It’s hard to identify a Republican agenda these days beyond negative, anti-democracy efforts, such as implementing new voter suppression laws, lying about election fraud, gaslighting about the deadly, violent reality of the January 6 insurrection, clinging to Donald Trump, and putting in place a litmus test that requires denying the truth of President Biden’s victory.
Yes, there are reasons to worry. But all this has me wondering: What will it take to break the GOP fever and shift the dynamic? I look forward to your thoughts and the chance to learn from each other. And please do be respectful with each other: This is meant to be a constructive open forum.
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It would take a combination of things, I believe. 1. FOX news would need to announce that Biden is Pres. & the election wasn’t stolen. 2. Indictments need to brought agst major players in 45 circle for illegal activities. 3. Begin trials for those charged for 1/6. 4. Win 2022 hugely cementing the Dem majority. 5. Media needs to only report the truth, not the bs that is spewed. Don’t give their story legs. There must be full transparency for all of the above.
It requires accountability. Those who are guilty of gross lies, selling the insurrection as a tour, suppressing votes, being fronted by Russian and other oligarchs etc, etc! have to be investigated, indicted and jailed!!!
I would have said they need to lose elections, but they've opted to cheat and steal so that elections are not an impediment to power. DJT and his minions need to be prosecuted and jailed. In addition, some bold Congressional leadership, the likes of which hasn't been seen since 1865, is needed. The Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader need to give serious thought to refusing to seat representatives & senators from lawless states that rig their voting. This is admittedly drastic, but we haven't seen a threat like this since the Civil War and its aftermath, where states withdrew their representatives and then Congress wouldn't let them back in. Then, and only then, can Congress pass legislation to repair the damage.
A massive public education campaign: voting is the most American thing you can do, and suppressing the vote is the most unAmerican thing that can be done to you. [insert quote from Jefferson or FDR or even Reagan]. When politicians can’t win on ideas, they try to stop you from voting. Cases of actual fraud in 2020 election: [insert stat here, and note that almost every one of them were for trump, see, eg guy who killed wife voting in her name, show his pic, also note 60+ courts found no evidence]. We can disagree on policies but what we should never do is disagree on democracy itself. Anyone who does that is just grabbing power. And in a democracy, you can’t grab power. Voters have to give it to you. Protect the right to vote, as if democracy depends on it. Bc it does.
You need to figure out how to do this in a short promo & blast it all over. Including a spot on Fox News.
Truth, simple truth and facts, basic facts. Those are the building blocks of true journalism and true politics in an authentic Republic, not in a Dictatorship.
It will take many GOP legislators to go on record, similar to Liz Cheney. Otherwise, it will take devastating losses in the 2022 midterms and 2024 races. Due to all the voter suppression and redistricting they are doing in red states, the Dems will need to get out in droves in 2022 because the odds are stacked against the Dems.
While Fox News,OAN and their ilk are allowed to spew lies left and right without being held accountable, this false narrative will continue. We need a strong, free, objective, fair and outspoken press but they must tell the truth. It will not change until they change their narrative.
It will take an entire generation to filter out the nonsense. There was a great segment on NBC Sunday Today about a program in schools across the nation, teaching kids how to fact check. Watch it because it will take teaching our future generations
It seems to me there are a number of things contributing to the irrational republican politics we’re experiencing. Generally I’ve noticed a shift in the way a lot of people think. It didn’t happen overnight, it’s been a trend over several years or even decades.
I think it’s partly because of a resurgence of religion that requires people to accept religious teachings on faith. Once people have been trained over a long period of time to accept religious information on faith, it’s not a great leap from there to accepting other information on faith.
I think about it this way: Tens of thousands of people show up at church services on a weekly or semi-weekly basis or tune into services on their computer or TV. Congregants pray, sing religious songs, make an offering of money, ministers tell stories based on religious teachings, talk about “miracles” and people feel uplifted by these activities. It also gives people a sense of community and shared experience that’s been lost over the years due to television, air conditioning and automobiles, among other things.
If you think about it, it’s not that different from going to a Trump rally. A woman on twitter wrote that she had participated in Trump rallies. She wrote she eventually realized she didn’t belong there, but In her opinion people went to Trump rallies to experience an addictive high. They enjoyed the camaraderie, the shared experience, acceptance of what Trump said on faith and the uplifting feeling it gave them. Apparently they didn’t have a problem making a monetary offering either.
Now, let’s turn to the negative manifestation of Trumpism. What is the hate about? Why are a good portion of Trump supporters so angry? Well, the first thing that comes to mind about the angry ones is that many are white supremacists with a permanent chip on their shoulders. They’re not unlike narcissists in that they believe they deserve things in life they aren’t getting and they have an endless malignant envy of people who appear to have what they want.
