Trump and the GOP. MAGA and QAnon. Fox Noise and Tucker Carlson. The NRA.
All of these have one thing in common. There is one word that perfectly describes their behavior today, and that word is desperation.
The Republican Party, along with their closest allies, lobbyists, and supporters, are in a state of despair right now. We have been witnessing their despondency, hypocrisy, and recklessness on a daily basis. Below are just a handful of examples (not in any particular order).
- The January 6 riot (perhaps the worst of the worst), and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) notoriously throwing his fist up in the air in support of the rioters that day as if he were telling them to "fight like hell.”
- Trump's Big Lie of a "stolen" election, which has led to a massive onslaught of voter suppression bills in state legislatures nationwide.
- The GOP and NRA's outright refusal to support the most common sense of federal gun safety legislation, even after the tragedy in Uvalde, the Tulsa hospital shooting, and the growing threat of right-wing violence and domestic terrorism.
- Tucker Carlson's peddling of the so-called "Great Replacement” theory, which was what the Buffalo supermarket shooter cited as his reason for carrying out his assault.
- Representative Paul Gosar's (R-AZ) abominable attack on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in which he posted a video on social media depicting himself killing her.
- J.D. Vance's outrageous political ad where he asks his viewers, "Are you a racist? Do you hate Mexicans?":
- You may or may not have heard about this one, but before November 2020, there were reports of an automated robocall circulating around Detroit and spreading misinformation about mail-in voting, in an attempt to disenfranchise and intimidate voters of color in a city that is almost 80 percent Black:
- And now this, for crying out loud.
Okay, I will admit...I think that is enough already.
So, you may be asking, why are Republicans and their most loyal supporters acting like this nowadays? There is one simple, straightforward answer that I can offer to this question.
Perhaps many of them are aware of the fact that they are losing the cultural and demographics battle in this country. America is becoming more young and more racially diverse by the day, and our nation's political landscape is shifting against them at a rather fast pace.
In the next 20 years or sooner, the vast majority of Baby Boomers and the very, VERY last of the Silent Generation, whose votes Republicans rely on heavily, will be gone, and our voting base will consist almost entirely of Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z, all of which I would like to think are, for the most part, pro-democracy. Also, just speculation, but I can bet you that at least half of conservative voters among these three generations are not extreme right-wingers. Moreover, Whites are projected to make up less than half of America's total population by the middle of this century. Now, thanks to COVID wiping out rural America, we could achieve that goal sooner than forecasted.
In addition, the United States is becoming increasingly tolerant of religious minorities, the LGBTQ+ community and their families, and interracial families. Young people are leaving the churches and abandoning Christianity in droves, and atheism is on the rise in our country. Most Americans are supportive of women's rights, civil rights, and all marriage rights regardless of orientation. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of registered Republicans have left the party to become registered Independents as a result of the Capitol riot and the GOP's ongoing corruption, and they vow not to vote for any candidate that embraces extreme right-wing ideology (namely Trumpism). And, finally, need I add as frosting on top of the cake that conservative White males are probably the most likely demographic to deny the existence of COVID, refuse to get vaccinated, and quite possibly catch COVID and die from it.
So, for these reasons, it is no wonder that the GOP has devolved into what it is now, and is so insistent on gerrymandering our voting districts into oblivion, sabotaging our right to vote, nullifying election results, keeping the Electoral College in place, and engaging in whatever other tactic imaginable in a last-ditch effort to hold onto power and establish straight, rich, crusty old White "Christian" male minority rule. Well, I hate to break this news to them, but no matter what they do, there is not a bloody blasted thing that they can do about our ever-changing demographical landscape, period.
The desperation and rash behavior of today's Republicans is extremely dangerous. It should serve as a red flag warning to all of us. If we the people/voters are not careful, they could succeed at hijacking our government, and we may very well be kissing our democracy goodbye while Vladimir Putin sits back and laughs. The GOP has placed the last of its gambling bets on autocracy. Since this is the case, we absolutely cannot sit out this election; we must mobilize and get out to VOTE like our lives depend on it.
