The Federalist Claims People Not Dating Conservatives is Why Trump Won – By Caleb Ecarma (mediaite.com) /Sept 19 2017
The popular meme “This is why Trump won!” is the “Thanks, Obama” of Donald Trump’s presidency. It’s a phrase that began as a serious way for conservatives to air their grievances with left-of-center America — but shortly after its inception, it quickly became a meme ripe for ridicule.
Despite said mockery, very self-serious “This is why Trump won!” takes continue to circulate throughout the conservative media world. Which brings us to the latest gourmet hot take in the genre, “Your Refusal To Date Conservatives Is One Reason We Have Donald Trump” — courtesy of online conservative publication The Federalist.
Jerrod Laber argues that a politically driven tribalism in dating life aided in Trump’s election. Though Laber is just a contributor, the site backed his piece by tweeting it from the publication’s account with added commentary: “This is why [Trump] happened.”
To paraphrase, his argument breaks down to this: America is so divided because liberals refuse to bang conservatives, allowing an “arrogant demagogue” like Trump to capitalize on the effects of said partisan putting-out. Laber’s evidence for such a claim is dating site OKCupid’s new feature that allows users to apply a Planned Parenthood filter to their photo — signaling to potential suiters that they support the non-profit organization in a time when its government funding is increasingly in question.
“Humans naturally form groups, but when rampant partisanship is the foundation upon which the group lies, extreme politicians are those most likely to win their sympathy…this form of virtue-signaling is counterproductive in the long run,” writes Laber in the article.
All of this raises the question: Why would anyone, conservative or liberal, desire to go on a date with another person who obviously has no desire to be in a relationship with you due to your political beliefs? If an individual feels so inclined as to tout their support of Planned Parenthood in a profile picture, then it’s safe to make the assumption that they do not want to go out with someone who supports the organization’s defunding. Why would a hardline conservative and principled leftist waste time debating politics over dinner — if neither are willing to budge — when instead, they could both be at home watching episodes of Duck Dynasty and The Handmaid’s Tale?
Additionally, conservative media often push the idea that feminists — and presumably Planned Parenthood supporters — have created a cultural crisis in America, The Federalist even publishing a piece saying, “Feminism is nothing more than a war against nature.” Which leads to an aspect of Laber’s narrative he overlooks — how can cultural conservatives tout the “liberal/leftist women are unattractive, gross purple-haired feminists!” talking point, but now wonder why these women have no interest in dating Trump-supporters?
Ultimately, “This is why Trump won!” takes will likely be published until we’re all engulfed in either the flames of a nuclear strike or a climate change-induced flood. Just last week, popular right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro tweeted, “CNN being profoundly offended because a dude said boobs is why Trump won. But really, it is.” Which is to say — I don’t expect Laber’s Federalist piece to be the last of its kind, but it certainly is in the running for one of the worst “This is why Trump won!” explainers.
PB/TK – I think we’ve finally hit the bottom barrel of excuses as to why Candidate Donnie became POTUS Donnie; because people aren’t trying to hookup and “shag baby yeah” with Conservatives.
