I used to think Republicans were just naive...

[kentuck]

That they did crazy sh*t that threatened our democracy because they thought our democracy was strong enough to withstand anything they did to it. Their more important task was to keep Democrats from spending money on social programs and to keep their taxes low.

But now, I see that they were never concerned whether our democracy survived or not. They see an opportunity to stick the knife in democracy's heart, and by God, they are going to do it. They see no real opposition from their supporters and very little from the Democratic Party, so they choose to strike while the iron is hot.

I was the naive one.

[yardwork]

1. Racism and greed is destroying the country.

[The Jungle 1]

10. I used to deny that racism was to blame.

The last ten years have proven that it is racism. The amount of racist hate that comes from the right is stunning.

[yardwork]

12. It's come out in the open.

We had a president - Trump - who made racism the center of his campaign. That hadn't happened in my lifetime. George Wallace was the closest we came and he didn't win the Republican nomination. (We got Nixon. Yay us).

I knew a lot of people in the U. S. were racist. I knew it was woven into our culture, laws, and institutions. I didn't expect this many people to make it their biggest priority.

[The Jungle 1]

15. On the up side.

Now that we have turned on the lights we are able to smash the cockroaches.

[allegorical oracle]

20. fwiw, killing roaches demands either a brick or poison. Dems will never sink to that level. Repugs

will. At some point perhaps Dems will have to toughen up.

[The Jungle 1]

25. Well that ain't how we roll in Philly

We chase the white supremacist out of town. They won't be back.

https://billypenn.com/2021/07/05/patriot-front-philadelphia-hate-group-supremacist-chased-penske-trucks/

[PufPuf23]

27. Wallace ran as a Democrat in 1968 not GOP against Nixon.

Went to a Wallace for POTUS rally at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on a high school field trip.

Also went to Humphrey and McCarthy rallies that primary season that molded my politics for life.

[yardwork]

29. I'd forgotten that - in any case, he lost.

Thanks fir that correction! .

[Mysterian]

2. Republicans are malevolent

They portray themselves as the "saviors of babies," but they are full of hate for the poor, immigrants, minorities and non-Christians.

[NJCher]

3. I was surprised to learn

That they are primarily stupid and backwards. I learned this way back in the early days of the internet when I posted on an armchair detectives forum. Oh and racist, too. They never wanted to work on a crime of a minority person; only white victims were of interest.

Their social solutions for crime never reflected current findings from the social sciences. It was always very punitive and draconian.

One day I asked some of them if they ever read books and the answer was no not recently. Like since h.s. Or college, if they went.

I think we have to face the fact that the ignorant and racist are now organized and trump went a long way toward putting the bow on that as a package. There was a time when voting correlated with higher rates of education, iircc. I am not so sure that would be the case anymore.

[Irish_Dem]

4. I think many are coming out of their denial about the GOP.

The GOP and American oligarchs are a crime syndicate. A ruthless band of sociopaths who will do anything to achieve permanent power and access to all US financial assets.

I have been warning about this for some time now. I also warned about Chinese and Russian plans to shift world power in their favor and become the 21st century superpowers.

I was ignored, mocked or accused of ignorance.

Now I notice I don't have to post as much here on DU because reality is finally sinking in, people are finally understanding what we are up against.

[3Hotdogs]

5. Democracy is for marks.

Democracy can go fuck itself, as long as they get to stay in power and collect their paychecks as elected officials.

[Lonestarblue]

6. The future fate of democracy is of no concern to Republicans.

The future fate of the white majority is their major concern, and most of their actions stem from their fear that minorities will control the country and treat white people as horribly as they have treated minorities. Even opposition to abortion stems from their fear that too few white babies are being born to help them keep a majority, though most of the opposition is cloaked in religious beliefs. Without abortion and no exception for the life of the mother, the likelihood is that more black women and their babies will die than white women because the maternal death rate for black women is much higher.

Opposition to immigration certainly stems from the fact that few white people, especially Europeans, want to come here while many black and brown people who are living in utter poverty do. If Republicans take full control in 2024, we will see immigration shut down completely with more billions wasted on trying to shut down the southern border.

And with a compliant Supreme Court, we would likely see reinstatement of bans on interracial marriage and new bans on birth control. Gotta keep that pipeline for a domestic supply of infants going, though just perfect white ones.

We are all naïve if we think Republicans will not use every possible action, legal or not, to achieve this goal.

[Maine Abu El Banat]

7. "By God"

You hit the nail on the head. They feel they are empowered by their imaginary friend in the sky.

[ashredux]

8. Many do believe...many are just greedy....and the rest are sociopaths

[CrackityJones75]

19. This.

[The Jungle 1]

13. The thing is their version of Christianity has very little to do with Christ's teachings.

They are making it up as they go.
It is called cafeteria Christianity. You just pick what you want.
A current example is how the Catholic church won't stop giving communion to Catholics who use and support birth control.
Their entire congregation is defying them by using birth control.

