Outside of typical remarks from Donald Trump, JD Vance and Mike Johnson and a Fox News report, party stayed mum

Outside of typical remarks from Donald Trump, JD Vance and Mike Johnson and a Fox News report, party stayed mum

Republican voices were mostly silent as No Kings rallies and marches against Trump administration policies unfurled on Saturday, many in the spirit of a street party that countered the “hate America” depiction advanced by senior members of the party.

Instead of provocation, there were marching bands, huge banners with “we the people” references to the US constitution, and protesters wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance.

It was the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.

  • fort_burp@feddit.nl
    51·
    7 hours ago

    Are there many Republicans in the USA? I thought they won elections because they won the areas where votes are more valuable i.e. those places with very low population density. Same with American governance in general, like how California (pop. 39 MM & 732,189 people per electoral vote) has the same amount of Senators in Congress as Wyoming (pop. 587,000 & 192,284 people per electoral vote).

    Would you say 1 out of 4 American adults are Republicans? 1 out of 3?

    • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
      6·
      7 hours ago

      Tough to estimate. There are definitely fewer Republicans than the GOP would like you to believe; probably far below 50%. Many more people in the US are independent and will vote for a person over a party, or at least were. Republicans win due to a combination of the Electoral College (as you noted), coordinated misinformation campaigns (including by hostile nations), voter suppression, gerrymandering, low turnout, and the fact that older people both (1) skew conservative and (2) are more likely to be politically engaged than younger people.

      So, actual Republicans? Yes, almost certainly closer to 25%. Probably fewer. People who say they’re independent but functionally vote conservative in every election due to the aforementioned misinformation campaigns? Maybe another 10-15% at most. Remember, “did not vote” has run the board in every election for the past 40+ years, winning practically every state by a landslide.

      But this article isn’t about the rank-and-file Republican citizens. It’s about the grifters in elected office.

      • fort_burp@feddit.nl
        3·
        6 hours ago

        But this article isn’t about the rank-and-file Republican citizens. It’s about the grifters in elected office.

        Haha yes, it just got me thinking, that’s all. Excellent points, thank you.

      • fort_burp@feddit.nl
        1·
        6 hours ago

        Thanks for the link. That’s an interesting way of measuring it.

        About two-thirds of registered voters identify as a partisan, and they are roughly evenly split between those who say they are Republicans (32% of voters) and those who say they are Democrats (33%). Roughly a third instead say they are independents or something else (35%), with most of these voters leaning toward one of the parties.

        Of course we can’t know about adults who are not registered voters, but I would suspect they lean Democrat. I don’t really buy the 50/50 split though because that would be a blowout for Republicans in terms of electoral votes due to FPTP voting. There are also other forms of corruption like gerrymandering that allow Republicans to win elections with a minority of votes.