What is it with them?

| 9:00 pm EDT September 18, 2023
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The constant chaos in the Republican party signals that something is wrong, but people continue to vote them into office. Republicans care nothing about the people in this country. Their policies are self-serving, and in some instances, criminal. Let’s look at a couple of examples, beginning with the proverbial elephant in the room: Lauren Boebert.

Between vaping in the vicinity of a pregnant woman (and then offering her a cocktail) and displaying her sexual proclivities in public, we know that anything Boebert has ever said about protecting unborn babies and supporting family values is a lie. While most politicians lie, Republicans have taken it to a new level, but the Republican hypocrites are merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The dirty ones have them beat by miles.

Ken Paxton was acquitted in his impeachment inquiry Saturday. In May, a majority of the Texas House voted to impeach Paxton, making impeachment seem like a slam dunk. Just a few months later, he was acquitted. Axios asked “how did that happen?” Because of a tweet from Paxton thanking National Pulse, Axios went digging, and they found disturbing news. Texas senators were threatened with being primaried by “well-funded” opponents. In other words, they were blackmailed into the result. Greg Abbott is, of course, praising Paxton now that he has beaten the charges. According to the Hill, Abbott claimed that Paxton “received a fair trial as required by the Texas Constitution.” There is nothing “fair” about terminating employees who reported wrongdoing and engaging in questionable activities for a donor. Both the hypocrisy and the dirty dealings will continue to go unchecked unless and until the MAGA contingent is gone.

Trying to understand the attraction to MAGA candidates is puzzling. They have never done anything for the people of this country. Indeed, their focus is on themselves and how much power they can gain and control. Out of the top ten poorest states in the nation, seven are red. Yet, these same people keep voting for “leadership” that harms them and everyone else.

Jonathan Haidt, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, studies morality and emotion in various cultures. Haidt’s research suggests that working class and rural voters believe that Republicans represent “moral clarity,” which he defines as “a simple version of good and evil that activates deep seated fears in much of the electorate.” He goes on to explain that Democratic policy is too complex for most of these voters, so they return to what they know. That’s fine, but can they not see that nothing has changed for them in all the years they have had Republican leadership? Based on their standing in society, Haidt said it would make more sense for them to vote Democratic, but they are swayed by code words like “liberal” and “woke,” either too stupid or too lazy to even look at what’s behind those words. Until we can pour cold water on these people and bring them out of their stupor, they will continue to vote for the party most detrimental to our country.