Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. And politically, todays GOP is the Alfred E Neuman pf politics. Sitting there in the corner on a stool, with an idiot grin on their faces, and a pointy paper hat on their heads.
Way back when Roe v Wade was decided, it was one of the most divisive issues in the country. In fact at the time, the majority of Americans disapproved of abortion on demand, according to public polling. Especially among mostly conservative, Republican Evangelical voters. And so a 50 year odyssey began with the cynical GOP using abortion as an issue to motivate their anti abortion base to donate and get out to vote.
But then, as I like to say, A funny thing happened on the way to the quorum. The GOP’s aging, monolithic, largely far right Evangelical base didn’t change over the years, but pretty much everybody else did! And by the time the train wreck Roberts SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade, polling showed that a clean 67% of poll respondents favored abortion on demand in most circumstance. The GOP had miscalculated.
But stupid is as stupid does. Overturning Roe was bad enough for the GOP, and a canary in the coal mine for 2022. But the MAGA GOP is nothing if not political imeciles, and so the GOP controlled states gleefully jumped into the mosh pit to try to pass the most restrictive anti abortion laws possible. With 67% of the American people disagreeing with them.
The 2022 midterms were a disaster for the GOP. Not only did they lose a seat in the Senate, they barely managed to retake the House in a year where they should have rolled. Worse yet, even in deep red states with pro abortion referendums on the ballot passed with widespread support. The GOP had gotten ahead of their skis and miscalculated.
What does Blade like to say? Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill. Even with the mental defectives in charge of the GOP, they realized that they had lost their most powerful inducement to keep the far right Evangelicals in line. And as the results of the 2022 midterms showed, when too many Evangelicals stayed home, the GOP had to find a new way to motivate them.
And they settled on another time honored, well chewed bone, the LGBTQ and Transgender communities. There were two basic problems with this. First, their base is increasingly older far right Evangelicals, and they don’t know shit about gays, they were motivated by abortion. Worse yet, the Evangelical church, even the far right Evangelicals are ambivalent on the issues of gay rights.
Bur once again the GOP has shown itself as being incapable of following polling! If the GOP started trying to inflame the far right Evangelicals against the LGBTQ and Trans communities 20 years ago, they may have had a chance to make it stick, another fundraising and voter turnout motivation. But they didn’t.
And now, once again, the GOP is behind the curve. Starting with the Obama decision to not defend the DOMA act in court, and the Obergefell SCOTUS decision, public polling support for LGBTQ and Trans rights is damn near as high as the support for abortion. But this is the thin gruel that GOP has decided to dine on.
And led by Florida Pocket Caesar Ron Pissantis, they’re going to town. In red states nationwide the GOP is trying to restrict healthcare for Trans youth, trying to pretty much ban drag performances anywhere, refusing teachers from even admitting gender or same sex preferences in class, and threatening the parents of Trans children with state child abuse investigation if they try to provide their children with necessary trans medical treatments.
And in doing so, the GOP is sowing the seeds for their long term destruction. because they are pissing off the fastest growing demographic in the country, and the ones the GOP most desperately needs to cultivate. The GOP is a party that is dying of old age, and they need new blood. And the GOP is pissing off the 18-24 age group.
The GOP has already shit in their mess kits. They’ve already pissed off the 18-24 block with their positions on Climate change and gun control. The gun control issue led to the mass migration of A and A+ GOP members in 2018 and 2020. And now the Pissantis led GOP is going after a community that todays youth is extremely supportive of and comfortable with.
Both Trump and DeSantis are playing exclusively to the MAGA base, and that’s the one base that can’t get them elected. And in the process they’re motivating an already highly motivated youth base with social media skills to spare to oppose them. As Snake Plissken said, The more things change, the more they stay the same. don’t touch that dial.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Another gem of a Blade quote from the second movie: “You obviously…do not know…who you are F***ING WITH!” Sure, all the online liberals screaming about being “terrified” and “we’re doomed” is an ego boost for MAGA. But the Gen Z kids got nothing to lose but the misery the GQP wants to foist on them. That’s going to prove costly to Republican fortunes, no matter how many dirty tricks they play.
