“The Fine Print”, by Michael Schrader

 

(R) is for “Reactionary”, (D) is for “Dumb”

 

(Written and posted 29 July 2022)

 

The Texas GOP just passed their new platform, and if this is not a wake-up call to people who still support the Reactionary Republican Party, then nothing will.  What makes it even worse is that the Dumb Democrats are blowing whatever chance they have to seize the momentum by nominating candidates who will not win.  Back to the Dumb in a bit; let me digress a bit into what the Reactionary plan is, as what they do in Texas will be emulated nationwide.

 

First, let me point out that the lead of the editorial committee that wrote the platform is none other than Linda Nuttall – I kid you not.  Her name is actually Nuttall, and her name fits, because the platform is “all nuts”.  No other good way to describe it.  It starts with the typical kajillion references to God, because the more we say it, the more we will convince you that even though the bile we are about to spew is the anti-thesis of what God has revealed about themselves in the Bible, if we say it enough times, we will really convince you otherwise.  It doesn’t quite work that way.

 

 Affirming our belief in God, we still hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Throughout the world, people dare to dream of freedom and opportunity. The Republican Party of Texas unequivocally defends that dream. We strive to preserve the freedom given to us by God, implemented by our Founding Fathers, and embodied in the Constitution. We recognize that human nature is immutable. We further recognize that the traditional family is the strength of our nation. It is our solemn duty to protect innocent life and develop responsible citizens. We understand that our economic success depends upon free market principles. If we fail to maintain our sovereignty, we risk losing the freedom to live these ideals. 

 

Some things to note here: first, only men are created equal; if they had intended to included women, they would have said “all people are created equal”.  Yes, the GOP is indeed misogynist, and quite proud of it.  Why any woman would ever vote Republican is a mystery.  But I digress… They say that they defend the dream of freedom and opportunity, but yet complain about people wanting to come here to pursue that dream; can’t have it both ways, GOP!  The gleeful demonizing of migrants coming here to pursue the dream pretty much confirms the hypocrisy.  Only certain people are allowed to pursue the dream, and definitely not women, as they were not created equal; only men.  They talk about the traditional family, but what is the traditional family?  According to some Republicans, one man, one woman, married, never divorced.  Yes, there are Republicans, most notable one running for the U.S. Senate, who not only thinks gay marriage is not acceptable, but divorce is not acceptable, either.  Being abused?  Work it out!  Toxic relationship?  Work it out!  Divorce is not acceptable!  Of course, interracial marriages are not considered by many Republicans to be “traditional”, either.

 

We, the 2022 Republican Party of Texas, believe in this platform and expect our elected leaders to uphold these truths through acknowledgment and action. We believe in:  (1) “The laws of nature and nature’s God,” and we support the strict adherence to the original language and intent of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions of the United States and of Texas.  (2) The sanctity of innocent human life, created in the image of God, which should be equally protected from fertilization to natural death.  (3) Preserving individual, Texan, and American sovereignty and freedom.  (4) Limiting government power to those items enumerated in the United States and Texas Constitutions.  (5) Personal accountability and responsibility.  (6) Self-sufficient families, founded on the traditional marriage of a natural man and a natural woman.  (7) Having an educated population, with parents having the freedom of choice for the education of their children.  (8) The inalienable right of all people to defend themselves and their property.  (9) A free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies.  (10) Honoring all of those that serve and protect our freedom.

 

We are still on the basic overview, and there is just so much to unpack.  Strict adherence to the original language of the Constitution means slavery, each slave counts as three-fifths of a white, and only white property owners can vote.  With respect to education, how do you have an educated population when the children are indoctrinated by the parents?  Doesn’t sound like education, but rather blind obedience.  I have to chuckle at the “free enterprise” part, as it was free enterprise that drove up gas prices; limited supply, and I can charge what I want!  There is a reason supply crashed, and it has nothing to do with the government, but rather the inability to recover the cost when gas was cheap.  Want drilling?  Have to have expensive gas to justify it.  Don’t even get me started about the Republican attack on the adult entertainment industry, and the closing of adult book stores and theaters on morality grounds.  Truly free enterprise means my moral preference doesn’t matter.  The most laughable of all is about honoring those that serve and protect our freedom, except when it comes to scoring petty political points, then we will happily screw over the vets who got exposed to toxins serving the country.  Screw them and their medical needs.