Despite the surging cost of food and fuel, as well as President Biden's lagging approval numbers, we simply cannot let these issues alone stop us. We still have lots of momentum going into the midterms. In fact, the scales may already be tipping in our favor. The GOP has already given Democrats a wrapped gift box on the campaign trail. The recent rise in mass shootings has youth, their parents, and people of color scared and on edge, and they are disgusted at Republicans for not taking action. Women, young people, and possibly racial minorities are enraged over the Roe v. Wade leak. And, I can bet that with Roe v. Wade on the line, LGBTQ+ people are angry and worried sick because they now believe that their rights are in jeopardy (which they probably are).
That's not all. A growing number of people are becoming increasingly worried about the climate change crisis, something else most Republicans refuse to discuss. The upcoming January 6 Committee hearings are bound to be damning. Russia's ongoing invasion of the Ukraine is also likely to have a considerable influence on this year's elections.
The GOP has nothing to run on now besides guns, abortion bans, lies (including the Big Lie), and conspiracy theories. They have an abysmal record to defend. Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, and their allies in Congress have a solid reason to be worried about this November. With the current human and social issues plaguing this country, as well as what is happening half a world away, they could certainly be in for a potential beating. But, as always, we still have to VOTE!
Furthermore, there are some encouraging signs beyond our country's borders. In France, centrist Emmanuel Macron defeated his ultra conservative and Putin-supporting opponent Marine Le Pen by about 17 percentage points. Australia also just ousted their conservative party. So, it seems as though some countries are starting to run away from fascism and autocracy, anyway. However, the results of the French and Australian elections alone do NOT necessarily guarantee that the United States will see a similar outcome (take what happened in Hungary's most recent election, for instance). Again, this is why we have to get off of our butts and get to the polls this November to stop the GOP dead in their tracks!
This election cycle is bound to be even uglier than 2020. GOP super PACs and corporate special interests are probably going to be outspending us and pumping millions upon millions of dark dollars into right-wing campaigns while at the same time spreading their typical scare tactics. I am not turned off by this, and no one else should be, either. Their outspending is just a pathetic attempt at making us look hopeless and powerless. But that is far from true, and we the people will not be held back this time around. If Republicans can amplify their message and get it out to their voters, we can do the same with our base. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to:
- Use of social media, forums, and chat rooms;
- Having more of our people volunteer to participate in door-to-door campaigns and political canvassing;
- Getting together and holding community group meetings to discuss our concerns;
- Holding mass organization campaigns in all 50 states in which we meet with voters to discuss the issues (this idea was brought up previously by Daily Kos user psychusa); and
- Talking one-on-one with friends and family members about the issues.
We cannot trust the corporate mainstream media. They are one of the least reliable sources of information (if not THE least) and among the most manipulative (if not THE most). Stop listening to those stupid polls about the country headed in the right/wrong direction, Biden's job approval, etc. Give me a break...who cares what a measly 600 or 1,000 people in this country think? Besides, people do what they do best when they participate in a poll: they lie!
Vote by mail or by absentee ballot if you can. If you must stand in line to vote, let me offer a few of my own tips, just in case the lines get long (something you will need to prepare for).
Tips for in-person voting on Election Day:
- If you have to work during the day on Election Day, try to show up right when the polls open early in the morning. Do not give up your spot in line. If you absolutely have to, call your boss on that day and let him/her know that you may be late for work. Better yet, to be extra safe, call your boss a few days ahead of Election Day. You could, in the process, try to ask him/her if you can take a half-day or the day off!
- Dress comfortably and according to the weather. You may want to take an umbrella and sunscreen with you just to be safe, in case it is warm and sunny outside and/or it rains.
- Have your phone or tablet handy so that if you get bored while standing in line, you can play a game or two while waiting to get to the booth. (I know this sounds silly, but it still does not hurt.)
- Take a bag full of snacks and water with you, and make sure you have enough to make it through the wait (especially if you live in Georgia, which, outrageously, has made it illegal for poll workers to offer conveniences to voters standing in line).
- IMPORTANT: Don't forget your driver's license so that you have I.D. when requested!
Each and every vote is going to matter in this high stakes election. America simply cannot afford to descend into an autocratic regime. Putin's bloody but poorly executed assault on the Ukraine is the latest proof that autocracy does not work.
Let's fight back like we did in 2020. We can win this thing if enough of us SHOW UP AT THE POLLS and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!