Donald Trump is the epitome of rancorous envy as well as a white supremacist trained from birth to be a racist. He appeals to those who feel like he does, as if they’ve been victimized by “the system,” and chronically overlooked. Trump reinforces their fear of the other and their paranoia that the existence of the other will naturally mean there will be less for them. These angry people, many of whom are probably narcissists, have an endless need to feel superior. It gnaws at them constantly. There’s no easier way to feel superior than to lord it over people of other races whose ancestors were enslaved, or people from other countries and cultures who are unsure of themselves in a new culture. And yes, some of these angry people are the same people who go to church regularly.
Television doesn’t help either. The advent of ever better special effects lead to the development of heros with special powers. These days it’s actually difficult to find shows on TV that aren’t about heros & heroines with super-powers. There’s also a plethora of very young, very glamorous, very successful people portrayed in positions of great wealth with the power that goes along with wealth on television.
The bottom line is, there is and will always be a certain percentage of the population who are pathologically envious. There’s another percent of people who are fearful and suspicious of anything and anyone different. Some people belong to both groups. That’s not going to change. What republicans have done is to cynically exploit those fears and suspicions for their own purposes. What purposes? Money and power of course.
Donald Trump is the exploiter in chief. He’s
a man who’s spent his entire life manipulating people for his own purposes and he’s very good at it. What he does can’t be emulated because it requires a mind that’s vastly different than a normal mind.
But, as talented as he is at lying, exploiting and manipulating, he still needs corroboration to keep the illusion alive for so many people. That’s where the republican party and FoxNews come into play. I just don’t see how Trump’s supporters minds can be changed until FoxNews is permanently in the dumpster.
But I’m beginning to see a glimmer of hope. At last we’re hearing about Trump being arrested in the near future and his nasty rhetoric no longer reaches as many people. We’re also seeing the bizarre and criminal antics of republicans like Matt Gaetz and Taylor-Greene get them into serious trouble. Over 400 insurrectionists have been arrested. And a few finally realized Trump didn’t go with them to take over the Capital as he said he would. This didn’t happen overnight, it was years in the making and it’s unmaking will probably take years too.
I believe aggressive litigation - from the DNC, I suppose, as they are the ones who supposedly "stole" the election - is going to be the only language that will change the malicious smears by both conservative media and Republican politicians who want to run with the Big Lie.
the lies...the insanity of what they say!!!! our country is in the most destructive mode I have ever witnessed!!! we need to find a GREAT REPUBLICAN LEADER who is brilliant and ethical...or these morons will just hang on to trump's every word!! SIC
It would take a combination of things, I believe. 1. FOX news would need to announce that Biden is Pres. & the election wasn’t stolen. 2. Indictments need to brought agst major players in 45 circle for illegal activities. 3. Begin trials for those charged for 1/6. 4. Win 2022 hugely cementing the Dem majority. 5. Media needs to only report the truth, not the bs that is spewed. Don’t give their story legs. There must be full transparency for all of the above.
It requires accountability. Those who are guilty of gross lies, selling the insurrection as a tour, suppressing votes, being fronted by Russian and other oligarchs etc, etc! have to be investigated, indicted and jailed!!!
I would have said they need to lose elections, but they've opted to cheat and steal so that elections are not an impediment to power. DJT and his minions need to be prosecuted and jailed. In addition, some bold Congressional leadership, the likes of which hasn't been seen since 1865, is needed. The Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader need to give serious thought to refusing to seat representatives & senators from lawless states that rig their voting. This is admittedly drastic, but we haven't seen a threat like this since the Civil War and its aftermath, where states withdrew their representatives and then Congress wouldn't let them back in. Then, and only then, can Congress pass legislation to repair the damage.
The only thing that will break the fever is seriously lost elections. Lose seats, gain sanity.
A massive public education campaign: voting is the most American thing you can do, and suppressing the vote is the most unAmerican thing that can be done to you. [insert quote from Jefferson or FDR or even Reagan]. When politicians can’t win on ideas, they try to stop you from voting. Cases of actual fraud in 2020 election: [insert stat here, and note that almost every one of them were for trump, see, eg guy who killed wife voting in her name, show his pic, also note 60+ courts found no evidence]. We can disagree on policies but what we should never do is disagree on democracy itself. Anyone who does that is just grabbing power. And in a democracy, you can’t grab power. Voters have to give it to you. Protect the right to vote, as if democracy depends on it. Bc it does.
You need to figure out how to do this in a short promo & blast it all over. Including a spot on Fox News.
Truth, simple truth and facts, basic facts. Those are the building blocks of true journalism and true politics in an authentic Republic, not in a Dictatorship.