 

There are so many other gems in this rambling garbage.  Repeal of the ERA.  (Plank 29).  Prayer, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments in school.  (Plank 31).  Repeal of the National Firearms Act of 34 and the Gun Control Act of 1968.  (Plank 32).  Nullification of federal laws and secession.  (Plank 33).  Elimination of direct election of all statewide officials.  (Plank 34).  Elimination of requirement to have a law degree, or any degree, to practice law.  (Plank 40).  Repeal minimum wage and mandatory sick leave. (Plank 41)  Ban companies that disagree with us.  (Plank 46)  Eliminate unions, both public (Plank 48) and private (Plank 52).  Supports the repeal of the Endangered Species Act and the elimination of the EPA.  (Plank 57). Opposition to bike lanes, sidewalks, and transit. (Plank 63).  No toll roads.  (Plank 65).  No high speed rail.  (Plank 66).  Homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice.  (Plank 155).  Those between the ages of 18 and 21, inclusive, cannot change gender.  (Plank 156).  Elimination of No-Fault Divorce.  (Plank 214)

 

Back to the Democrats.  Since the GOP is a very disciplined party, pretty much most of the state GOP platforms are the same.  These ideas are so extreme, so, well “Nuttall”, that it would be quite easy for a good candidate to expose this evil for what it is and win.  Unfortunately, the Democrats are as obsessed with extreme purity as the Republicans are, and select candidates that just don’t have a chance of winning.  Here in Wisconsin, there were four people running to be the Democratic nominee to take on Ron Johnson.  The two white guys, if nominated, probably would have won; the white woman would have had a challenge, but had a good chance.  These three candidates, pressured by the party, have dropped out less than two weeks before the primary, to clear the way for the preferred party candidate, the current Lieutenant Governor, which has now handed the election to Johnson, a pretty much useless Senator who spent a recent July 4 partying with Putin.  You see, the Lt. Governor is a radical black guy, so two strikes against him.  Things have changed a lot since 2018, starting with riots across the country in 2020 and the rise and fall of the BLM and “Defund the Police” movements, of which the Lt. Governor is a supporter.  Throw in that his entire campaign is based on “Vote for me, I am not a millionaire like my opponents”, and the outcome will not be good for Democrats.  And yes, as much as I hate to say it, here in Wisconsin, thanks to the 2020 riots and Kyle Rittenhouse, race matters, and outside of the cities, the state is around 98% white; these are white people who actually believe that the 2020 election was stolen and that the attempted coup on January 6 was actually antifa and BLM in disguise.  Unlike some other states, the core cities do not constitute a majority of the voters.  He will lose, and lose bad.

 

We will see this same pattern play out elsewhere in the country.  Missouri has a vacant Senate seat, and if you think “Brave Sir Robin” Hawley is bad, wait until Eric Schmitt joins him, as the Democrats have zero chance of taking the seat.  When the almost Marxist Cori Bush becomes the face of your party, and you are in a former slave state, you are pretty much screwed.  Does anyone really think Beto will beat Greg Abbott in Texas?  He couldn’t beat the weaselly Ted Cruz, so why on earth did the Texas Democrats think this was a good choice to try and defeat the much stronger and more well liked Abbott?  Makes me scratch my head.  Then you have Georgia.  Abrams could not beat Kemp the first time, so why think she will win a rematch?  She won’t.  As “nuttall” as the GOP has become, you actually have to have a good candidate to deprogram the voters and make them see the truth, and the Democrats just don’t have that, with the notable exception of Pennsylvania.

 

So what is going to happen?  We will continue to see the assault on our rights by the GOP as we continue our march towards apartheid, Christian nationalism, and authoritarianism.  I know I will not be able to convince one single brainwashed Republican to see the truth, as the merger of Catholicism and the Republican Party is pretty much complete.  It is disheartening to see people who I used to respect be so totally bamboozled and brainwashed and willing to screw over members of their own family.  It is disgusting to see people with mothers and wives and daughters willing to subject them to perpetual subservience and second class status.  What the hell happened to us?  How did we let the evil win?

 

 

 

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