is the title the Salt Lake City Tribune gave Paul Waldman's piece.
The Kansas City Star's is "Why Democrats should quit chasing Republican voters’ ‘respect’"
The Political Wire's "Democrats Will Never Win the Respect of Trump Voters" is by a different author.
We need to read articles before commenting on headlines. The far-left Daily Caller's cynical twist counts on most people just scanning headlines. Gratified vanity ("Republicans want our respect" ) is supposed to make people come back for more.
From Walman's article:
The assumption is that if Democrats simply choose to deploy this powerful tool of respect, then minds will be changed and votes will follow. This belief, widespread though it may be, is stunningly naive. ...
But the mistake is to ignore where the belief in Democratic disrespect actually comes from and to assume that Democrats have it in their power to banish it. It doesn’t come from the policies advocated by the Democratic Party, and it doesn’t come from the things Democratic politicians say. Where does it come from? An entire industry that’s devoted to convincing white people that liberal elitists look down on them.
It’s more than an industry, actually; it’s an industry, plus a political movement. The right has a gigantic media apparatus that is devoted to convincing people that liberals disrespect them, plus a political party whose leaders all understand that that idea is key to their political project and so join in the chorus at every opportunity.
If you doubt this, I’d encourage you to tune in to Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio for a week. ... The message is pounded home over and over: They (Democrats) hate you and everything you stand for. ...
We see this again and again: Democrats bend over backward to show conservative white voters respect, only to see some remark taken out of context and their entire agenda characterized as stealing from hard-working white people to give undeserved benefits to shiftless minorities. And then pundits demand, “Why aren’t you showing those whites more respect?” ...
So what are Democrats to do? The answer is simple: This is a game they cannot win, so they have to stop playing. Know at the outset that no matter what you say or do, Republicans will cry that you’re disrespecting good heartland voters. There is no bit of PR razzle-dazzle that will stop them. ...
Of course. (And, btw, the exact same thing goes for Democrats under the influence of this right-wing poisoning. We see that every day right here on DU.)
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