And there’re a few of us geezer that’re happy to mix it up and throw a spanner into the RWNJ tater salad. Most of the old hippies I know are in the “vote” and “write a letter to your Congressman” camp, but there’s a few that, if The Prod Boys do an assembly near us, will be down there with escrema sticks shoved in our belts.
Another issue, for the restrictive anti-abortion laws, is that Judaism, among other religions, view abortion differently. The right wing evangelical base is violating the freedom of religion that others are promised in the Constitution.
You know, something that really needs to be dealt with in these anti-drag states is the “Little Miss” beauty pageants. Remember the show “Toddlers and Tiaras?” That was a reality show set in the world of beauty pageants designed for LITTLE GIRLS–some as young as 4 and 5 years old. The REAL purpose of having a “beauty” pageant for a little girl (or, any prepubescent girl, for that matter) is little more than “sexualizing” the girls. You’ve got little girls being primped and made up and having their hair done just like their 20 year old counterparts.
If seeing drag queens is too “truamatizing” for little kids, how the hell do you describe a beauty pageant for a 5 year old girl?
It’s about time some Democratic legislators propose a ban on “Little Miss” pageants and bar any girl under the age of 16 (at a minimum) from participating in such contests. Most of the contestants are only there because of their parents (just like a drag-time story hour) and, since the pageants are open to the public at large, there’s no telling how many *real* perverts are there, ogling the girls. (And, if an outright ban and/or age-restriction won’t work, then maybe a change so the girls aren’t tarted up like 5 year old drag queens–and seriously, if you see some of the girls in these pageants, they’re wearing as much makeup for their size as a typical drag queen wears.)
Right! and while we’re at it, let’s talk about states wanting to LOWER the age of consent and legalize child marriage. Not liberal states. How about that.
Every accusation is a projection.
“Miss America, I got your game,
It’s a Christian burlesque show.”
— John Stewart
John was a member of The Kingston Trio and had a lengthy post-trio career. He spotted these goons a mile away.
I agree Joseph. Although my two daughters are grown, I’m the adopted father of a black 6 year old girl. With all the access to the internet, videos, etc., they are already exposed to a culture pushing them into being sexual and more grown than they should be at this age. I’m always telling her to slow down and enjoy being a kid. Of course the Guns Over People party isn’t interested in our children, except as consumers. They should also figure out if being trangender has been accepted enough to have a TV show following the struggles of a transgender young woman, the battle is lost. Plus she’s very appealing as a person. Of course the entire party is like a full glass in that they are incapable of taking in a drop of new information because they cling to the false security of arrogance and ignorance. No one can teach them anything, and they are incapable of learning by osmosis. What’s the saying? When your enemy is making a mistake let him be.
when they let us be, we’ll let them be. Right now, they are murdering our brothers and sisters.
Whether the g.o.p. is capable of following polling or not is immaterial. When you are trying to make voting a thing of the past, and the g.o.p. has been doing just that over the decades (i.e. gerrymandering, voter suppression), polling means bupkis. All the g.o.p. cares about right now is feeding their base and that base doesn’t want women thinking for themselves, doesn’t want people having sex any other way than hetero missionary style and only for the purpose of making babies, and anything else they do not agree with they want gone regardless of little things like civil rights. These morons want a theocracy and theocracies do not have meaningful elections.
I’m going to have to correct you on the sex thing. They don’t want women to be able to take anything that will prevent them from accepting the consequences of their ‘behavior’. Allowing them them to buy contraceptives condones women being ‘sluts’ (as that asshat mf’erLimbaugh said.) Abortion allows them to ‘get rid’ of the consequences of their ‘behavior.’ Their views are exactly like the Vatican, the Taliban, Saudis & Iran. Sex is allowed until the man ejaculates. After that it’s a sin. Women canONLY have sex with their husband AFTER marriage and an ONLY use BC if her husband wants it. In Saudi, if 2 men are caught having sex, the man on top isn’t arrested. He’s a man & needs gratification. The man on the bottom is jailed as he is committing a crime. The GOP would happily pass that law too, if they could.
Don’t count on it. Polls have been proven wrong–see: 2016. It also depends on WHERE you poll.While the majority of Americans are cool.with gay marriage and even some Rs agree, if you mostly poll in urban areas, you are ignoring rural.areas and states which wouldn’t know a trans person if they tripped over a trans woman violating their “bathroom band” by trying to pee. Those differences matter.