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I cannot understand how conservatives in the us that do not buy in to the maga talking points can still vote for their party.
They have seen the checks and balances in action so all they need to do is stay home one election cycle to give a clear signal.. this is not the direction they want. This will force the Republican party to face the maga extremists and go back to their normal ways. Which still is not good but at least not beholden to a narcissist wannabe dictator.
The problem is that this didn't start with Trump. He is just the perfect type of candidate to harness the lightning.
That mentality started with Lee Atwater and has slowly mutated into what it is today. All of the signs were there. It's why John McCain had such a hard time and why he had to have a "firebrand" as a running mate
The group at the center of a lot of the mutation is Fox News. Without their dedication to creating an alternate universe of reality, I don't think things would be as bad.
There's a pretty good documentary on Lee Atwater called Boogey Man and it's on Prime right now.
Always thought it was super weird that John McCain was too left for some people
The modern Conservative movement found President Eisenhower too far to the Left.
Hell, some John Birch Society loons thought Nixon was too far to the left.
Nixon.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mad-magazine-super-patriot/
Original cartoon was in 1968, and nothing has changed since. Well, maybe the part about them hating the 'Very Rich.'
Incidentally, McCain was the last Republican presidential candidate I seriously evaluated as a possible choice, though I did end up voting for Obama.
At the time, I thought that if we had McCain as President, we wouldn't have to listen to the GOP go after Clinton for four years. I soon realized that any Dem, no matter who, was demonic in their eyes.
Rupert Murdoch makes me want to believe in hell.
It predates Atwater. We should acknowledge the fact that Republicans planned a coup around the same time as Hitler's beer hall putch. FDR then cut a deal with the fascist Republicans to temporarily pass his new deal policies. In exchange for not prosecuting and locking them up.
We should also acknowledge the fact that the man most likely to have been tapped as their fascist dictator had. His son and grandson go on to be president of the United States. Some of the most damaging ones
That isn't to downplay Atwater and his contemporaries. They managed the merger of the two most evil groups in modern American history. After the Democratic party purged itself. The fact is the Republican party has been anti-democratic and authoritarian since nearly the start of the 20th century.
There is a deep schism in America. One that conservatives have slowly been losing. Progress is made and the conservative ideal of life (which has served them very well and they are quite comfortable with) has been chipped away at for decades. Obama becoming President brought it all to a head. The country was taken over by folks who don't look like them and don't think like them. They are just as afraid of losing their country to the left as the left is afraid of Trump's fascism.
Trump, regardless of any flaws he could have, has basically made the cold war that they'd been slowly losing hot, and they think that's their ticket to turning things around and winning. And he'll turn on a dime to attack anyone, so they just need to be on his side and wait for the left to be effectively destroyed and that will preserve their way of life. And so they are fanatically loyal to him and to a large degree will bear any pain as long as it hurts the right people more.
So they won't turn away from Trump no matter what and he's made it easy for them by providing the lie that he's under attack by a vast conspiracy so they can believe all his legal woes are purely political if that makes them feel more comfortable. They believe in him because he is their champion. He is their Goliath. Their Achilles. Their god-appointed savior.
They don't want the status quo, because progress was slowly happening under it. They want a hot war and Trump will deliver. And they're too willfully blind to see the cost that must eventually be paid.
People like that do not think long term. Otherwise, they woukd realize change is inevitable and unstoppable. This change might not be what they want or what any of us want (robot apocoloypse comes to mind) but its coming.
Note: investing does not count as long term thinking here. I'm talking about a social and political future.
all they need to do is stay home one election cycle to give a clear signal
Perhaps they too have constant messaging from their party to hold their noses and vote for him this time or joe "will destroy their way of life"
There is a saying: Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line.
I'm convinced that the majority of the Republican party are held hostage by a disproportionately influential alt-right voting bloc. The alt-right is pretty much about 5-10% of the party but because they are loud and violent, they get 90% of the coverage.
Republican candidates, however, know that Republicans will vote Republican no matter what so they cater their message to the alt right, knowing that come the general election, even the most liberal Republican will still vote Republican.
The sad, sad thing is....Democrats are now there too. Liberals and democracy loving Americans have to vote Democrat. But the Democrats have a different problem. Because their voting bloc is more diverse, it's harder to have a coalition. Many Democrats have to cater to moderates, and not progressives, in order to get the majority to vote. Not only that, but many moderates value "bipartisanship" whereas Republicans don't and the Republicans know that. It's why we get shit deals on bills and Republicans consistently going back on their word.
No, Mittens, some Republicans are out of touch with reality. Trump's supporters definitely are.
I would say all republicans.
I agree. Anyone that was a republican before Jan 6 and hasn't changed their party affiliation is firmly in the "I'm ok with an orange faced dictator" boat.
I'd argue a lot of them are perfectly aware of how shitty they are, they just enjoy being shitty people.
They are like the high school seniors who have figured out that they'll never get into college or get a good job. They are going to screw things up for everyone else, because what else is there?
Never forget that Mitt was happy to have Trump's support in 2012. Mitt even made a few mild 'birther' jokes from time to time.
Even now he can't come out and call Trump a traitor and a convicted sex criminal because that might hurt the Party.
Some?
I think “Some” is fair, there’s a good number who are all in on authoritarian fascism.
I mean, Fox News and right wing radio shows have been pushing disinformation for years. It was there before Trump. I mean, how many people believe Obama is a Muslim? Election denial is just an off shoot of that with many of their propaganda pieces.
Nowadays though there's just a cinematic universe of shows (PragerU, Shapiro, etc) for right wingers to cosplay their "reality" in.
Although, I'll step in and say I don't know if Ben actually is an election denier. I don't think he would be.
Some?
The title of the article doesn't align with what he said (which is "a lot").
Yeah, I imagine the rest know exactly what they're doing.
Some?
Most are out of touch with reality, the rest aren't dumb, but are completely corrupt and seek to take advantage of a trump government to give themselves more power. They know how Trump and the republicans is, what he's trying to do, but the truth is it will benefit them and that's all that matters.
Being out of touch with reality is what it takes to vote Republican nowadays.
You can thank corporate-owned "local news" for that.
I laugh at articles I see which site "independent voters". If you're still claiming to be undecided on Trump in 2023, you're brain dead or full of shit or both. You know exactly who he is by now
Because cults.
understatement of the year...
and it's only 18th jan
Some?
Wait, uneducated religious fruitcakes are out of touch?
Yeah, and he said MAGA chuds are too
Broken clock, blah blah blah
[note: I do know Mittens is highly educated]
These people are out of touch with reality, now, let me tell you about my imaginary invisible friend who will torture us forever if we don't do what the men in robes and hats say he wants and tithe 10% of our income to them.