General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: For a little perspective, let this sink in: [View all]Hortensis
(58,785 posts)1. We now know that people tend to choose their political group and as part of that group choose to accept its leaders and then adopt the positions of that group's leaders. Shockingly, it's not vice versa. Group and leaders first, then positions, changing as instructed by the leaders they accepted. Sure, some are more independent thinkers, but more are not and most conservatives are especially vulnerable.
2. The leadership on the right has been taken over by wealthy archconservatives and stocked with politicians who serve their interests by institutionalizing corruption. They work through the right because they're more in line ideologically and more vulnerable to bad leadership. But these are the people who tell Republican voters what to think and support.
Trump's an anomaly, a voter rebellion against the wealthy string-pullers, but they've got him half harnessed and, by surrounding him mostly with their people and horse-whispering through Fox, etc., largely working for them. And the vast majority of Republican voters follow him as their leader.
3. Today, needless to say, Repub voters are responding to terrible leadership. But this has been going on for years, molding them into almost the worst possible versions of their political selves. Under good leadership, they would behave very differently, as good leaders encouraged.
4. We can't take this current crop of leaders out and shoot them, we have to try, try, try again to vote them out. But that's not "indulging" anything. This tsunami of right-wing corruption at all levels from president down to and including their voters happened overwhelmingly on the right and is THEIR doing and their fault. Not ours.
5. It did not happen on the left, although they're working hard to turn enough of our our voters into tools to stop us right now. They succeeded in 2016.
6. COUNTDOWN TO PUTTING PRINCIPLED DEMOCRATS IN CONTROL OF CONGRESS: 182 days.