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babylonsister

(170,963 posts)
Tue Feb 8, 2022, 02:59 PM Feb 2022

From voting rights to 'critical race theory': There's no law or fact the GOP feels bound to respect

https://www.alternet.org/2022/02/gop/

From voting rights to 'critical race theory': There's no law or fact the GOP feels bound to respect now
Amanda Marcotte
and Salon
February 08, 2022


Two stories straight out of Alabama this week really encapsulate how the panic over "critical race theory," the war on schools and the war on democracy itself are all a piece of a singular racist right wing movement. Last week, AL.com reported that school officials across the state say parents are freaking out over the very existence of Black History Month, accusing schools of promoting "critical race theory" by mentioning it or honoring it in any way. And on Monday, the Supreme Court declined to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act in response to a plainly racist gerrymander in Alabama, on the grounds that doing so would interfere with the state's control of their elections systems. Yes, even though federal oversight of state election systems is literally what the Voting Rights Act was designed to do.

It's been 13 months since Donald Trump incited an insurrection on the Capitol, one that was clearly driven by white supremacy and the belief that the votes of Black Americans simply shouldn't count as much as those of white people. There continues to be a struggle between various factions of the GOP over how to portray the violent insurrection itself — to call it a glorious MAGA revolution or pretend it was a random event unconnected to the larger party — but these two stories show the sentiment that drove it has now taken root in every corner of the GOP. From the school board to the Supreme Court, Republicans are determined to stomp out anything that stands in the way of white supremacy, from history to the law to democracy itself.

snip//

It's the same impulse underpinning the panic over "critical race theory," a cover story for white conservatives trying to stomp out acknowledgment of the country's racist history and contributions made by Black Americans. Republicans spent months gaslighting the public about this, insisting the attacks on school boards and bans on "critical race theory" were about stopping supposedly "divisive" teachings and "anti-white" racism. But their actions speak otherwise, from these complaints about Black History Month to efforts to ban books about Martin Luther King Jr. The goal is erasing history, literature and even facts that conflict with a white supremacist ideology.

What was remarkable about the Capitol insurrection is that it was both an assault on rule of law and on reality itself. The rioters rejected the basic fact that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. They also rejected the basic law that asserts that the winner of the election has the right to take power. The belief that they and people like them — white conservatives — have a "right" to rule overrules everything else.

The insurrection clearly didn't end on January 6, just because the rioters failed to overturn the election and enshrine the Big Lie. On the contrary, the insurrection has mutated and metastasized within the GOP. It has infused the whole party, from the ordinary voters freaking out at school boards to the highest court in the land. There might be a few Republican holdouts — like Roberts or former vice president Mike Pence — who still think things like "rule of law" and "basic facts" matter. But they have clearly lost the battle with the rest of the party, as this 5-4 Supreme Court decision shows. There is no law or fact Republicans feel bound to respect. Anything that stands in the way of the white conservative will to power is expected to give way.
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From voting rights to 'critical race theory': There's no law or fact the GOP feels bound to respect (Original Post) babylonsister Feb 2022 OP
I am elated to inform them that math and a majority with morals will make that impossible for them. onecaliberal Feb 2022 #1
Toxic selfishness. moondust Feb 2022 #2

moondust

(19,917 posts)
2. Toxic selfishness.
Tue Feb 8, 2022, 03:42 PM
Feb 2022

"Free" societies are at a disadvantage when it comes to looking out for the public good. Antivaxxers, antimaskers, juvenile trucker protests, etc., were all probably predictable after years of greedy Republicans and wingnuts in other countries making "big gubment" the enemy. Laws are for suckers! Then came the lawless Orange Pig to drive them over the edge.



China and other totalitarian states don't have these problems. The strongman just orders everybody to do something and they do it OR ELSE! PERIOD!!!

Almost two centuries after recognition of the tragedy of the commons and I'm not sure who wins.

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