terrorists.”

They are pushing to fundamentally change the country and its values, and anyone who doesn’t see eye to eye with them is treated as human filth. Supporting a Republican candidate can lead to them being labeled bigots and racists. When someone says they voted for Trump, they’re called an enemy of America and democracy.

Partisanship is bad on both sides, but when you won’t even contemplate sharing space with someone who believes differently than you, Republican or Democrat, that’s a sign of an incredibly unhealthy mental state. When we’re open to new ideas and learn how to disagree with them, we grow as individuals and people.

Democrats’ young voters cannot even sit in the same room with a Republican. That is ultimately going to make the party’s future bleak. Democrats scream for bipartisanship now, but if that’s how Republicans are going to be treated, Democrats will never get it.

Why should Republicans concede to them?