Thursday, February 4, 2021

Gored By A Whirlwind



Having chosen, for decades, to sow disinformation to the easily gulled, creating preferential feelings for falsehoods among the flock, the Republican Party is now reaping the horns of a Gordian whirlwind. A course correction by the Republican Party isn’t as simple as saying, “Make it so.” They are, in other words, hoist on their own Picard.

Of such a cynical and condescendingly dishonest attitude toward their voters, Trump and Qanon were the inevitable result. And now they’re damned if they dump, damned if they don’t. For those of us who’ve been warning about what was coming, this ought to be a time of overflowing schadenfreude. 

It’s not. America’s ability to confront challenges has always depended on having opposing parties operating in good faith to find workable middle ground. Until the Republican Party began on its scorched-earth Gingrichian path decades ago, that was generally the case. Now, though, the support of Qanon and people with similar conspiratorial fantasies has become so integral to maintaining today’s Republican Party’s base that they’re stuck with them. Despite the desire of a few within the party and many true conservatives who are leaving it, there seems no way back to assiduous participation. It’s still the party of Trump and his cult of the deceived.

The dilemma’s horns on which they’re Pamploned is no better demonstrated than by the schizophrenic squirming of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Both-Ways). First, he led his members in rejecting the results of the Electoral College, even after the insurrection threatened their lives and democracy. Briefly brave, he then declared that Trump bore responsibility for inciting his mob. After which, he decamped to Mar-a-Loco for abject genuflection, earning from Trump the same feculent grin we saw when he played poor Mitt into thinking he had a shot at Secretary of State.   

Back in D.C., McCarthy held a late-night congregation of House Republicans, during which Liz Cheney (R-WY), in hot dihydrogen monoxide from the rank for voting to impeach Trump for his dereliction, escaped from a secret-ballot vote to remove her as leader of the Republican caucus. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA), on the other hand, loved for her enthusiastic support of killing Nancy Pelosi and other baby-biting Democrats, for 9/11- and school-massacre-denialism, almost eclipsed by belief in Jewish-controlled space lasers causing forest fires, received a standing-ovational tap on the wrist. And a “great” call from Trump. (Still promising, in public, never to apologize, she did, evidently, behind closed doors.) 

The party that had previously stripped committee memberships from Steve King (R-cantaloupes) for less insane and threatening words, refused to do the same to Ms. Greene for far worse. Different times, different constituency.

Dependent as they are on the Greene wing of their supporters, can the Republican Party return to rationality? If some, including M. Mitch McConnell, would like to see it – he called her out forcefully – it’s not looking good. Why? Because the media that rake it in by peddling conspiratorial thinking, stoking fact-free anger and victimhood, are responding to insurrection by making it worse.

Said Republican pollster/sloganeer Frank Lunz: “Fox has succeeded for years in straddling the line between a quality news organization and the opinion side. But Trump won’t let that happen anymore, and neither will his supporters. They want their ‘news’ to affirm them rather than inform them.”

Affirm, rather than inform. Nutshell. 

Desperate to stop the flow of viewers to even more affirming sources like OAN and Newsmax (now attacking each other), Fox is ridding itself of its “news” wing, making more space for the vitriol. It’s what gets Trumpist eyeballs. Thus Mr. McCarthy’s pilgrimage to see Florida man. Thus, letters to the editor in this paper, regurgitating what they’ve swallowed, crook, lying, and clinker: Democrats are the hypocrites (cf. Garland/Barrett); they spent their time “harassing” Trump rather than legislating (cf. hundreds of bills spiked by the aforementioned Muscovite); Democrats want illegals to vote (cf. reality); the election was stolen (cf. DOJ review); we won’t stop the insurrection till BLM stops demonstrating (cf. planet earth).

Affirmed, not informed. Fox’s move proves it’ll only increase. What else explains Trumpist/Covid-deniers blocking access to vaccination sites, forcing their way, unmasked, into grocery stores, claiming they’re protecting “freedoms”? Like the capitol-defiling, police-beating murderers, these are people willing, based on lies, to harm themselves and others. Constitutionally.

Having lost the presidency and senate, Republicans are seeking a more truthful, less obstructionist agenda. Kidding. In state after state, they’re turning to legislation making it harder for Democrats to vote and easier for the delusional. That’s where we’re heading. Where it ends is too awful to think about.


