Right now, I’m loving the fact that there are so many seriously bummed GOPasaurs running around out there.
Starting on November 9th of 2020, everybody has been running around desperately trying to become the new “face” of the post Trump GOP. I’m mostly mostly about sleazy critters like Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio and others, all trying to capture Trump’s magic-in-a-bottle, most for a Presidential run in 2024.
As Snake Plissken said in Escape From LA, The more things change, the more they stay the same. And after all of that eye gouging and groin kneeing, how did it all turn out? The new face of the GOP is Donald Trump, 35 years younger, with longer hair and better legs. Without any apparent effort, Marjorie Taylor Green has become the face of the post Trump party. And that is toxic.
I’ll give Trump full marks for connivance. Trump was the world’s number one exporter of conspiracy theories, lunatic fringe ideas, and all purpose bullshit. But at least Trump was somewhat slick about it. Trump’s speeches were normally his usual bullshit, with very occasional reference to the conspiracy theory of the week. Mostly he spread it via social media, reaching mostly the people he wanted it to, but with at least some plausible deniability if he got caught.
Marjorie Taylor Green is a different breed of cat. Like Trump, she is obviously a self obsessed narcissist, but she is much more direct, and in your face. Whereas Trump soft pedaled his bullshit over social media to show his allegiance to his base, Green heads straight to the nearest camera with a green light, and screeches like the Wicked Witch of the West. This is the last thing that the GOP needs.
Ask yourself this simple question. Since Trump was elected in 2016, what has been the driving force for change in the GOP? Middle class, white, mostly married white women, the notorious soccer moms. Their revulsion to Trump, and his possible affect on their children, led them to help to flip 40 seats in the House in 2018. And their return home to the GOP down ballot in 2020, when they could punish Trump directly, led to a loss of a lot of those seats.
But see y’all, the operative word here is Moms! I raised 4 daughters, and I was incredibly lucky. Every parent’s worst nightmare is the loss of a child, it is inconceivable. In all the years my children went to school, the only mass school shooting was at Columbine, and that was scary enough. But in the years since, they have become a tragically common-place event, replete with kids coming home from school to tell their parents about the active shooter drill they had at school that day. Not something to reassure parents about their children’s safety.
But Marjorie Taylor Green is a walking, talking school shooting denialist. She has repeatedly chortled about both Sandy Hook, as well as Parkland in Florida, were both set up jobs. She openly mocks every parent’s nightmare as a myth, a Democratic hoax.
That could be more likely to motivate middle class, white, suburban mothers in 2022? They may not all live in Green’s district, but what they can look at is the response of their own, newly minted GOP representatives. And what will they see?
Well, if current circumstances are anything to go by, they’re going to see a bunch of whiny, cowering, subservient little toadies. They pitched their, in many cases, long term incumbents in 2018 because they disagreed with their new positions. They elected new GOP incumbents in 2020, when they were comfortable that Trump was toast. But their morals, and their values haven’t changed. And if they see their representatives going along for the ride with someone at least as bad as, if not worse than Trump, they will vote for change again.
The GOP is already at the first of which I predict will be many reflection points as they start to try to redefine themselves in the post Trump era. McCarthy has a difficult choice to make. He can either encourage moderate GOP House members to vote to expel Green, enrage the right wing loony faction, but keep the suburban soccer moms. Or he can continue to let Greene run roughshod over the party and risk mammoth losses in the House in 2022. The ball is in your court Kevin. Welcome to leadership.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like to check out President Evil, and the sequel, President Evil II, A Clodwork Orange . They comprise a pretty much daily report from the front of the 2016 GOP primaries, as well as the general election
Follow me on Twitter at @RealMurfster35
So far, he seems to be re-embracing trumpism. Like that base will be enough to support any other person. I seriously doubt that. Like you said, anyone but their savior is not gonna get it.
I saw a little bit of Ali Velshi and during that time he pointed out a few states in which GOP folks have changed registration. Maybe not to our side but at least going Independent. I think if Greene gets to stick around (and maybe even if she doesn’t) this will continue. It’s worth noting that while Trump’s approval in the GOP ranks has remained very high, the GOP itself has been slowly but steadily growing smaller in the number of registered Republicans. Basically folks who want their tax cuts and judges and less regulation don’t want any part of being identified with the GOP and some of THOSE have (as you note) begun to actively vote against GOP candidates. Having rock solid and high level support doesn’t help much if it’s an increasingly minority portion of the voting populace.
I’m beginning to wonder how someone saying the outrageous things Marg has and using the posture of a mud slinging dolt, can get away with it … With the Lincoln Project probably getting more pressure together to ruin her day …
The days of free ride are over, each GOP person had better be ready to defend themselves in court … Biden has some good people already with many more to come along … the McConnell, “thing”, has worn out its power, people like AOC are stepping up in their own way, as Cruz has found out in his unruly ways … this whole GOP thing has made my wife and I tired in so many ways, Biden/Harris are like a lightning rod of strength against the GOP juggernaut …
“In all the years my children went to school, the only mass school shooting was at Columbine, and that was scary enough. But in the years since, they have become a tragically common-place event, replete with kids coming home from school to tell their parents about the active shooter drill they had at school that day.”
I figure it might make sense to share this. I suspect that people are simply more aware about the problem. Same with pollution, nobody talked much about pollution and prevention in 1920, but everybody is in 2020 is recycling and checking emissions. I suspect you could argue the same for unwanted pregnancies before and after use of condoms, sex-ed etc.
https://mises.org/wire/there-are-fewer-school-shootings-now-during-1990s
“shooting incidents involving students have been declining since the 1990s.”
“Four times the number of children were killed in schools in the early 1990s than today,”
Please do NOT ever–EVER!!!!!–reference the Mises Institute. The group is a right-wing, extremist apologist organization which couches its extremist anti-government rhetoric in “libertarian” garbage.
The group was partially funded in its early days by Ron Paul which should be an automatic disqualification for reference on this site.
Additionally, even ONE child killed in school is too many, even if “Four times the number of children were killed in schools in the early 1990s than today.” For the Institute to so blithely make such a statement, as though there’s ever an acceptable number of dead kids, is utterly horrifying, and for the Institute to be quoted on this site is beyond reprehensible.
If I ever again see that reprehensible site quoted on this site, I will request that Ursula not just remove the comment but also look into banning the person who quoted them. You may as well be quoting the Tea Party or the KKK.
I know the topic is a bad one, but why blame me? Blame Joseph “Murfster35” Murphy for bringing up school shootings.
You don’t like the source, fine.
Are the numbers wrong?
That’s what I want to know. I don’t care that Ron Paul spent money on them back in the before times, frankly knowing that he, as a grown man and elected official, wasn’t able to find a functional toilet with enough flush, to flush away his bodily excretions is more than enough info for me.
Thanks, Joseph.
Oh GOP, you had me (forever opposing you) at Marco.
Let’s just remember – I’m not a witch, raped women can’t get pregnant unless they want to, chickens for check ups, the Holocaust was a nothing burger, etc…it’s time to buy some of those total liquidation sales for the GOP and slate the land for the development of a new, better party of the right.