What the Anti-America Cult Trump Hath Wrought
Lincoln – and even Reagan – must be spinning in their graves
How far has the once proud and freedom-loving Republican Party fallen?
Here are a couple of measures:
■ The Republican Party was born in opposition to slavery.
■ People calling themselves “Republicans” today say slavery was a job-training program and nothing bad about it should be taught because it might make white kids uncomfortable.
And:
■ In the 1860s, the Republican Party was the party of the Union, i.e., the United States, and fought against an insurrection intended to continue the “right” to own human beings.
■ In the 2020s those who have seized the name “Republican” are the party of disunion and support those who engaged in an insurrection against the United States that attempted to end the Republic.
The debate held on Wednesday night in the state where the Republican Party was born in 1854 demonstrated that the onetime Party of Lincoln is now wholly the Cult of Trump.
Nikki Haley attempted at times to bring the clown show into the real world, but even she didn’t dare to turn directly on the cult leader.
The Big Lie on Democracy and Trump
When those seeking the presidential nomination of the party formerly identified with “law and order” were directly asked, “Would you support Donald Trump for president if he is convicted of a felony?” Haley joined all of them except Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson in raising her hand.
The man most “Republican” candidates pledged to support for president even if he is convicted of trying to end the American Republic.
When Christie pointed out that Trump has said he would suspend the Constitution and that is disqualifying, the rabid crowd booed Christie.
“Republicans” ♥ Putin & Authoritarianism
When Haley stated the plain fact that Putin is a murderer and Vivek Ramaswamy was choosing him over democracy, the snarling crowd booed.
The erstwhile Party of Ronald Reagan now has a base that sides with murderous dictators and is perfectly okay with Russia recreating what Reagan accurately called the “Evil Empire.”
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The Big Lie on Economic Policy
The Fox Propaganda Channel set the stage by presenting a completely false version of the economy. The candidates tried to outdo one another with outrageous lies. Pence says that Trump inherited an economy in decline and turned it around. Absolute bullshit. He inherited a growing economy from Obama. They all talked about deficits and debt and they’re going to fix it. (To her credit, Nikki Haley pointed out that Trump added $8 trillion to the debt, but the rest of them lied through their teeth.) In fact, for decades Republicans have greatly increased deficits and each time Democrats have come in and reduced them. Biden has done it, too. Here are the facts (and if we went back to Reagan’s tax cuts for the rich, it would be even clearer). And decline in the deficit has continued under Biden since 2021:
The entire rightwing propaganda machine has joined with “Republican” politicians in promoting the other Big Lie: That the economy is terrible under Biden and that “Republican” trickle-down economics is good for everyone. In the world of fact, it is undeniable that Democratic economic and social policy – not “socialism,” but capitalism with checks and balances – works and trickle-down doesn’t:
“Our economy is being crushed by Biden's energy policies,” “Republican” Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota charged at the debate . The “Republican” policies restarted by Ronald Reagan in 1981 have created a Second Gilded Age:
Notice in particular that at the far right (of the chart, not politically), since Bidenomics began to go into effect, the “share” (a word that doesn’t fit) going to the the very top has turned downward and that going to the bottom half has begun to grow.
In the world of fact, Bidenomics is working for the middle and working class. Unemployment is at a fifty-year low. Real wages are growing. Contrary to what the “Republicans” on the debate stage and Fox hosts were peddling, jobs are coming back to the United States. Manufacturing is growing. New plants are being built.
The “Republican” War on Women & Freedom
They’re all adamantly opposed to women’s freedom. Haley tried to be a bit more sensible, but said she approved of an abortion ban after six weeks, which negated her slightly more reasonable position.
They all talked about abortions at birth, which no one favors and is considered murder. It is not an issue. Less than one percent of abortions take place in the third trimester, and they are almost always because a severe fetal deformity.
The Big Lie on Law and Order
They shoveled BS about Democrats wanting to “defund the police.” In the world of fact, exactly one Democrat in Congress favored that. But many Republicans do want to defund the FBI and other law enforcement. And, of course, most of them pledged that they would support a convicted felon to be president.
A New Candidate for Most Obnoxious Man in America
The debate introduced the nation to Vivek Ramaswamy who is a wild conspiracy fanatic—including on 9/11!—and one of the most repulsive human beings on the planet. Among his statements were:
■ Climate change is a hoax.
■ “President Trump, I believe was the best president of the 21st century.”
■ “On day one, [I] would pardon Donald Trump.”
■ “Drill, frack, burn coal.”
■ “Ukraine is not a priority for the United States of America.”
“This guy is a murderer,” Nikki Haley informed Ramaswamy. “And you are choosing a murderer over a pro-American country. “In that, of course, Ramaswamy is just echoing Trump.
Ramaswamy is one of the most repulsive members of our species I have ever seen. Here are a few of the reactions to him on social media:
“A snot nose little brat”
“A QAnon magnet”
“Arrogant blowhard”
“Whackadoodle”
“Repulsive”
“The guy in high school everyone hated”
But, as another comment on social media correctly noted, “And oh didn't the feral crowd love him.”
That is the state today of what once truly was the Grand Old Party.
Just before I was going to post this essay, I read Heather Cox Richardson’s Letter from last night. As she always does, she summed it up perfectly:
■ “Indeed, it is unprecedented, and for those who remember what a grand party the Republicans have been at times in their history—Lincoln, after all, was a Republican, and so were Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower—it is a sad end.
But an end it is. The authoritarians who have taken over the party have abandoned their history and are now building something altogether different.”
The decline began long ago, but the Trump Cult’s takeover has brought it to this point.