23 comments:

  1. Interesting column.
    Joni Mitchell wrote, "you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"
    And, it is gone, Kamala demonstrated that just today.
    There are now less than two years to another showdown. What are "the producers" going to do to the show to get people to buy tickets again? ...and, how will that change with each bitter defeat suffered.
    One thing's for sure, they best not listen to the loser of 2020 for that advice. He will not win again!
    But I'm concerned that we will continue the extreme views of our own. Since, "don't it always seem to go" that big force is met with bigger force? If our actions deserve that, there will be an even bigger idiot to contend against Kamala in 2024!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous,
      The republicans will likely continue to promote their "Big Lie" about the virtues of Trickle-Down economic policies eternally.
      The democrats will continue to promote democracy as the best form of governance.

      Searching your soul to discover truth requires having one.

      Delete
    2. "Searching your soul to discover truth requires having one."

      Schwiiiing!

      *writing down for future use*

      Delete
  2. :-) In the "Prove you're not a robot" challenge, it had me pick three "Big Yellow Taxi's". How appropriate! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Pamploned" *adds to dictionary and spell checker*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got some blowback on "Picard," too, so I changed the headline pic from a political cartoon to Jean Luc. No more emails saying I need an editor.

      Delete
  4. Herewith another plea to those who post as "anonymous." Since there's at least two, maybe more, it's hard to know who's saying what.

    I'm not asking for real names. You can continue to use "anonymous," but how 'bout ending your comment with something distinguishable for other anonymi. Initials would be fine. "k," for example, followed by, say, "s." Or whatever. I'd appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree...It'd be nice to give credit where credit is due. To remember conversations w/o having to be reminded and misunderstood constantly.

      Just anything to distinguish one from the other would be constructive.

      Delete
  5. The GOP is finally confronting the fact that when you have sold your soul to the devil, there is no chance of buying it back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We'll see how many convict Drumpf before we see much of anything.

      If you can't convict someone who tried to forcibly take the govt., then you are lost.

      Delete
  6. Did anyone watch the local PBS documentary program narrated by Rick Steves recently "The story of fascism in Europe".

    Every voter should be aware of how easily Hitler and Mussolini mesmerized their countrymen into cult-like euphoria. Basically, they possessed mega-ego's fed by malcontent's ravenously adoring them at large public rallies. The results are obvious to anyone with a memory or knowledge of history.
    This is why DEMOCRACY must be preserved. Justice and peace have NO value in fascism. Seek wise and benevolent leaders. Avoid popular egomaniacal tyrants like Hitler, Mussolini, and Drumpf.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, I've seen it. Though, I find it interesting and depressing when I read about tyrannical(to include fascists)leaders throughout known human history. It seems to be a recurring theme, over and over these megalomaniacs appear, as well as our subservience to them. Two and a half centuries B.C. a fella name Qui built a wall in China. Fucking walls. We humans are experts at building them not just literally but figuratively. It seems modern day technology, so called "modern civilization", past wars, well documented histories of fascists, tyrants and authoritarians has little effect on preventing the theme to continue. So it must be in our human nature, part of us, something ingrained in our nature that will always allow these atrocities to happen. One mans hero is another mans tyrant, an old adage I believe. I don't believe we will see changes to this pattern regardless of our "civility". I don't think democracy will be as pervasive as egomaniacal, megalomaniacal tyrants. A cursory look at our current Republican brethren, the impact of Qonspiracy, and the pending republican state legislators who have proposed and written bills to stifle democracy through voting restrictions and advancing authoritarian power through actual written legislation to overturn the will of the voters probably proves a point. This is actively happening in many states, at the moment, that I know of, in AZ, GA, and ND, likely many more. My conclusion is, in the big picture, democracy is fleeting and will win the day only in brief periods of the worlds future. History does seem to repeat itself, and human nature in these regards doesn't appear to change and will always allow anarchy to happen. I think humans basically still have one foot in the slime pool, the other is ready to plant firmly in the gutter. Living memory is short, we really don't learn very much or apply lessons from written history.

      Delete
    2. I've posted this sentiment here before, but it seems on point:

      The optimist in me still hopes we can build the best of all possible worlds. My pessimistic side fears that perhaps we already have.

      FWIF my readings in history support both perspectives...

      Delete
    3. Yessir! Thank you. Perspective indeed. Without a little optimism we'd still be wallowing in the slime pool with both feet. We could be living in tin shacks with dirt floors, like much of the worlds population. Sometimes I have to remind myself to be grateful.

      Delete
  7. Can one of you moderates or alt right types explain to me why a congressperson needs to sneak a gun or any weapon onto the floor where they are prohibited?

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/05/politics/house-floor-security-republicans-fined/?hpt=ob_blogfooterold

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Smart-aleck speculation: "Do you think maybe she's compensating for something?"

      Delete
  8. I'm a few years older than Trump, but utilizing what we generally know about the man's physical condition and comparing it to my own, I'm looking forward to outliving him by a good solid decade.

    ReplyDelete

Comments back, moderated. Preference given for those who stay on topic.

Popular posts