In 2012, two political scientists wrote an essay for the Washington Post (read it here) that was startlingly prescient: The Republican Party, they said, was becoming “”ideologically extreme, scornful of compromise, unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science, dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.”
Most observers, in and out of politics, thought they were exaggerating. That was before Trump, QAnon, and Marjorie Taylor Greene burst upon the scene and became the most visible faces, if not the heart and soul, of the GOP.
Fast-forwarding to 2021, “All have since gotten slugged by reality.” Now, “I don’t get much satisfaction out of being right,” one of the essay authors says. “It’s a grim picture for the foreseeable future,” the other says. “We have a serious risk of losing our democracy.”
Recalling this essay points out that Trump didn’t cause the GOP’s descent into lunacy; it was already underway when Romney was the party’s nominee and climate change denial was the GOP’s peccancy du jour.
Now, “Denying the scientific facts of climate change no longer suffices,” on top of which they’ve stacked Covid-19 denial, mask denial, and vaccine denial. But something even more fundamental is going on in the GOP than turning a blind eye to plain facts.
Last week, they “made honesty a disqualification for party leadership” by sanctioning Liz Cheney for refusing to go along with Trump’s election lies. And party leadership consistently refuses to rein in the rampaging loonies in their ranks. (Only 11 of 210 House Republicans voted to punish Greene for her eliminationist rhetoric against Democrats.)
It’s no mystery why the Republican base adopts conspiracy theories, rejects election results, and is threatening violence: They fear being knocked off their perch.
“What alarms them are the evolving demographic, cultural and economic realities of 21st century America,” a CNN political writer says here.
“The country continues to become less White, less Christian, less financially rewarding for workers without advanced technical skills or higher education. The GOP voting base is increasingly dominated by older, blue-collar, evangelical Whites in economically lagging towns and rural areas. Conservative media outlets stoke nativist anger over their loss of status and power.”
Those trends have been occurring for decades, but seem to be reaching a flashpoint. Among this demographic, the demagogues, lies, and conspiracy theories feed their deep sense of grievance. And, by all appearances, when democracy and fair elections no longer keep them in power and control, those things become as expendable as truth and reason.
Photos: What looked like in 1980 (top right), and what they look like now (bottom left)