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Ongoing US GOP Debacle Thread: Seditious Republicans march toward authoritarianism

Junebag isn’t wrong. Those women come off as idiots. But that’s not the fault of the author - it’s just accurate reporting.
 
The vast majority of people inherit their parents political beliefs along with their religious beliefs, they just fold their own adult life experiences into the beliefs without ever self-examining. They're just sheep being herded through life by a socio economic monoculture.
 
Go back and read Highland’s post. He explains it well. These articles center political narratives around Trump supporters which shifts the “center” to the right. There’s little comparable coverage of the left to shift the focus and recenter the narrative.

Think about it like this. Conservative media focuses on Trump supporters. Mainstream media also focuses on Trump supporters. It’s been two years.
 
PhDeac said:
Go back and read Highland’s post. He explains it well. These articles center political narratives around Trump supporters which shifts the “center” to the right. There’s little comparable coverage of the left to shift the focus and recenter the narrative.

Think about it like this. Conservative media focuses on Trump supporters. Mainstream media also focuses on Trump supporters. It’s been two years.
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Every time I listen to fox news they aren't talking about Trump supporters.
 
Perhaps “talks to” would be better than “focuses on.” Conservative media talk about liberals but don’t talk to them.
 
I haven’t seen Fox News talk about anything but Trumpists,recently.
 
Why I left the Kansas Republican Party

Compromise, common sense and listening to all sides of an issue don’t seem like countercultural values. Certainly, in the home I grew up in they weren’t. My parents belonged to separate political parties, and those values were part of the air I breathed.

But in my state’s Republican Party, such values have become increasingly difficult to find. And that’s why I’ve decided to leave the party.

I ran for office because I strongly believe that elected officials should serve the people they represent. They should take the time to hear from those on all sides of an issue and consider how people's lives are affected by policies. I didn’t see this from the incumbent, so I ran for a seat in the Kansas legislature.

There, I identified with and developed friendships with moderate women in both parties who embodied this kind of principled compromise and common sense. Despite the work of then-Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, to purge state government (and the Republican Party) of moderates, I believed the best way to fight for my state was to work with my moderate friends to try to reverse those changes; in fact, that’s what I had been elected to do. It’s what the people wanted. However, I quickly discovered during my own service what many of my moderate friends already knew: The changes were deeper and much more pervasive than I thought. To many in the Republican Party, “bipartisan” had become a dirty word.

I witnessed party bosses reinforce this message numerous times by punishing caucus members who disagreed with their leadership. I was even threatened early in my first session for advocating an end to Brownback’s failed tax experiment, a key issue in my campaign and one that the people of my district supported. When a fixed ideological position was put ahead of the people I serve and their wishes, I knew that was unacceptable.

Making matters worse were almost daily emails from constituents asking if I agreed with the latest absurd tweet by the president or a racist statement made against newly elected Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) by a local Republican precinct committeeman. I did not.

Furthermore, I watched the 2018 elections in Kansas where the Republican Party nominated Kris Kobach, a man whose whole career is built on weaponizing fear and blaming his failures on others, for governor. I also watched as party allies attacked moderates in both the primary and general elections. The message was clear: Pragmatic moderates are unwelcome and unnecessary. Yet, those were the very leaders who helped push our state forward from the failed Brownback experiment.

While I tried to be a rational voice, speaking up more and more within the party, my attention to these matters diverted me from working to help those who I serve on the issues that affect them the most — access to health care, fully funded schools, strong infrastructure and good-paying jobs. These are all issues that also happen to be at the heart of the Democratic Party platform.

If Kobach embodied the direction the state and national party were headed and ultraconservatives continued to dominate the platform, I knew my values no longer aligned with the Republican Party, and I no longer wanted to be a part of it.

I want to work with other moderate, pragmatic leaders on policy that helps remove bureaucratic hurdles and helps government better serve Kansans rather than having to constantly disavow rhetoric designed to divide people. I can do that in the Democratic Party.

I want to dedicate my time to serving the people in my district and working for the good of all Kansans in the party of Gov.-elect Laura Kelly — a dedicated, hard-working public servant who, in her own words, saw the results of the 2018 election as a “wave of common sense” and civility.

My change to the Democratic Party has already shown me reasons for optimism. I have found that I am respected, my opinion is valued, and open discussions are encouraged. I see a future in which sound policy is valued above scoring cheap political points.

Many in our country and the state of Kansas desire a future in which common sense and common decency are the rule rather than the exception. As Americans, we are at our best when we put aside fear, put aside the kind of viciousness that comes when we ignore our better angels and work together for the benefit of the state. It is my hope that someday these qualities are valued equally by both parties, but now I look forward to working for Kansans as a Democrat.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...nsas-republican-party/?utm_term=.4c107ecebef7
 
I think three or four women in the Kansas legislature recently switched from Republican to Democrat.
 
I hope many more Kansans have the same epiphany. Sadly, that’s unlikely.
 
AsesinoDeTortugas said:
I hope many more Kansans have the same epiphany. Sadly, that’s unlikely.
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At least Kobach lost the governor's race to a Democrat. Maybe Kansans have learned a lesson - after letting the GOP nearly ruin the state's economy and public finances.
 
PhDeac said:
I think three or four women in the Kansas legislature recently switched from Republican to Democrat.
Click to expand...
AsesinoDeTortugas said:
I hope many more Kansans have the same epiphany. Sadly, that’s unlikely.
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It's not a huge leap. Same politician takes off one lapel pin, puts another one on. No profound change.
 
Highland Deac said:
At least Kobach lost the governor's race to a Democrat. Maybe Kansans have learned a lesson - after letting the GOP nearly ruin the state's economy and public finances.
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From previous experience, it’s impossible. KS won’t elect a Dem senator. Impossible.
 
myDeaconmyhand said:
It's not a huge leap. Same politician takes off one lapel pin, puts another one on. No profound change.
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It’s a change nonetheless. And to the extent their votes flip from yes to no on harmful legislation it’s a potentially profound one.

What hasn’t changed is how hard DSA and other progressive groups should be working to find quality progressive candidates in Kansas to run against republicans or primary centrist Dems. Maybe focus on that.
 
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