This question has often puzzled me. And so, I was amused while reading Christopher Hitchens's memoir, Hitch-22, when he described his father's conservative political leanings. His father was a loyal Navy man. Read the following passage from his book: ...The worst thing the Navy did to the Commander [Hitch's nickname for his dad] was to retire him against his will sometime after Suez, and then and only then to raise the promised pay and pension of those officers who would later join up. This betrayal by the Admiralty was a never-ending source of upset and rancor" the Commander would write letters to Navy ministers and members of Parliament, and he would even join an association of "on the beach" ex-officers like himself. But one day when, tiring of the plaintiveness, I told him that nothing would change until he and his comrades marched in a phalanx to Buckingham Palace and handed back their uniforms and swords and scabbards and medals, he was quite shocked. "Oh," he responded. "we couldn't think of doing that." Thus did I begin to see, or thought I began to see, how the British Conservatives kept the fierce, irrational loyalty of those whom they exploited. "He's a Tory," I was much later to hear of some dogged loyalist, "but he's got nothing to be Tory about." My thoughts immediately flew to my father, whose own devoted and brave loyalism had been estimated so cheaply by what I was then calling the ruling class... The parallels abound across the pond among anyone other than the self-involved rich: "He's a Republican, but he's got nothing to be Republican about."
it is simple, many conservatives believe they are extremely rich as compared to those on welfare. But there's rich and then there's RICH.
I think part of it is hope. Many Americans think they'll be rich someday, and if they criticize the rich now, what will they do then? Another part is paternalism and tautology (?), as in, "the rich know best and so they'll take care of us. If they don't know best then how could they have gotten rich?" EDIT: this is not to imply that people do not create fortunes for themselves legitimately. My beef is when they and their descendants move into government and begin to alter the rules of the game, making it harder for them to lose. But everyone has a problem with that, except them.
Maybe so, but until such time, the political Right will do their darnedest to piss on them ("trickle down") until they actually get there. And as for the rest of your post, I agree.
The Republican party is thought to have high moral and ethical standards, which they can't keep themselves, but none the less, morals and ethics are important values to strive for and Americans like that as a goal in general. The Republican party is thought to have a tougher foreign policy, and that's important to some. Actually they are as inept as the Democrats are with regard to foreign policy. The Republican party is thought to have a tougher stance on illegal immigration. They don't, and the only president to grant amnesty to illegals was a Republican,(Ronnie Rayguns), GWB turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the problem, so it's another standard they set while ignoring it. These high minded ideals trump money for some, but mostly, the average American worker who votes Republican does so for the same reason the average American worker votes Democratic. Most are ill informed. The rest are just really stupid! Edit: Oh, and then there's that phony patriotism which really stirs the soul.
Umm, a good portion of Americans ARE rich by Canadian standards... America currently has a higher material standards of living than Canada, and has historically had a very high standard of living. Right of center Americans value the economic freedom which has delivered those conditions. Several Americans I have known became more "right wing" after spending time in other nations. Statistics and UN propaganda are one thing, but actually going and seeing other nations, even western/northern european nations, and comparing them to America is really an eye opener for some people. Understanding how economically oppressed all those societies are first hand really creates an epiphany for many socialists... It is worth noting that some of those other western nations, while failing to deliver as much economic freedom as America, do a better job of delivering personal freedom...
Redistribution of wealth, before a paycheck is even cut -- by Kobayashi maru. http://www.opensecrets.org/news/
They lack the ability to critically observe their surroundings. U will find that the reddest counties are the wealthy and rural poor. U will also find the that the bluest counties are wealthy and the urban poor. The wealthy literally use the population to do it's bidding.
another rhetorical question ............ help me out, define: A. "self involved rich Americans" B. "political Right: if you can't easily do this, stick an ice pick up through your nose, and end all our misery Escape clause: Remaining silent until you have something that resembles sense to contribute.