“They are who we thought they were…” — Dennis Green
Same Old S — T…
Okay, the late Dennis Green wasn’t talking about the Republican Party when he uttered those legendary words on October 6, 2016, at a press conference. But they work here.
And I dig the late Coach Green so this is out of respect for him and his body of work on and off the field, and I thank him.
But yes, the Republicans are who we thought they were. They say they need to “restrategize” and “chart a new path.”
Don’t believe it.
This past weekend, in New York, one of the Republican Party’s leading voices spoke out forcefully on what the party is about. Marjorie Taylor Green, the real voice of the party, said the following about the January 6 attempted insurrection:
Thank you very much. We knew you felt like this even if you didn’t say it.
Also, for the record, somewhere in Arizona, Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for Governor of Arizona, who lost fair and square is filing lawsuits trying to challenge the election rather than getting on with her life. She isn’t just part of the extreme anti-democracy wing of the GOP. She is the GOP.
The truth is the party has no policies, no ideas, no platform, and is rudderless since #45 seized control of it. It is a haven for celebrity politicians who use hate and division for their own personal gain. It wasn’t always like this.
But actually, I don’t really care. I don’t believe in the credibility of the one-party/two-political cartel system anyway, so let the GOP fail.
Here is the GOP political cartel right now under this kind of leadership like M. T. Greene and others —
- The GOP didn’t even have a platform this year. No real commitment to anything.
- The party is too ideological. It is rigid and runs itself with religious ideas.
- The party is isolationist, anti-immigrant, anti-choice, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and pro-inequality.
- Yet, most of all, the party is authoritarian and its political agenda and motivations are suspect.
Change
If the Republicans want to take a new path, they effectively have to reject the views of many of their voters. They have to lose voters to change course much as the Democrats did briefly in the 1960s by supporting civil rights.
The GOP has to open the party to the majority of America by supporting basic civil rights laws, and racial and sexual equality. That is the floor.
They have to stop passing voter suppression laws and anti-LGBTQ laws, especially at the state level. They have to put a pause on giant tax cuts for the wealthy and pass tax cuts for everyone else. Then most of all, tell the 45th President it’s over. You will not be our nominee in 2024. You belong in prison.
After January 6, 2021, the infamous insurrection, there was talk of kicking the guy out of the party, but it disappeared. Everyone got back in line. The 45th President seized control of the party again. He still is in control of the party. He is still calling the shots even though he is dragging the party into the political abyss.
None of this will happen
Let us be honest though. The Republican Party is not going to change.
The leadership of the party is the Grifter wing. The 45th President has his people in the power positions in the party. That wing of the party is the January 6 wing of the Republican party.
That wing of the party is the “Zero Tolerance” child separation program wing of the party. That wing of the party is using Christian nationalism on the other parts of the party to keep everyone in line.
There is no real change coming. This is not the party of Lincoln or Frederick Douglass or even Jack Kemp. This is the party that isn’t ashamed of the January 6 insurrection; it is ashamed that its attempt to stop the election from being certified failed. One of their leaders said so this past weekend.
As the late, Dennis Green said — they are who we thought they were.
Thanks for reading —
—
This post was previously published on Bumpyjonas – he/him.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock