[Comparative Advantage]

Interesting read. Too bad it's polluted with a rebuttal from some guy named Roger Schank (see comments section). He's also on this site. I found this column from a link on Slate.com. I think it's worth reading.

[xcamel]

Um..
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081009/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2080549/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2078233/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078185/posts

[Silly]

[lawnguy]

Why in particular do working class and rural Americans usually vote for pro-business Republicans when their economic interests would seem better served by Democratic policies?

I don't buy the premise by a long shot.

[randog]

Democrats, in contrast, appeal to reason...

OK, this is from The Onion? Iowa Hawk?

[ETL]

Q: WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VOTE REPUBLICAN?

A:

[normy]

Why in particular do working class and rural Americans usually vote for pro-business Republicans when their economic interests would seem better served by Democratic policies?

Because "rural Americans" love their country while Democrats hate their country and hate rural hicks.

Rural Americans and working class want more for themselves and their family than a chicken in every pot.

And finally this rural American and working class American who does more than half of his own businesses manual labor makes more money than these professors combined.

[Onelifetogive]

People vote Republican because Republicans offer "moral clarity"—a simple vision of good and evil that activates deep seated fears in much of the electorate. Democrats, in contrast, appeal to reason with their long-winded explorations of policy options for a complex world.

You know, he's right. I say slaughtering babies is wrong. I have "moral clarity" about it. Democrats, in contrast, attempt "long-winded explorations of policy options" to make themselves feel better about the atrocities they commit.

[Man50D]

The answer is the GOP has expanded its voter base over the years by incrementally appeasing socialists. Hitlery Clinton supporters will naturally gravitate to a GOP candidate who has voted with the socialist Democrats on many issues and sponsored legislation with the like likes of flaming socialists Teddy Kennedy, Joe Lieberman and Russ Feingold on some of their most favored issues including amnesty for illegals, the fallacy of human induced global warming and restricting free speech under the guise of campaign finance reform.

The irony is so many are willing to vote for McCain despite the fact he Bush support giving amnesty to illegals! The more people ignore history the more likely they are to repeat it.

[Ellendra]

“Why in particular do working class and rural Americans usually vote for pro-business Republicans when their economic interests would seem better served by Democratic policies?”

Because they’re NOT best served by Democratic policies? Maybe? Just Possibly?

[edzo4]

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VOTE REPUBLICAN?

Common sense, and democrats want to take what is yours, republicans want to keep what is ours

[BusterBear]

True Republicans are liberals in the classic sense (i.e., they believe in free markets, the freedoms embodied in the Bill of Rights, respect for life, liberty, and property, equal opportunity, etc.)

Modern day liberals, on the other hand, believe in equality of results, to be enforced by the government. Since the traditional, “bourgeois” liberal freedoms don’t produce equality of results, they take a very subordinate role in the modern liberal view of things.

The writer would have us believe that the classical liberal view, as embodied in the beliefs of true Republicans, is reactionary; he wants to promote the modern, liberal view (which is equivalent to Socialism or even National Socialism) as progressive. This point of view was adopted by many in the intelligentsia in Europe, in the 1930’s - and we know how that all turned out.

[ADSUM]

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VOTE REPUBLICAN?

Republicans can think. Something that is in short supply among democrats.

[Jabba the Nutt]

"...turn people against liberalism, diversity, and progress."

I'm all for liberalism, diversity and progress ---- correctly understood. Reaganism promoted liberalism (liberty), diversity (personal freedom) and progress. Democrats promote illiberalism (State control), uniformity (political correctness) and status quo (opposing all change).

And why are working people's economic interests in seeing the endless growth of government? Free markets have improved the lot of workers far more than government ever could.

[Plywactwo Glowa]

My top three reasons:

1. Better at/more supportive of national defense.
2. More likely to “let” me keep more of my own money.
3. More likely to believe that government is usually a problem rather than a solution.

[MarkL]

This appears to be similar to that booger eating moron Thomas Frank's book, "What's the Matter With Kansas."

I prefer

Mark