The GOP's Vision For America Is Far Scarier Than You Can Possibly Imagine

[Celerity]

And if Republicans gain control of the country, the toxic slurry of rage, hate, fascism, and white nationalism will make Russian authoritarianism look tame.

https://thebanter.substack.com/p/the-gops-vision-for-america-is-far



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Republicans do not float trial balloons so much as announce the next stop on their crazy train. Some of us have been trying to get this message across for literally years and now, here we are. It was never going to end with abortion. They were always going to go after all contraceptives for women. They were always going to try to end marriage equality. They were always going to try to make homosexuality illegal again. Now they’re telling us that interracial marriage has got to go, too. It is just a matter of time until the Republican extremists on the Supreme Court find an excuse. It will not have to be consistent with logic, the Constitution, the law, or even their own previous rulings. It will be about power and the sheer abuse of it. You think the First Amendment is safe? Why?

Once Republicans have rigged elections so they cannot lose, they will use their newfound freedom from accountability and the corrupted courts to seize control of the media. This is what authoritarians always do. In the meantime, they will use the vast media megaphone they already have to turn their base into a cudgel. Millions of Republican voters are already eager to dispense violence in the name of “patriotism.” This may sound insane, but the Oath Keepers militia had a cache of weapons right outside of DC, waiting to be called in. They were waiting for permission from Trump to start shooting people. If Trump had been less of a coward and more of a blood-thirsty tyrant, a lot more people would have died on January 6, 2021.

Remember, a large number of Republicans fully support political violence in America now. All they need is permission and the pogroms will begin in earnest. With a lock on the levers of power, that permission will be given and off the mob will go, looking for “traitors” and “the Deep State.” When push comes to shove, once they’re told that they can hurt and kill the people they hate with impunity, just like in the good ol’ days of lynchings and race riots, there is absolutely nothing to suggest the nice white people of the American right-wing won’t be back out in the streets again. This time, while they burn black men alive and hang them from trees, they won’t just be taking pictures, they’ll be posting them to Facebook and Instagram. Proud to be an #American and a #patriot! Wish you were here!

Putin can only dream of turning his people into this kind of weapon. The Soviet Union had the KGB to keep the populace living in fear. Modern-day Russia has the FSB and they do have that history of pogroms. But America will have millions of racists ready and eager to dish out American justice to anyone who isn’t loyal enough to the homeland. If that’s the future you want, keep sleeping while Republicans rig elections and suppress the vote. Just let it happen and hope no one comes for you. Or you can donate, volunteer, and never stop raising your voice as loudly as you can until these monsters are driven back into the shadows. Look to what’s happening to Russia to see the faintest shadow of what Republicans have planned for us.

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