Conservatives Betray Selfish Rationale
December 10, 2012 7 Comments
Mitt Romney and other conservatives have suggested that Obama was reelected because his voters wanted stuff. Policies like immigration reform, gay marriage, and above all health care reform were seen as give-aways for which voters grabbed. The idea has been rightly ridiculed, but I haven’t seen anyone comment about how it reflects on conservatives’ voting choices.
* I was born a U.S. citizen, and I support the rights of immigrants.
* I’m heterosexual, and I support the right of same-sex couples to marry.
* I have employer-supplied health care, and I support extending health care to all.
* I’m white, and I support affirmative action.
* I’m male, and I support equal rights and equal pay for women, as well as access to contraception.
* I earn more than the minimum wage, and I support making sure minimum wage workers can afford a decent standard of living.
* I have no reason to think I will be targeted for torture, and I oppose torture and I want those who authorized it under the last administration to be held accountable.
* The worst effects of global warning will occur after I’m gone, and I support doing far more than we’re doing to combat the warming (or, more accurately, to avoid making it worse).
None of these statements makes me unusual in any way.
Where do conservative politicians and pundits get the idea that people vote out of self-interest, rather than in the interests of their country? The only reason that I can think of for such an assumption is that that is how they make their own choices.