It will take many GOP legislators to go on record, similar to Liz Cheney. Otherwise, it will take devastating losses in the 2022 midterms and 2024 races. Due to all the voter suppression and redistricting they are doing in red states, the Dems will need to get out in droves in 2022 because the odds are stacked against the Dems.
While Fox News,OAN and their ilk are allowed to spew lies left and right without being held accountable, this false narrative will continue. We need a strong, free, objective, fair and outspoken press but they must tell the truth. It will not change until they change their narrative.
It will take an entire generation to filter out the nonsense. There was a great segment on NBC Sunday Today about a program in schools across the nation, teaching kids how to fact check. Watch it because it will take teaching our future generations
Misinformation education: How schools are teaching kids to find the truth https://on.today.com/2RgMsVI
It seems to me there are a number of things contributing to the irrational republican politics we’re experiencing. Generally I’ve noticed a shift in the way a lot of people think. It didn’t happen overnight, it’s been a trend over several years or even decades.
I think it’s partly because of a resurgence of religion that requires people to accept religious teachings on faith. Once people have been trained over a long period of time to accept religious information on faith, it’s not a great leap from there to accepting other information on faith.
I think about it this way: Tens of thousands of people show up at church services on a weekly or semi-weekly basis or tune into services on their computer or TV. Congregants pray, sing religious songs, make an offering of money, ministers tell stories based on religious teachings, talk about “miracles” and people feel uplifted by these activities. It also gives people a sense of community and shared experience that’s been lost over the years due to television, air conditioning and automobiles, among other things.
If you think about it, it’s not that different from going to a Trump rally. A woman on twitter wrote that she had participated in Trump rallies. She wrote she eventually realized she didn’t belong there, but In her opinion people went to Trump rallies to experience an addictive high. They enjoyed the camaraderie, the shared experience, acceptance of what Trump said on faith and the uplifting feeling it gave them. Apparently they didn’t have a problem making a monetary offering either.
Now, let’s turn to the negative manifestation of Trumpism. What is the hate about? Why are a good portion of Trump supporters so angry? Well, the first thing that comes to mind about the angry ones is that many are white supremacists with a permanent chip on their shoulders. They’re not unlike narcissists in that they believe they deserve things in life they aren’t getting and they have an endless malignant envy of people who appear to have what they want.
Donald Trump is the epitome of rancorous envy as well as a white supremacist trained from birth to be a racist. He appeals to those who feel like he does, as if they’ve been victimized by “the system,” and chronically overlooked. Trump reinforces their fear of the other and their paranoia that the existence of the other will naturally mean there will be less for them. These angry people, many of whom are probably narcissists, have an endless need to feel superior. It gnaws at them constantly. There’s no easier way to feel superior than to lord it over people of other races whose ancestors were enslaved, or people from other countries and cultures who are unsure of themselves in a new culture. And yes, some of these angry people are the same people who go to church regularly.
Television doesn’t help either. The advent of ever better special effects lead to the development of heros with special powers. These days it’s actually difficult to find shows on TV that aren’t about heros & heroines with super-powers. There’s also a plethora of very young, very glamorous, very successful people portrayed in positions of great wealth with the power that goes along with wealth on television.
The bottom line is, there is and will always be a certain percentage of the population who are pathologically envious. There’s another percent of people who are fearful and suspicious of anything and anyone different. Some people belong to both groups. That’s not going to change. What republicans have done is to cynically exploit those fears and suspicions for their own purposes. What purposes? Money and power of course.
Donald Trump is the exploiter in chief. He’s
a man who’s spent his entire life manipulating people for his own purposes and he’s very good at it. What he does can’t be emulated because it requires a mind that’s vastly different than a normal mind.
But, as talented as he is at lying, exploiting and manipulating, he still needs corroboration to keep the illusion alive for so many people. That’s where the republican party and FoxNews come into play. I just don’t see how Trump’s supporters minds can be changed until FoxNews is permanently in the dumpster.
But I’m beginning to see a glimmer of hope. At last we’re hearing about Trump being arrested in the near future and his nasty rhetoric no longer reaches as many people. We’re also seeing the bizarre and criminal antics of republicans like Matt Gaetz and Taylor-Greene get them into serious trouble. Over 400 insurrectionists have been arrested. And a few finally realized Trump didn’t go with them to take over the Capital as he said he would. This didn’t happen overnight, it was years in the making and it’s unmaking will probably take years too.
I believe aggressive litigation - from the DNC, I suppose, as they are the ones who supposedly "stole" the election - is going to be the only language that will change the malicious smears by both conservative media and Republican politicians who want to run with the Big Lie.
the lies...the insanity of what they say!!!! our country is in the most destructive mode I have ever witnessed!!! we need to find a GREAT REPUBLICAN LEADER who is brilliant and ethical...or these morons will just hang on to trump's every word!! SIC