Sure, physician’s are all one-percenters when it comes to income, but their affiliation with political parties shows marked differentiation depending on the subspecialty.
Why would infectious disease doctors have such a different view on politics compared with anesthesiologists? You’d have to ask them individually, for sure, but I have a theory.
Internists and infectious disease docs work with patient panels and populations, seeing health as an issue of systems. They are looking at the collective impact of policy decisions (food supply, transportation, sanitation) of health.
Surgeons and anesthesiologists are still fee-for-service in the United States. They get paid per procedure. They are interested in charging what the market will bear at the time of their labor.
It’s not surprising that one type of rhetoric and potential healthcare policy is more attractive than another.