[DownriverDem]

9. Been a Dem my whole life

and disagree. We have been fighting them for decades. I won't stop either.

[bucolic_frolic]

11. Modern democracy arose from the Enlightenment's state of nature

A lot of debate surrounded whether human nature was good or evil, did power originate from uncivilized masses agreeing to surrender rights to live in civilized society, or was it granted from a Sovereign, and was he punishing or an enlightened despot? What type of legislature was needed? Was life "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" as Hobbes said?

We don't have a state of nature, if it ever did exist. We have competition for everything. Competition is trumping cooperation. Survival-of-the-fittest rules in a Darwinian world. Only government regulation and a sharply progressive tax system can reverse these trends.

Prepare for the worst, people. Protect yourself to the extent you are able, and plan for long term economic survival. Any plan is better than no plan.

[Vogon_Glory]

14. I have come to believe that Republicans want a Herrenvolk pseudo-republic,

One where only like-minded white people are allowed to vote or hold public office.

That’s why Republican conservatives (the rest of Club Pachyderm are dupes or have been side-lined) adore Putin: he’s made the Russian Federation a Herrenvolk pseudo-republic.

[LLCARD]

16. The sad part is very little opposition from the democratic party

It’s almost like we are all welded to our seats and are numb from the shock of the last 6 years.

We are a large tent party catering to the needs of multiple types of people who at this moment can’t agree on what to do

I’m ready to fight like hell. What do we do?

[CrackityJones75]

18. Sorry but wjat are you talking about?

We currently hold the senate (slim albeit), house, and presidency. We turned out crazy numbers in these elections. We have rallied, marched, and had very good GOTV game. Where is this message that we do nothing coming from?

Meanwhile republicans have been cheating and gaming the system for so long and still we have beat it. We are certainly not sitting by idly.

[HariSeldon]

21. You know how some Dems are scared to sport a bumper sticker?

I want rich people just as scared to admit they are Republicans. Not meaning through violence, just "I'm sorry, we're booked full for the evening," or maybe little clerical errors or serving accidents that cost them their oh-so-precious time. Make them and establishments they patronize deal with protests constantly.

[CrackityJones75]

24. I can get behind that!

[CrackityJones75]

17. I've known this for years.

Dating back a long time (at least Reagan) they have been saying “We aren’t a democracy, we are a republic”.

They have been telling us that for at least 50 years. It was never a secret what their intentions were.

[Eko]

26. The fact that a republic can

also be a type of Democracy goes entirely over their heads.

[Baked Potato]

22. Some of them are "Bannonites" who it seems are willing to

burn it all down and have the rich and powerful swoop in and start over.

[Mr.Bill]

28. The problem is, I can't believe the rich and powerful

want that. Having things as they are now is how they got rich and powerful. Burning it all down seems like a huge risk. Big money does not like uncertainty.

[Baked Potato]

31. Hi, I think though that uncertainty will be the norm now.

The so-called rich and powerful are linked worldwide and uncertainty in one country means a windfall in another. It’s possible to position oneself globally to ride out whatever happens.

Like now, the oil boys would say Democrats cause uncertainty in parts of the economy such as energy and policies like regulations. But, the oil markets are enjoying huge profits in spite of worldwide uncertainty.

And, the MIC is going to be fat and happy replenishing weapons being spent in Ukraine, not to mention all the new orders from countries aligning with NATO.

So, that would be a part of capitalism which thrives on uncertainty.

As far as burning it all down, there would be different levels of that. Some wealthy and powerful people who also happen to be Christofascists would be fine with actual total destruction, as long as they make it to their bunkers. Some R&P may only want to destroy Liberals and be comfortable with RW in charge.

I think that Democrats and Democratic policies cause more certainty than Republican policies by far. I think it is a fallacy that Democrats cause uncertainty. It’s just an excuse “Conservatives” use to blame Democrats for economic hiccups that Republicans themselves cause.

[hamsterjill]

23. Make no mistake.

Their intent is to destroy anyone and any thing that gets in their way. They aren’t naive; they are just mean. They do not understand empathy or compassion.

[Silent3]

30. I suspect there are two major kinds of Republicans involved

There are those, of course, who are simply greedy for power who know exactly what they are doing to destroy democracy.

But then there are the True Believers. I suspect that True Believers are much more common among the voters than the politicians, but that some of the politicians are True Believers too.

They actually believe in the twisted world view that comes out of watching Fox News and OAN, out of following QAnon and other insanity. They've convinced themselves that liberals and Democrats are attacking and undermining everything good about this country, and that they're in a pitched battle to save our country and our democracy, not destroy it.

I still don't have a lot of sympathy for such people, however, because I think it takes a lot of willful ignorance and self-delusion to believe all of that shit. I think these people are drawn into these beliefs in the first place because they help justify their own prejudices and personal failings. Without strong motivated reasoning, the insanity of the right-wing world should be self-evident to anyone with half a brain.

There are, of course, all sorts of variants of degree and kind involved, but I think these two groups, and shades in between, cover most of this issue.