There are millions of Americans who vote Democrat, for lots of reasons.
Still, we can generalize about a good percentage of them using three categories:
Casual Nice People
True Believers
The Power Hungry
Casual Nice People
This group is the most important, because (a) they are the largest and (b) they are the least committed to what the Democratic Party actually believes. Consequently, they swing elections - by occasionally voting for a likable Republican or by simply staying home or by eventually converting away from the Dems altogether.
These people are not terribly interested in politics; they are just trying to live their lives. But, when politics comes up, they side with the Democrats because of what they have casually heard. That is, Democrats are kind and stick up for the underprivileged; Republicans are mean and use politics to keep their wealth and power. So, when they get to leave work early every two years on Election Day, they get in line, vote Democrat and then head to happy hour.
Some call this group useful idiots. As you'll recall, this was a phrase used by Soviet and other communists to describe people who helped the commie cause without realizing what they were really doing. For our purposes, it's better to describe this group as suffering from useful ignorance (useful to the Dems, that is). These people are not necessarily stupid; they are just living their lives without focusing on politics. Consequently, they are swayed by the superficial (and erroneous) but constantly-repeated "Dems nice; Republicans mean" mantra.
The next two groups on the pyramid use (and abuse) this group to their advantage.
Because of the increasing focus on politics in America, this group's voting turnout has risen (pretending you understand politics and voting is trendy - 20% more people voted in the 2020 election than 2016). However, that also means the overall number of truly casual voters is shrinking - which brings us to the next group ...
True Believers
The prototypical example of this group is the screaming, red-faced young woman at a pro-abortion rally. Or a gay pride event. Or a supreme court justice's home.
Several factors have combined to make this the fastest growing group in politics. Ironically, this group tends to be well-off and college-educated. Colleges are indoctrination camps for Leftist ideology; it takes a strong person to get a liberal arts degree from a US university and not become a brainwashed True Believer. As an example of "higher-education," a recent survey found that a ridiculous 36% of white, college-educated female Democrats believe "men can give birth."*
As a not-so-unintended consequence, this group also tends to become atheists, which, in turn, fosters hedonism (especially in the college party environment).
But it does leave a hole. Being a privileged and well-off atheistic hedonist can produce its share of fleeting fun, but it also produces emptiness, boredom and loneliness (and possibly guilt). You need meaning. A way to feel good about yourself. A real connection with others. A cause. Invariably that cause becomes Leftist politics, or at least one of its offshoots.
The internet, and social media in particular, also play a role in making politics one of our new national pastimes. We are constantly bombarded with this or that political story (almost always presented with a Leftist slant). Political figures also serve as celebrities and America's royalty. So, they gain a fan following - think of AOC as the American Meghan Markle (wait ... Markle is American ... never mind).
Raised on sports and reality TV melodramas, this group also over-simplifies politics into a "My Team versus the Bad Guys" binary - with Donald Trump always cast as The Bad Guy (like Omarosa in "The Apprentice" - ironically-ish).
For better and worse, politics is no longer a taboo subject for polite conversation; religion alone carries that stigma now. Awkward social silence used to be broken with discussions about the weather or the local sports team; now, it's about how much everyone hates Trump.
The True Believers are not nearly as intelligent and insightful as they think they are, but they more than make up for it with arrogance and activism. They believe everyone from the past (meaning anyone over 40) was/is ignorant, and they are enlightened. For example, the 36% mentioned earlier will roll their eyes at you when you say men can't give birth, despising you for being shallow, uninitiated and bigoted.
Fortunately, they are here to redeem us all by imposing (using any means) the 21st Century utopia, where there will (somehow) be total acceptance, perfect equity and universal abundance.
Power Hungry
Some of the opportunists at the top of the Donkey Pyramid likely started out as True Believers and were corrupted by the power they gained through activism. Some may have rationalized their inherent selfishness by convincing themselves of Leftist ideology.
Some of them are at least honest with themselves - they simply want power and don't really believe in ... anything. The Democratic party is the natural home for these monsters, because (a) the Dems have demographic and messaging advantages (therefore increased probability of winning) and (b) Dems don't believe in limited power (so they get more when they do win).
The Power Hungry are a small group, but obviously wield disproportionate power. They don't have to be at the pinnacle of the national party, though the last three Democratic administrations (Clinton(s), Gore, Obama, Biden and Harris) likely provide examples. Still, perhaps the clearest example of this group, race-baiter Al Sharpton, has never even been elected to public office. Another example is BLM (Buy Large Mansions).
