there has, in fact, been rigorous polling - going back decades - that demonstrates that tea-party type republicans are strongly supportive of government programs like medicare. remember: in the era that sanders is representing, this was the democratic party base. they lean right on social issues like abortion, gay rights, gun control - but they're very much in favour of government services.
that's about class. again.
it's no secret that trump is unpopular amongst republican women, either. that's not really identity politics, though. i mean, listen to the guy. it's easy to understand why republican women are less than happy about the prospect of trump winning, and maybe a little irritated by anything that would help it along. you'll no doubt get the same reaction from republican hispanics.
it's not lazy journalism. it's corporate-financed and driven social engineering.
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/10/11902144/poll-america-bernie-sanders-race
http://inthesetimes.com/article/15732/the_tea_partys_misconception_of_medicare
yeah. snicker. i know. but, underneath the confusion is support for medicare, for veterans, for social security - they just lack the education to be able to articulate themselves.
i hadn't thought of this before. i figured sanders was mostly swinging anti-war libertarians. but, bernie sanders is actually exactly what the tea party needs.
https://erinamelia.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/medicare-keep-your-hands-off-my-medicare.jpg
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/on-social-issues-tea-partiers-are-not-libertarians/64169/
"A recent poll by Lake Research shows that 82 percent of all Americans oppose cuts to Social Security, including 83 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents, 82 percent of Republicans — and, in one of the most startling findings of all, fully three-fourths of all self-described Tea Party members (74 percent). (Social Security Works has a video and a petition on this subject.)"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/entitlement-cuts_b_4133753.html