How Come Conservatives Supported The Invasion Of Syria When Romney Was Running For President

Why do evangelicals like President Trump?

I think most of them know he is an “idiot” (using the words of people I know, not my own). Many cringe when he opens his mouth or starts tweeting. This group voted for him but haven't said much about him since.However, they loathed Obama and thought there would be more of the same with Hilary, who they completely despised.Also, while they didn't care for Trump, they do love Pence.The minority evangelicals who voted for Trump were largely uncomfortable with what was happening with LGBT rights and abortion. And many hated Hilary. I think this group of evangelicals are probably the most regretful; as many of them did not understand until now the extent to which he and his base hates them. His cavalier and hateful attitude towards them hopefully is an eye opener.The white evangelicals who voted for him sometimes felt the same. Many talk about abortion, though they’ve compromised on so much, I don't know, if faced with the choice, if they would stand on that. I do think that many vote republican because they think it's the Christian thing to do based on the news and other information they consume. Not so different than some liberals in that respect.There are significant numbers of Whites evangelicals who simply “wanted their country back.” I know a number of these. Their support of Trump was more about protecting their turf. They do not see themselves as having any advantages; many are scraping by, and they are resentful and angry.They are tired of LGBT rights, civil rights, Black Lives Matters, muslims, immigrants, feminists, liberals, protests (unless they do it), political statements (unless they make them) … and the strides made for transgender people was a personal affront to them. They love Trump because every chance he gets, he skewers the people they hate. They want America to go back to a time when everyone stayed in their places with them at the top of the heap. Trump speaks directly to them. He says what they want to hear.

Why did the Republican Party never run a strong candidate against Obama?

I love questions like these.Candidates are only weak in retrospect.With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to second-guess the nomination process. Losing candidates become “weak,” precisely because they happen to have lost.But neither Romney nor McCain were weak. They were excellent candidates. A lot of ambitious politicians in the GOP were afraid to run against Romney. Why did he lose to Obama? Because Obama was an incumbent with an improving economy and adequate poll numbers. Such incumbents win more often than not.In 2012 and 2016, the turnout was very similar. But what happened is that this time, you had two very disliked candidates. This resulted in a surge in 3rd party voting.Democrats declined from 51% to 48% of the total share of the electorate.Republicans declined from 47% to 46% of the total share of the electorate.That’s right: though in nominal terms, Trump won 2 million more votes than Romney did, as a share of the electorate, Romney won a greater share of the popular vote than Trump did.Why Trump won and Romney lost is an accident of geography. Democrats increased their margin in liberal states. And Republicans did better in the Midwest.But Trump wasn’t all that strong a candidate.Here’s something else that needs to be mentioned. A lot of people assume that he tapped into a hitherto untapped reservoir of white racism with his rhetoric. Actually, it’s more likely that he won in spite of rather than because of his flirtations with white nationalism. The total white vote percentage was actually pretty steady from 2012 to 2016.What mattered more is that, perhaps because Obama wasn’t on the ticket, black voters didn’t vote as much: