I think you are giving the Republicans too much credit here. It's not that they actually care what their base wants, it's that their bases desires line up with capital, so there is no cost to giving it to them.
Frequently the Republican base calls for things I don't think capital cares about. Like I remember 15 years ago when republican office holders would get grilled about young earth creationism and would have to say they believe in it, regardless if they actually cared, since that's what their base wanted to hear.
I think a better way of saying it is that Republicans have more leeway to do theater for their base, to say the same bigoted things, because those bigoted demands don't necessarily conflict with capital. Whereas Democrats have to do the opposite kind of theater, making claims of progressivism and solidarity with poor people, but then not act upon it because that would be in conflict with capital.
I think you are giving the Republicans too much credit here. It's not that they actually care what their base wants, it's that their bases desires line up with capital, so there is no cost to giving it to them.
Frequently the Republican base calls for things I don't think capital cares about. Like I remember 15 years ago when republican office holders would get grilled about young earth creationism and would have to say they believe in it, regardless if they actually cared, since that's what their base wanted to hear.
I think a better way of saying it is that Republicans have more leeway to do theater for their base, to say the same bigoted things, because those bigoted demands don't necessarily conflict with capital. Whereas Democrats have to do the opposite kind of theater, making claims of progressivism and solidarity with poor people, but then not act upon it because that would be in conflict with capital.