The Republican Party at one time was a vibrant party that worked for the good of the people, but during the course of over a generation has changed drastically. It has become nihilistic and negative, working for the demise of our democracy and primarily for its own authoritarian control.
Modern Republican presidencies have generally been less people-friendly, more for business interests, but still willing to compromise. That has changed. Even beyond the pale of the crass commercial culture they champion, Republican leaders now singularly stands for greed, selfishness, and a ruthless pursuit of power.
Such traits do not require leaders with public service credentials, only an unquestioning loyalty to an authoritarian leadership pursuing a corporate donor agenda. Consequently, Republicans seek candidate performance skills that effectively deceive, cajole, and con base voters while supporting mostly non-white voter disenfranchisement. If that doesn’t work, interfere with elections.
Most prominent Republicans are pro-insurrectionist, gun-waving, pro-Trump, and anti-democracy advocates.
Accordingly, candidate sources like Explore Talent are a reasonable talent pool for Republican political candidates in the soldier ranks. Several pro-gun, pro-violence, GOP rising stars (Boebert and Greene) have come from that pay-to-play acting agency. It’s a seemingly unlikely source since its talent pool orients toward acting, not professional or college-trained jobs. Also, GOP’s supporting media, Fox News, draws from the same crowd.
The Senate is more Big-League and more Ivy-League, though some like Ron Johnson are light-witted and heavy-mouthed. Super PAC money, not limited by federal law, spreads millions of dollars for GOP campaigns, especially for Republican candidates like right-wing Sen. Ron Johnson in battle-ground states like Wisconsin. There, billionaires like Diane Hendricks favored Johnson for his ugly demagoguing favoring billionaire interests. Big money also favors pro-corporate Senators like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.
Potential candidates gain notice (audition) on right wing media for GOP jobs. Acting does help, often posing as fake experts on Fox News opinion forums like Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson. All Fox offerings claim to be news-worthy.
Conservative media encourages and lauds verbal and physical assassins of conservative enemies like Black Lives Matter (BLM). Child gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse, shot three unarmed BLM demonstrators with an AR-15 weapon on the streets of Kenosha, Minnesota. He fit in with a Republican violence-based racist message. After his self-defense acquittal, his interviews help enhance the anger-tinged, racist-based Fox Spews messages.
Such hateful and violent performances fit in with the unified Republican message.
Thus, if you are an unprincipled opportunist looking for a relatively quick fix of easy money, power, acclamation and attention, where would you go? Not to college, not to a fortune 500 company that expects credentials and would vet you. An easy choice would be the Republican Party, like running for Congress.
The only vetting is done by GOP kingpins, gorged with Dark Money behind them. Voters, most with limited and managed contact, must like your charm which is crafted and staged in events by campaign managers.
Close vetting is not even assured by media and certainly not the remaining skeletal journalist ranks which now seek high ratings by corporate for-profit news and especially by mendacious Fox media outlets, where sponsored big money is available.
Four years of Donald Trump helped to amplify an already existing style for Republicans: brazen, outlandish, and uncivil in manner. But with Trump, more so. Mocking and vilifying your opponents is essential, and one can be assured that for-profit media will cover the most outlandish and uncivil manners. Ruffian and villainous, and abusive, loud and aggressive is in. Discussing informed issues is out.
Now as followers of Donald Trump more and more Republican candidates are leaning in that direction.
Discovered through Explore Talent, Republican representative Lauren Boebert found a Colorado 65% rural district that marginally favored Donald Trump. Following the Trump tactic, she tears down, exploits, and decomposes others.
Like the common House Fly and Flesh Fly, Republicans are drawn to the smell and nutrients of rotting or decomposing organic matter, yes, like excrement.
Perhaps that is the reason that Republicans now only support policy that leads to decay and obstructs all policy that builds organic matter, including human welfare. That is why not a single Republican voted for the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by Democrats.
But many will take credit for the innumerable benefits offered to the downtrodden and the poor. Posturing, lying, and demagoguing are essential qualities for a Republican before a voting public.
They are thriving in a corporate culture constructed over two generations with mountains of corporate entitlements for the rich and disbursed for their minion helpers and supporters.
Counting on a short attention span of the public after the insurrection, the flow of money will soon resume to the insurrection candidates like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert, who posed in front of her Christmas tree with her kids, all sporting assault weapons.
Even most of the Republican candidates who support the Trump, lie about his 1/6/21 insurrection, and the Big Lie, that he won the 2020 election, will be supported by corporate money, either in the open or secretly through PAC money.
That is why a sane watchful majority must vigilantly hold on to democracy over the coming years and help promote a healthy America.
