MAGA Republicans- Remember, everything's bad because Democrats f@#$%d things up
Except that's not nearly what happened, don'chaknow?
Ah, yes…the selective blindness of Republicans. As if on cue, they’re asking, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Except that’s not quite what they’re asking. The question most Republicans are asking is, “Are you better off now than you were THREE years ago?”
Why, you might ask yourself, would they be asking us that question? Could it be that four years ago, we were at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and heading into a period in which thousands would die every day? Four years ago, Donald Trump was denying the seriousness of COVID-19 and eventually touted the efficacy of Ivermectin (horse paste) and drinking bleach.
Yes, and four years ago, Republicans were denying the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, even though they saved millions of lives and were proven to be safe.
Four years ago, people were dying from COVID-19 at such rapid rates that in some cities hospitals were reduced to storing bodies in refrigerated trucks.
Four years ago, we couldn’t buy staples like toilet paper because of supply chain disruptions.
Four years ago, new networks were reporting how many or our fellow Americans had died from COVID-19 the previous day.
Four years ago, my wife arranged a surprise 60th birthday party for me, with everyone outside in our front yard maintaining an appropriate social distance, of course.
So, let MAGA Republicans go ahead and ask if we were better off four years ago than we are now.
Unfortunately for them, most MAGA Republicans are firmly in the grasp of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and they lack the self-awareness to recognize it.
It’s no wonder no Republican wants to ask about four years ago when we were staring down both barrels of a worldwide pandemic that would claim millions of lives, including over a million Americans. The Brookings Institute would later estimate that Donald Trump’s incompetence and ineptitude were responsible for roughly 750,000 of those deaths.
Yet MAGA Republicans remain convinced that “everything was better” when Trump was President. Sure, if you discount the pandemic, the impact it had on the economy, the unnecessary trade war with China, the making nice with dictators like Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, and Viktor Orbán, and the trashing of America’s reputation on the global stage.
“Everything was better” included more than a year of lockdown in which schools, churches, and virtually all public gathering areas were shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19. And now MAGA Republicans are blaming Democrats for all of that?
Nice bit of revisionist history you’ve got there, eh?
Of course, I long ago came to understand that the MAGA worldview isn’t in any way based on a truthful view of history or reality. It’s not based on what ACTUALLY happened but more on a convenient mental reconstruction of what MAGA Republicans BELIEVE to have occurred. They need that belief to reinforce their conviction about what’s happening now and what must happen going forward.
Truth is the first casualty in the MAGA worldview.
The MAGA translation of days of yore has nothing to do with truth, reality, fact, or actual, honest-to-God history. No, it’s a carefully cobbled-together propaganda construct that allows them to connect yesterday to today's events. That way, at least in their mind, they can discuss politics and current events from what feels like a place of informed intellect and current data.
To put that to the test, allow me to humbly offer a solid hour of Jordan Klepper talking to Trump Supporters. If you can make it to the end and still retain your faith in humanity…well, you’re a better man than I am, Charlie Brown.
Of course, if you genuinely ARE angling to lose your faith in humanity, here’s Stormy Daniels talking about having sex with Donald Trump:
Being a MAGA Republican isn’t necessarily about a lack of native intelligence, though being MAGA is undoubtedly more accessible if one possesses a lower IQ. It requires a higher-than-average willingness to suspend disbelief regarding things that make no logical sense to those with even an average IQ.
But if you’re what former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich used to call a “low-information” voter, you may be susceptible to someone like Donald Trump supplying simple, pat answers to complex problems. If you don’t understand a complicated issue and someone appears before you saying, “Don’t worry; I alone can fix it!”…you might be predisposed to getting behind that person.
Here’s the thing, though—simple answers are for fascists and teenagers. Simple answers don’t exist in the real world. Complex problems are that way because they have many facets, which means multiple stakeholders often have wildly different agendas. Solving a problem like that can prove difficult and, in some cases, well nigh impossible. Donald Trump isn’t going to wade in where angels fear to tread and wave a magic wand to make everything all better.
If thorny problems like the Middle East have escaped the best minds humanity has had to offer for generations, how is mental and moral low-life like Trump going to effect change? How will he succeed where statesmen and intellectual giants have fallen short…especially when he’s neither?
Ah, but I digress….
I’d remind those MAGA Republicans who’ve managed to convince themselves that Democrats are the source of all evil and that America was The Shining City on the Fucking Hill during Trump’s Presidency to remove their anteriors from their posteriors.
Life from 1.20.17-1.20.21 was, in fact, something of a four-alarm clusterfuck. Nikki Haley was right; Donald Trump sows chaos everywhere he goes, and it follows him. His time in the White House was four years of turmoil. How many times did the Trump Administration plan an “Infrastructure Week,” only for events to overtake it and push it to the side?
Donald Trump is not a leader. He neither inspires nor coaxes the best out of those under him. His leadership “ability” is rooted in fear and inconsistency. Those under him are generally terrified of him and his capacity for violent mood swings. He lacks the capacity to soberly consider issues or patiently listen to opposing viewpoints.
His laziness and refusal to attend to the nuances of issues can potentially have negative consequences for America’s security. If a President isn’t well-versed in the problems facing and the personalities of those leading a foreign country, it could have significant negative consequences if and when hasty decisions are made.
Trump’s transactional view of politics removes the nuance from politics, especially in the international arena. When every interaction is reduced to a “What’s in it for me?” equation, America’s interests become secondary, if they’re considered at all.
So, when MAGA Republicans attempt to blame Democrats for all of America’s problems, we would be remiss if we didn’t turn the conversation around and honestly reflect on where the issues originate.
MAGA Republicans can’t reasonably deflect blame onto Democrats when their hero is primarily to blame for much of what they’re trying to absolve him of. The historical record is pretty straightforward, as is MAGA’s dishonesty and willingness to lay blame that isn’t theirs to assess.
“They [Democrats] did all of this on purpose. We the People should be destroying all Democrats….PERIOD….DESTROY ALL DEMOCRATS….”
Wow. Those are some pretty strong—and dishonest—words. It’s an admirable, if weak, attempt to deflect responsibility from where it belongs. And now you’re trying to tell us that Donald Trump deserves another term?
Who says MAGA Republicans don’t have a (sick and weak) sense of humor?
Sorry, y’all, but the only place Donald Trump belongs is in a federal lockup, where he should live out the rest of his sad, sorry existence for inciting an attempted coup. The only time he should ever be allowed to see the White House again is on a prison television.
Trump is a fraud and a criminal. If you can’t see that, I’m beyond feeling sorry for y’all.
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