To a degree. It’s also getting the base comfortable with the idea that these policies are normal. “Hey, look, the Dems already tried to take over Texas with the military. Its a good thing we had Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton to protect us. Now its our turn to do it to California and New York.”
It also raises the stakes in every election cycle. The 2015 Jade Helm conspiracy made “Vote Red No Matter Who” this overriding priority for Texas conservatives. Compared to 2008/2012, when conservatives tried to paint Obama as weak and effeminate and easily manipulated, the “Obama/Hillary are trying to take over Texas!!!” panic coverage got far more apathetic Republicans off their asses and into voting booths.
The physical embodiment of Limousine Liberalism suddenly became the standard bearer for the Old South from with the Republicans’ own party, literally months after Cruz, Rubio, and Bush had exhausted themselves trying to smear him into the pavement.
I think that was also why Qanon got so much play in the right-wing media ecosystem - getting conservatives comfortable with authoritarian big government conservatism.
Trump is going to declare martial law and have liberals killed or sent to camps? Qanon influencers have been telling conservatives that was the plan since 2017. And about 25% of the United States either believed it or thought “yeah, it’s crazy, but wouldn’t it be cool if it was real?”
The main problem with MAGAs is that they haven’t had the most basic education, leaving them virtuosically ignorant.
Most kids understand the saying “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” by the time they are 10 years old. Their parents have taught them that just because someone else did a bad thing, does not give you permission to do the same bad thing, or another bad thing - “Al Capone killed people, why can’t I?”
But the MAGAs are so ignorant, and so poorly raised by their Sociopathic parents, that they’ve NEVER learned that basic life lesson. Obama was going to do it (but was too scared of Republicans to try it), so it’s perfectly okay for MAGA to do it.
No, if it was wrong for Obama, it’s wrong for you, too.
The main problem with MAGAs is that they haven’t had the most basic education
I wish it were that simple. You’ll find MAGA in the highest ranks of academia at the most elite universities. You’ll find them in corporate leadership at the largest companies. You’ll find them in engineering departments, doctor’s offices, and all over the banking sector.
But the MAGAs are so ignorant, and so poorly raised by their Sociopathic parents, that they’ve NEVER learned that basic life lesson.
It isn’t that they never learned, it’s that the lesson was revealed to be a lie. You can, in fact, get away with one wrong by committing a second… and a third and a tenth. In fact, you can profit handsomely on committing wrongs, so long as they’re aimed at defenseless people.
No, if it was wrong for Obama, it’s wrong for you, too.
The crime they believe Obama committed was becoming president
To a degree. It’s also getting the base comfortable with the idea that these policies are normal. “Hey, look, the Dems already tried to take over Texas with the military. Its a good thing we had Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton to protect us. Now its our turn to do it to California and New York.”
It also raises the stakes in every election cycle. The 2015 Jade Helm conspiracy made “Vote Red No Matter Who” this overriding priority for Texas conservatives. Compared to 2008/2012, when conservatives tried to paint Obama as weak and effeminate and easily manipulated, the “Obama/Hillary are trying to take over Texas!!!” panic coverage got far more apathetic Republicans off their asses and into voting booths.
The physical embodiment of Limousine Liberalism suddenly became the standard bearer for the Old South from with the Republicans’ own party, literally months after Cruz, Rubio, and Bush had exhausted themselves trying to smear him into the pavement.
I think that was also why Qanon got so much play in the right-wing media ecosystem - getting conservatives comfortable with authoritarian big government conservatism.
Trump is going to declare martial law and have liberals killed or sent to camps? Qanon influencers have been telling conservatives that was the plan since 2017. And about 25% of the United States either believed it or thought “yeah, it’s crazy, but wouldn’t it be cool if it was real?”
The main problem with MAGAs is that they haven’t had the most basic education, leaving them virtuosically ignorant.
Most kids understand the saying “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” by the time they are 10 years old. Their parents have taught them that just because someone else did a bad thing, does not give you permission to do the same bad thing, or another bad thing - “Al Capone killed people, why can’t I?”
But the MAGAs are so ignorant, and so poorly raised by their Sociopathic parents, that they’ve NEVER learned that basic life lesson. Obama was going to do it (but was too scared of Republicans to try it), so it’s perfectly okay for MAGA to do it.
No, if it was wrong for Obama, it’s wrong for you, too.
I wish it were that simple. You’ll find MAGA in the highest ranks of academia at the most elite universities. You’ll find them in corporate leadership at the largest companies. You’ll find them in engineering departments, doctor’s offices, and all over the banking sector.
It isn’t that they never learned, it’s that the lesson was revealed to be a lie. You can, in fact, get away with one wrong by committing a second… and a third and a tenth. In fact, you can profit handsomely on committing wrongs, so long as they’re aimed at defenseless people.
The crime they believe Obama committed was becoming president