It’s been clear for at least the last decade or so that the GOP views as legitimate only those election outcomes that favor their team. Anything other than a GOP win is, in their eyes, a call to change the rules or throw the rules out the window altogether. They have lied, cheated, gerrymandered, suppressed, and stolen their way into power time and again. Why is this? Get ready for some ugly truth about the GOP mindset.
The GOP and their constituents hate the left. I mean, really hate the left. I mean, hate us as in they resent our very existence. They would rather be governed (ruled?) by Vladimir Putin’s proxy than any, as they tend to put it, “Demon-crat.” They truly believe those of us on the left are just plain evil. They can’t stand the idea that Democrats will give someone somewhere (people of color in particular, the poor in general) something that they believe is not deserved — things like food, housing, and medical care. The GOP are social Darwinists. They believe the moral thing for them and their ilk is to cull the herds, weed out the weak. They rail against the left and accuse us of social engineering, which is yet just another classic case of projection: accusing someone else of doing what they themselves are doing.
Two of the primary constituencies of the GOP are white evangelical Christians (WECs) and the extremely wealthy (TEW). While there is some overlap between these groups, the thing they have in common is a deeply held worldview. The WECs place their belief in the power of a supernatural supreme being. TEW place their belief in the power of their wealth, the notion that their wealth entitles them to act as the high priesthood for humankind. TEW are more than willing to partner with WECs to delegitimize Democrats, even though the two groups’ moral codes differ significantly. The WECs are in this fight to oppress women and the LGBTQ community. TEW are in it to oppress women, though to a slightly lesser extent. But mostly they’re in it to protect their wealth and to maintain a status quo that keeps everyone but them on the lowest rungs on the economic ladder.
When it comes to the climate crisis, WECs and TEW have differing views. WECs believe the planet is ours to rape. And since Jesus is due to return any day now, the climate crisis won’t matter because the good people will be raptured up to heaven while the bad people are the only ones who will have to suffer any ill effects. TEW, though they publicly promote denial and skepticism around the issue, know full well that the climate crisis is real. And not only do they know it’s a very real threat to humanity, they welcome it. Again, the GOP are social Darwinists. Climate change paired with dramatic cuts to social service programs and bingo, the most vulnerable are sifted out for extinction.
There was a time when we had two opposing parties who shared a common goal, the good of the people and the nation, and simply differing opinions of how best to achieve it. But those days are long gone and most likely never to return. Democrats are going to have to fight harder than they’ve ever fought before if they are to win against a team that hates democracy and has no sense of decency.
Jeff Taylor is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.