Yeah, So What?
Each of these groups needs to be addressed in a different way.
The Power Hungry need to be run over. Everyone, even Democrats theoretically, needs to do whatever we can to stop them. They are, as Newt Gingrich, says, "bad people doing bad things." There is no reason to waste energy in discussing issues with them. We simply need to defeat them politically and legally.
The True Believers need to be saved. They need to be engaged and debated and convinced. They are intelligent people who can get it, but it will take time and patience and persistence. They need to see that "the other team" is not bad - in fact, we are intelligent, principled, caring, interesting and fun ... oh, and right, too. Obviously, not all of them will take the red pill. But some will, given time.
There is time to engage them and convert many before the 2024 presidential election, but not before the upcoming 2022 midterm. So, for the next several weeks, there is no sense spending time on them. That means we can shelve the high-minded philosophical convos for the moment, even though that's where most of us are comfortable.
The Casual Nice People need to be courted. Now. On every front. In every way. Their semi-clueless vote will determine the outcome of the 2022 midterms. And the outcome of the next two elections will determine the fate of the nation.
Consequently, Republican candidates need to focus on simple messages, repeated constantly. And they need to respond to the Dem attack ads. Hard.
Donald Trump rubs these people the wrong way. Rightly or wrongly, focusing on him and his issues won't help right now. Abortion laws scare these people, because they don't understand the issue. We will need to shift the focus onto the real subject of that debate - the baby - but there is insufficient time for that now.
What will work? Pointing out what an incredible failure the current Democrat government has been.
The pathetic state of our economy is fertile ground, but you have to make the clear, direct connection to the marginal voter's wallet. Even taxes are an abstraction to casually political people, primarily because the government has figured out ways to collect it without people realizing how much of what they have earned is being confiscated. And the exploding national debt is an incomprehensible and mind-numbing number; besides, it is considered "the government's problem" (as though it won't damage everyone's future).
As an example, we need to illustrate that the student loan "forgiveness" will cost every taxpayer at least $2,000.** Picture this ad:
Guy in a BMW, sporting some university alumni sticker, driving up to a family loading their groceries into their older Ford Taurus. The narcissist, wearing his Biden aviators, slides out of his Beamer and demands $2,000 from the Dad.
"What do you need this for?"
"to pay down my student debt."
"I'm sorry, but I don't have an extra $2,000 to give you. We couldn't even buy all the groceries we usually do today"
"I didn't ask if you can afford it - you just have to give it to me, because Biden said so."
"um, ok, I guess, but you'll have to take it off my credit card."
"fine."
He then turns to the mom:
"ok, now it's your turn."
"What?"
"you're next; every taxpayer has to pay, so I don't have to"
... or something like that.
Crime is something people understand. It just needs to be attached to the ones who've allowed it to get this bad - Democrats. And maybe allow actual victims to speak - and remind voters these innocent neighbors didn't think it would happen to them, either.
Immigration. Same thing - connect it to the problems it is causing. And remind everyone it is a direct result of Democratic dereliction of duty - if not their overt intention.
Education. Children aren't being taught reading, writing and arithmetic - the things parents know they need to succeed and be happy. But, they are being fed racism, jealousy, guilt, selfishness, Marxism and sexual confusion. They are, ironically, being taught deconstructionism and, specifically, anti-Americanism - by teachers' unions which are branches of the Democratic party. If your child is coming home depressed or angry or confused, there is a good chance the school is playing a part in the problem.
NOTE: Another obvious way to segment Democratic voters is by racial or gender identity or other demographics. Sadly, this is how Dems view the world. They don't look at us as all equal Americans with individual minds; they look at us as competing identity groups. And they try to exploit that. It was noticeable how absurd this had become as far back as the 2008 presidential election cycle. It was a cycle where neither party had an incumbent, so both had several candidates running. Commentators were daily scoring how each of the candidates was doing in the segments of their respective parties.
Invariably, the Dem candidates were measured by identity group factions (i.e. how each candidate was performing with blacks, women, Hispanics, etc.). Republicans were measured by issues and philosophy (i.e. how each candidate was performing with fiscal conservatives, pro-lifers, neo-cons, libertarians, etc.). Interesting, huh?
* per Daily Wire, quoting an August 2022 survey conducted by WPA Intelligence.
** $2,085 per the National Taxpayers Union, originally. Now, updated to about $2,500 per taxpayer.
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