The Absurd GOP

[The Grand Nudger]

I totally get that. Wondering to what extent a given reich winger has to blindly defend trump because he's utterly captured their brand. They can't control what he says, and alot of them are much more careful with their public image and comments. They get stuck with the job of sniffing every trump turd and saying...akshully...it smells just like roses!

There's nothing he said in defense of trump (or in any of the examples of hateful shit he personally has to say) that will do anything but shore up even more support from his base. They've been conditioned to believe this stuff. It's truer than true. Nothing in particular leads to it, truth flows from it. The organizing principle of contemporary white supremacy is white grievance rather than scientific racism, and no one has ever lost an election in the us by appealing to disaffected whites. The polite ones will still agree, and merely wish that the great man hadn't said it exactly that way. Maybe, they'll say, he meant they're replacing us. You can point out that they are not, in fact, replacing us. Okay, well then maybe he meant they're poisoning us with drugs. You can point out that they are not, in fact, doing this. Well, okay, then maybe he meant that they're destroying our culture or the "soul" of the country. Here again, nope...but none of it matters. It's an organizing principle. It is true, must be true, and will be true no matter how many ways it's expressed, fact checked, and found wanting. You'll probably notice that none of these claims are really different from the original german. It doesn't really matter, from that perspective, how the thought is couched.

They're poisoning our blood, somehow, they just know it. So, sure, there are kneejerk reactions and there are charlatans just spitting out todays hot take - but it would be foolish to ignore the fact that they really do believe it, too, and that it does not prevent them from getting elected in their districts. It's how they replaced the traditional gop - the only thing they hate more than a demoncrat.

[HappySkeptic]

Believing that people who look different have "Poison Blood" is racist. Period. It is the definition of racism.

[Silver]

It is the usual deflection and projection with them. The poison blood rhetoric is precisely the same as fake news. Rather than better themselves, they label others with their own shortcomings.

[ShinyCrystals]

I totally get that. Wondering to what extent a given reich winger has to blindly defend trump because he's utterly captured their brand. They can't control what he says, and alot of them are much more careful with their public image and comments. They get stuck with the job of sniffing every trump turd and saying...akshully...it smells just like roses!

There's nothing he said in defense of trump (or in any of the examples of hateful shit he personally has to say) that will do anything but shore up even more support from his base. They've been conditioned to believe this stuff. It's truer than true. Nothing in particular leads to it, truth flows from it. The organizing principle of contemporary white supremacy is white grievance rather than scientific racism, and no one has ever lost an election in the us by appealing to disaffected whites. The polite ones will still agree, and merely wish that the great man hadn't said it exactly that way. Maybe, they'll say, he meant they're replacing us. You can point out that they are not, in fact, replacing us. Okay, well then maybe he meant they're poisoning us with drugs. You can point out that they are not, in fact, doing this. Well, okay, then maybe he meant that they're destroying our culture or the "soul" of the country. Here again, nope...but none of it matters. It's an organizing principle. It is true, must be true, and will be true no matter how many ways it's expressed, fact checked, and found wanting. You'll probably notice that none of these claims are really different from the original german. It doesn't really matter, from that perspective, how the thought is couched.

They're poisoning our blood, somehow, they just know it. So, sure, there are kneejerk reactions and there are charlatans just spitting out todays hot take - but it would be foolish to ignore the fact that they really do believe it, too, and that it does not prevent them from getting elected in their districts. It's how they replaced the traditional gop - the only thing they hate more than a demoncrat.

I think I understand some of it, and I know I understand the rest. Either way, thanks for explaining.

You made some good points. Still, what did you mean by the “traditional GOP”?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Mike Johnson Claims Trump's 'Poison Blood' Comments Aren't Hateful

Referring to Trump's claims that immigrants poison the blood of America, Johnson claimed, "He’s been saying this since he ran for president the first time that we have to secure the border, and I think the vast majority of the American people understand the necessity of that and I think they agree with his position."

"Well, it’s not hateful,” Johnson shot back. “What President Trump is trying to advance is his America first priority. And I think that makes sense to a lot of people. The current President, President Biden wants additional supplemental spending on national security, but he denies the most important point of our own national security. And that is our own border."

https://hillreporter.com/watch-mike-john...-t-hateful

What a fool. I can see it be hard for him to get re-elected with him saying things like that.

Nope.  Focus tested.  It's not hateful, just true.  That's the messaging the (previously) alt right landed on for normalizing racism in the here and now.

Not to mention that his district is Deep South KKK Kountry. This will assure him a landslide reelection.

[ShinyCrystals]

What a fool. I can see it be hard for him to get re-elected with him saying things like that.

Nope.  Focus tested.  It's not hateful, just true.  That's the messaging the (previously) alt right landed on for normalizing racism in the here and now.

Not to mention that his district is Deep South KKK Kountry. This will assure him a landslide reelection.

I guess what I should have said is that I can’t see him be speaker of the house again, and that is assuming the democrats do retake the house in the election.

He may be re-elected by the fools in his home state, especially the KKK, but assuming the democrats retake the house…well, you may know.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I guess what I should have said is that I can’t see him be speaker of the house again, and that is assuming the democrats do retake the house in the election.

He may be re-elected by the fools in his home state, especially the KKK, but assuming the democrats retake the house…well, you may know.

Even if the Dems remain the minority there, Johnson's job is still very much at risk, depending how he navigates the ongoing budget and aid-package discussions. In a sense, the Dem-controlled Senate has him by the short hairs, because he can't get anything done unless it will pass in the Senate -- and that means bipartisanship, which is clearly repellent to so many on the far right.

[ShinyCrystals]

I guess what I should have said is that I can’t see him be speaker of the house again, and that is assuming the democrats do retake the house in the election.

He may be re-elected by the fools in his home state, especially the KKK, but assuming the democrats retake the house…well, you may know.

Even if the Dems remain the minority there, Johnson's job is still very much at risk, depending how he navigates the ongoing budget and aid-package discussions. In a sense, the Dem-controlled Senate has him by the short hairs, because he can't get anything done unless it will pass in the Senate -- and that means bipartisanship, which is clearly repellent to so many  on the far right.

That is an interesting thing to note.

It looks like one can say that either way, things may not go so well for Johnson.

[arewethereyet]

I think that with all the damn chaos within the House and with Republicans, Johnson was voted in as a sacrificial lamb. He will be gone soon and they will all line up to wipe the shit off their shoes onto him on his way out.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Even if the Dems remain the minority there, Johnson's job is still very much at risk, depending how he navigates the ongoing budget and aid-package discussions. In a sense, the Dem-controlled Senate has him by the short hairs, because he can't get anything done unless it will pass in the Senate -- and that means bipartisanship, which is clearly repellent to so many  on the far right.

That is an interesting thing to note.

It looks like one can say that either way, things may not go so well for Johnson.

When it comes to all spending bills, those must, Constitutionally, begin life in the House. It is those budget bills that are being discussed on the Hill as we type. How deeply those bills offend or mollify the radical-right representatives likely depends on exactly how much the House GOP leaders try to pass bills that have a realistic chance of getting through the Democratic Senate.

Ergo, Johnson is forced to take the initiative and risk alienating a significant part of his House caucus, or take the blame for the partial shutdown that is looming. He has a very narrow path to tread.