The Sickening Spins of Republicans
There may be no more succinctly illustrious example of cultish political fawning than Republican Congressional candidate/conservative sycophant Barry Moore who dreamily gushed about Pence’s performance in the Vice-Presidential Debate. According to the Alabama Political Reporter, Moore thought Pence did an outstanding job painting Biden and Harris as frothing liberal lunatics and enthusiastically echoed the alt-fact, “B.S” delusional propaganda that Pence spewed as convincingly as a second-rate daytime television actor.
The Fly of Irony lounging atop Pence’s grey, coiffed head, notwithstanding.
Clearly, the Republicans now equate “spin” with flat-out lying and deliberate misdirection. Any relatively sober observer of the debate who had even a scant knowledge of current events or politics could easily tell that Pence’s delusional and grandiose claims of the Trump administration’s accomplishments did not jive at all with reality. As of this writing, Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 nine days ago and his now steroidal narcissism, arrogance, and banal hubris are unmasked, unquarantined, and holding reckless rallies.
Yet, the spin is sickening as it’s morphed into a bizarre, fact-free simplistic fable about how Trump has magically restored America to the greatness he promised. Yeah, who’s gonna pay for it? Mexico! Wow, this Trumpcare is so much better than that nasty old Obamacare! Look how the coal industry has jumped back and how we showed China and North Korea who’s boss!! I mean, everything is swell In Trumpland- it’s all Big Rock Candy Mountain and the greatest in all of recorded history thanks to the overly tanned man sent by the divine.
So, here we are, just a few weeks before the most consequential election in generations and it’s well worth noting that roughly 40% of the nation thinks Donald J. Trump hung the moon and that he’s obviously a genius “who speaks his mind and ‘gits’ things done!” In their minds, he’s the best because he hates the same people they hate, and he has no problem breaking a few rules. They cherish their MAGA hats and gaudy Trump paraphernalia.
40%. Seriously.
For years, they craved Republican spin because it justified their own deep-seated prejudices and selfish avarice under the guise of Freedom. Yet, the spin quickly transformed into false-hoods and half-truths, but it strengthened the narrative of an aggrieved, imaginarily oppressed “silent majority”. Trump did not cause this chaos or political maelstrom, yet he is the horrifying product of the Republican political malpractice that created the foundation of Trumpism and it’s anthropomorphic talking-point parrots like Rep. Mo Brooks, Clueless Candidate Tommy Tuberville, and Anything For A Free Sound-bite Barry Moore.
Maybe it’s apropos here to remember the aphorism, “Republicans fall in line, Democrats fall in love.”
Except, this time the rabid Republicans didn’t just fall in line.
The just fell. They fell for a narcissistic carnie who has consistently proven that his only care is about his own self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement.
Clete Wetli is former Chair of the Madison County Democrats and a liberal political activist.
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