03-12-2023, 01:06 PM
(03-11-2023, 10:51 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Trump and DeSantis both praised and pushed the vaccine early but then did a bit of a mealy mouthed 180 on the whole thing. I assume that was because enough of their voter base did enough internet research to be convinced that this vaccine Trump was bragging up creating and pundits were even teasing naming the "Trump Vaccine" was either a form of government overreach, or just flat-out going to kill you. Things went from "Look what git-r-done Trump invented!" to "I support medical freedom" pretty quickly.
I wouldn't say conservatives are the only ones who conclusion shop in the internet age, but they seem to be damn good at it. I'm a bit biased since the only people I know who aren't vaccinated are of the "It will kill you in X number of years" and/or the "It has a microchip and the number of the beast in it" variety. I knew some reasonable conservatives in the pre-Trump era but due to moving to a more rural area I know a few older folks who are vaccinated "I want my tax break" republicans and a lot of rural dogmatic folks.
Side note, is it hyperbole for me to think that the GOP's best chance of getting back in the white house in 2024 is for the republican-led house to default on our debt and intentionally make things as financially miserable for the working class and then say "Look what Biden did!"
That's kind of the rub for the "conservative" movement in the US right now.
Libs can sit and argue whether Trump or DeSantis are authoritarians all they want, but in the end those guys are just symptoms of bigger problems. If their base wanted mandatory abortion and legal crack then those guys would be for giving it to them. They change to ride the wave of a party base that's basically lost it's collective mind.
Trump figured it out, or at least Steve Bannon did, and he did some serious damage with it. DeSantis is a more refined and literate version. He's all in on the culture war, and that's basically the entirety of his campaign. It has to be. It's the only shot he has.
The only principle that consistently exists in the GOP as of right now is that they hate libs and want to screw them over. That's literally it. It's not economics or legislation or public health. It's also not DJT or Ron's fault. It's the base and it always has been.
Us libs will forever drive them into insanity. We are still paying a price for getting president black guy elected in 2008 and we will for the foreseeable future. To the far right, it was the biggest sin that could be committed against their personal beliefs.
I said it once a year or so ago, and I will say it again. If the MAGA right could put liberals on trains and kill them in concentration camps they would need very little encouragement to act on the opportunity. Their current party leaders wouldn't hesitate, either. It's the reason I don't sell the guns that I own. They are your neighbors and family, but the signs should not be ignored. The only reason they haven't done it yet is lack of power, which could change in any given electoral cycle.
Once McConnell is gone, crazy and weak (McCarthy) will be all that's left in the GOP. Greene will be a major party leader for years. You think she would bat an eye about killing a few hundred political opponents? Would Trump? Gaetz? DeSantis? Jim Jordan? They's shoot a liberal in the head on national TV if it got them elected and they'd lick the bleeding wound for good measure.
