Right now, it’s anyone’s guess what a ‘reinvented’ Republican Party will look like. First off, the name needs to be changed to reflect what it has become. How about “The Btfsplk Party”, “The Whiners Party”, “Victims Anonymous” or the “Trump Forever Party”? It seems like all that Republicans have been doing for years is complaining about government and Democrats, even when they recently held both houses of Congress and the presidency! If that doesn’t smell like a cynical con job what does?
Is there no end to this victimization? At a recent Georgia rally, Trump told the audience that they were all victims. Everyone cheered. It sounded like applauding a loser mentality. Rich people hate to see a victim disguise go to waste. These ‘poor’ folks are over-taxed, under-respected and unappreciated for their charitable union-busting ways. Their dribble down economics ploy makes as much sense as being generous to our feathered friends by feeding all the grain to the horses so that the birds can pick the undigested bits out of the road apples.
Saint Ronald Reagan, the guy who barely knew what year it was during his second term in the White House, put it this way: ‘Government is not the solution, government is the problem’, a self-fulfilling prophesy if ever there was one. Like Trump, he ran a demolition project rather than a construction project. If you ever watched these in progress in real life, it doesn’t take a Mensa nominee to crush a house with a bulldozer. Building or remodeling takes real skill and attention span. But that’s hard work, and campaign slogans (Trump ripped off Reagan’s MAGA slogan) are simpler and cheaper, leaving ample free time to hit the golf course and buzz around to play border collie at ego rallies.
The curious thing about what this party has become is the oddball coalition of nut cases and causes that glue this monstrosity together. Even the billionaire Koch brothers, who bankrolled the Tea Party as a fake ‘grassroots’ organization have publicly regretted having unleashed that serpent into our political system. At some point, even the American oligarchs realized that creating that Frankenstein monster was a lousy idea.
Aside from the leftover typical Republicans, mostly white folks, they have the John Birch Society dregs, the gimme another gun crowd, the so-called Libertarians, DUIs, spam artists, philanderers, conspiracists, tax cheats, Qanons, anti-gay warriors, heavy party animals, white supremacists, day traders and a long list of other fringe cases. One thing no one could dispute is that they get all of the KKK and anti-immigrant vote. Oh, and 80% of the evangelicals. What a class photo—like a Star Wars bar scene. The most complicated part is keeping track of and assuring that you toss each a bone to keep them following the party meat wagon.
So, to those Resorter writers and readers who cannot see the dark forest that they want all of the rest of us to walk through with them, let common sense and truth be your guide. If you think this is all fine and dandy, as you had it for the past four years, then your only option may be sending the president un-elect your retirement savings in hopes he will continue to poison the well going forward.
However, you might be surprised how your spirits can be uplifted by viewing life as a community effort, not a selfish competition, and seeing past your own driveway. The view out there is positive and hopeful outside of the black cloud that has been following you around. You don’t have to be a Joe Bftsplk.
Phil Robinson