I’m originally from the Upstate NY village of Waverly in the Southern Tier region along the Susquehanna and Chemung rivers. Waverly has always been a Republican town and has become a Trumpy kind of place as Republicans have become a Trumpy kind of party. A liberal Rockefeller Republican growing up during the 1960’s and 70’s, I didn’t start voting Democratic until 1980 when I was living in Chapel Hill, NC and in my third year of grad school at Carolina.
Forty years later, I’m estranged from my Republican siblings, have no Republican friends, and have blocked pretty much all my GOP facebook friends, including three cousins in Texas, an aunt in South Carolina, folks from Waverly, and favorite former students. Like other Democrats I’ve stopped debating Republicans about issues like abortion, taxes, government regulation, and police murders. And I think that’s an extremely important thing. Liberal v conservative debates were one of the few things that lib/left whites and white conservatives shared over the last couple of decades and now that’s gone. Like other white Democrats, I’ve lost so much respect for white conservatives that I don’t view myself as sharing a common culture with them and view them as despicable for their support of a pathological liar, con man, rapist, flaming bigot, and traitor like Trump. Like President Biden, I view the MAGA/Trump movement as “semi-fascist” and think they’re moving to full scale fascism in a hurry.
That’s why New York governor Kathy Hochul’s statement that conservative and MAGA Republicans should just leave New York made so much sense to me even if Republicans are outraged.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., sparked intense outrage after lambasting New York Republican candidates during a speech last week, telling them to “get out of town” and “head to Florida” where they belong . . . We’re here to say that the era of Trump and Zeldin and Molinaro – just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong. Get out of town,” she said.
It will be interesting to see what the mainstream media does with Hochul’s statement if anything. Mainstream media outlets rarely interview Democratic voters and are especially averse to interviewing Democratic voters on their opinions concerning Trump voters. IMHO, it’s because the media does not want to engage with the contempt in which everyday Democrats hold their Trump voting fellow citizens.
If the media did interview Democrats, they would find out that Hochul’s views are just what Democrats think.
Early Blackface, Cultural Change, Latest Politics 
I never heard about Hochul’s words up here in Canada, so thanks for sharing, They don’t exactly say it but most Canadian media outlets seem to be leaning far-right these days.. Their owners are definitely on the wong side of centre, and I think they are trying to conttol the narrative in Canada as well as in the States. Media owners are among the wealthiest of the wealthy. They support Trump et al , and therefore the Press is no longer free.
Congtraulations on being able to se the light. Most Republicans never even try to look at themselves!
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I just saw this and need to make a small correction. I’m not a Republican at all.
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My comment was in reference to this statement, “A liberal Rockefeller Republican growing up during the 1960’s and 70’s, I didn’t start voting Democratic until 1980”. You made your way to change your thinking. From your use of the word “estranged” it said to me that most of those around you in Upstate New York never challenged themselves as you did, and I thought you deserved kudos for what you did. I am a Socialist of sorts living in a redneck town in a redneck province of Canada. I know how lonely it can be to be the odd-man-out.
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Oh! Okay, I understand better. Thanks!
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