The state of the republican party

Do something productive Lauren. Get to work.

 

Should that be spoilered?

 

What are the virtues that conservatives are supposedly representing though? On the left you have equal rights, social safety nets...on the right, what are these guys even fighting for? Freedom from gun control and a right to ignore public health emergencies (masks, vaccines)? There are scumbags on both sides to be sure, but the right doesn't even seem to be standing for anything meaningful anymore.

 

I can't legitimately say what Cons are for anymore. Heck, I've gone on rants in here about their unending fall from credibility. That was even before Trump added his gold plated name onto it.

I'm old enough to remember Cons promoting institutional respect and dignity. Traditional family values, the kind many immigrant groups still want, isn't exactly what Con politicians practice anymore, but the more extreme libs will likely call that a dog whistle for promoting the Patriarchy, lol. I think they lean more towards open competition and accepting the house odds when taking risks.

They seem like the "leave me alone, don't tell me what to do" party. Grumpy old men who shake their fists at the changes around them. Grumpy old men being unlikable doesn't mean they're wrong or evil. They're more worried about putting food on the table. They won't jump ship and are less likely to let the government hold the bag out of pride (unless they're CEOs or politicians). These cons are also more conscientious and likely to talk to other groups, even if those groups don't like what they say and want to shun them. Maybe they're lonely or opinionated but at least there's more an effort than what we have now...a polite form of classism and de facto segregation of social statuses (not necessarily race) in major cities.

Many Cons say they want more simplicity from the government but they're largely silent to when the government directly benefits their side.

I'm all for less taxes to pay and stronger national defense to a point, but who really knows where you draw that line.

My two cents. I'd probably have to move to a more blue collar area to know about this better.

 

Classic response!

 

Such a weird time to already endorse him. Normal Trump would let him sweat it out, and have a sycophant battle him for a bit just to see him sweat.

 

I got it!

The state of the republican party is Florida.

 

I've been saying this for awhile that they don't know what they are fighting for anymore. The current Rightwing is less about principle as it is about personality. This is why you have longtime Conservatives such as Liz Cheney getting threatened and condemned by people like Matt Gaetz. It's why Madison Cawthorne built his campaign around coms rather than around issues and how he would legislate. It's also why Mitch McConnell can with a straight face say that corporations should stay out of politics but they should still keep on giving money.

It there is still an organizing idea behind the Right it is how can they oppose the Left. As such it's a reactionary ideology that frames itself less about what they stand for than what they don't .

 

Remember when Republicans cared about government overreach?

 

All the right has ever cared about is cutting taxes as low as possible and borrowing more and more money to pay for the bloated defense budget.

They have no ideas or desire to actually help people. They have extremely simplistic views such as freedom should be absolute (want to scream Fire in a crowded theater and start a stampede? Go for it!) and laws should only exist to protect property rights. They are black and white thinkers in a complex gray world.

From child labor laws, 40 hour work weeks, clean water, EPA, trust busting, women’s suffrage, gay marriage, Social Security and Medicare, and on and on....everything that makes our country civilized had to be fought for tooth and nail against conservatives. All the arguments you hear today about we will be like Venezuela you heard when the aforementioned were enacted.

 

Well, that's because it's easier to be anti brown/black/asian/lgbt etc, anti gun, anti biden, etc, than it is to be white supremacist, gun rights advocate, fiscal conservative, etc. Being Anti-X allows you some cover to pursue moderates and makes you look less of an a-hole.

Then again, Trump and his wanna be's don't have that problem and have gone full a-hole, and therein lies the battle. So long as Trumpism dominates the Republican party, that's how it will be.