The Republican Big Con
Things are going too well, according to junior Republican Senator from Indiana Mike Braun. He chuckles that Joe Biden is working too hard and is in danger of upsetting this glorious new economy. The diabolical intent behind all this progress, Braun insists, is the midterm election of 2022. After that the real consequence of Biden’s meddling will be felt, and we will all be ever so sorry — according to the junior Senator from Indiana.
Meanwhile the stock market, which Donald Trump promised would crash if Joe Biden became President, is at a record high. New unemployment claims are falling. President Biden’s vaccination program and stimulus package are hugely popular with most Americans. The President’s infrastructure package is popular. Little wonder people like Braun are unhappy. Things are not looking good for the Republican Party because America is prospering.
Meanwhile there are distractions to be promoted, lies to be nurtured, plots to be hatched. For instance, do Republican lawmakers understand that banning Donald Trump from Facebook and Twitter is not a violation of the Constitution? Of course they do. Or most of them do, anyway. They’re lawyers, most of them. But that doesn’t stop them from insisting that it is. They know that ignorance of the Constitution will keep afloat the myth that banning Trump from Facebook and Twitter is a rank violation of the First Amendment. They understand that their ignorant base is unreachable on this point. (Not to put too fine a point on it, but Hillary Clinton still has Facebook and Twitter accounts in good standing.)
Do Republican lawmakers understand that the 2020 election was not stolen? Of course they do. Or most of them do, anyway. They’re lawyers, most of them. They understand the portent of the 65 failed lawsuits that challenged the outcome of the election. They understand that 2020 was one of the cleanest elections on record. They understand that, Rudy Giuliani to the contrary, there is no stunning bit of evidence waiting in the wings that will be released any day now and knock the whole thing on its head and re-anoint Donald Trump as President of the United States. If there were it would have been released by now. If there were they would be shouting it from the proverbial rooftops.
Do Republican lawmakers understand that wearing masks and getting vaccinated will save lives? Of course they do, or most of them do. But they also understand that the majority of their constituents do not understand this, so lawmakers are willing to promote this deadly lie in the interest of their headlong pursuit of reclaimed power. They know that the deaths of their constituents can never be traced definitively back to them. So they can continue to promote this lethal untruth even if hundreds of thousands of their constituents should die. Their asses, as the saying goes, are covered.
Do Republican lawmakers understand that universal healthcare will not automatically put a nation on the road to socialism? Of course they do. They know that most European nations have some form of universal healthcare, and Europe enjoys a thriving, capitalistic economy. Republican lawmakers are bought and paid for by big pharma and insurance companies. Americans who can’t afford healthcare can go ahead and die. The Socialism bogeyman will see to that, will keep the lie that healthcare for everyone is bad.
I have spent the last three years promoting the idea that Republicans are evil. This is why. Evil is not ignorance. Evil promotes and nurtures ignorance. The fully conscious and cynical manipulation of public opinion to the detriment of all but the seekers of power is evil. This evil is a permanent fixture of a political system that depends on money and partisan infighting. Republicans hate democracy and free thought. Only when buying politicians with political donations becomes a federal crime and the Republican Party is swept from existence will their evil ever cease. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.