It's not so much that they didn't reason themselves into a position, as much as that they actually _do_ have a reason - just not the one they're telling you.
If anything, it reminds me of an X-Y problem. They don't really believe Y, but they are a single issue voter on X, so if their party takes Y position they feel obligated to take it as well.
And often, if you dig enough, the X that I keep encountering is the desire for a christian nationalist ethnostate. It's something they'll readily admit to if you aren't combative and just keep asking questions in the tradition of socratic irony.
If anything, it reminds me of an X-Y problem. They don't really believe Y, but they are a single issue voter on X, so if their party takes Y position they feel obligated to take it as well.
And often, if you dig enough, the X that I keep encountering is the desire for a christian nationalist ethnostate. It's something they'll readily admit to if you aren't combative and just keep asking questions in the tradition of socratic irony.