Does America Get Just How Dangerous the GOP Is?

Obliviousness today means fascism’s return tomorrow.

What if I told you in 2015 that a political party, somewhere around the world, was using extremist civilians against the state in order to solidify their own power? What would you say? That, wherever they are, the people need to get rid of them, right? Well, what if I told you that this party remained silent as a demagogue tried to overturn an election? Or that it acquitted that same demagogue after he incited an attack on a federal building? Or that they had given the attackers tours of said building before the attack?

Would you be left scratching your head? Wondering whether I was exaggerating? After all, how could a party go to such extremes?

Doesn’t make sense, does it? But this is America’s reality today. The point isn't to merely remind you of all that’s gone wrong, rather remind you of how badly it’s gone wrong. You see, six years ago, you wouldn't have bought any of this. But today, you’re hoping it just doesn't get any worse. And that journey from point A to point B has been the GOP transcending the limits of what you ever thought was possible; of what you thought was the limit of party politics.

And you know what makes this even worse? The fact that they’re just getting started. What rules will they bend and twist next? Which of your fears are they going to bring to reality?

Is it normalising weapons in Congress? Turning a blind eye to school shootings? Increasing reliance on fossil fuels? Leading a crusade against science and fact? Appointing a purely white male cabinet? Banning travel from Mexico altogether? Demonizing Jews? Muslims? Blacks?

The list is endless. And that in and of itself is terrifying. Because what it says is you've now got a party that’s willing to do anything and everything. That there are no more rules. That they've been unleashed in a manner you never imagined.

But more than anything else, it shows that they've become shameless. They’re now indifferent to lying, spreading conspiracies and radicalising. They don't care that the rest of the world is onto them, debunking their lies, and calling them a threat to American democracy. To this day, more than four months since the election, the Republican party is still helping Trump spread his lies. The Trump voter is still being radicalised. Some to the point where anything the world says won’t matter. An alternate reality was created, lies were incessantly fed, all to the point where the world they now live in is unrecognisable to ours.

And you have to wonder, where do they draw the line? How much destruction are they willing to cause in order to win? How many more attacks are they willing to incite? Because there has to be a limit before the violent Trumpist explodes. After all, you can only add gasoline to the fire for so long.

And to think they’re doing this deliberately? How rotten do you have to be? Because it says loud and clear that they don't care about the country. But doesn't this also show that they don't care about their own voters? The very people who stormed the Capitol for them? That they’re willing to radicalise them, feed them conspiracies, send them into an alternate universe, all for their own personal gain? And when four of them died — carrying out the GOP’s coup for them — did they show any remorse?

The truth is the Republican party is going to keep carrying on as it has been — using and abusing. They’ll continue to bulldoze through any obstacle that stands between them and power. You see, Trump showed them that you could seek power through authoritarian means. That it was possible to be a dictator. And his second acquittal only shows that the GOP caught on to that message and liked what it had to say — because they now wanted that for themselves.

Which begs the question — will America come to terms with reality? Will it realise just how dangerous the GOP is?

Take Texas as an example. Left in the freezing cold, without power, heating, or running water — while Ted Cruz jetted off to Cancun. I bet some of them will have at least realised that their value to him started and ended at the polling booth. That once the votes were in, they were strangers to him. But the state as a whole? Are they still going to vote him in again?

You’re probably thinking not a chance in hell. Maybe you’re right. But consider this. Republican voters have largely been brainwashed into believing that anything other than a vote for the GOP is a vote for socialism. Isn’t that going to send them back to the polling stations to vote in Cruz again? And who’s largely responsible for that? Yes, the GOP.

And you know what that means? The Republican party didn't only try to create an alternate reality for Trumpists, but America as a whole. That they were willing to brainwash their own people as long as it meant they won. Does this sound like a party that cares? A party that’s even going to give you a second thought? If you were even considering saying yes, I redirect you to Ted Cruz.

Say America did realise. Say it did want to vote the GOP out. Could it? Because they’re so desperate to win they're now engaging in voter suppression. Republicans in the state legislature of Georgia have introduced measures designed to make voting more tedious for portions of the population likely to vote Democrat.

Take the ban on early Sunday voting as an example. Why would they do it? For the sole reason that it inhibits Black churches from mobilising Black voters on the day they have traditionally done so. And why is that in the GOP’s interest? Because Black voters helped turn Georgia blue.

Are you beginning to see what I mean? That the GOP is dangerous? That democracy means nothing to them? I’ve lived under political dynasties. What the GOP is doing is, in some respects, even worse. Those democratic dictators rigged elections, sure — but they never incited and facilitated an attack on parliament. And I know you're probably thinking, “But the Republicans haven't rigged an election.” By definition, when you’re planning on preventing voters who were going to vote against you from voting, you’re rigging an election.

And that means what? Are Americans destined to be a means to an end? Lamb to the slaughter? To be pushed around and dictated to by the GOP as and when they please?

If things keep going the way they have, yes. What other conclusion could one reach based on how they’ve done things so far? And how they’ve walked away scot-free? How large swathes of the American population have been convinced that anything other than a vote for red is socialism? Doesn’t America see it? That Republicans are stripping American democracy from anything and everything that could be considered to be “democratic?” The fact that they’re trying to stop Democrat voters from voting at all? What’s left then? A country where votes can only go to one party? Where do you see something like that? North Korea?

To make matters worse, Trump’s popularity amongst Republicans, after everything he did, went up. What does that say about the direction America is going in? That the GOP is determined to bend and twist democracy and Americans are more than willing to tag along for the ride? All because Trump learned he could come to power by finding scapegoats for America’s problems?

You see, not only is America falling for the trap its fascist politicians have laid out for it — it’s largely oblivious to the existence of a trap in the first place.

And here’s where things get dicey. Because America’s future right now is touch and go. With the rate at which the GOP is working to dismantle democracy, the urgency of the job of stopping them before they cause lasting damage cannot be overstated. I’ve said this before, but I think the midterms may well be America’s last chance. The Republicans would have had another year to suppress as many votes as they could, incite as much violence as they could, and radicalise as many people as they could.

Make no mistake — America’s going to go into the next election as the underdog. Whether this turns into a story like David and Goliath remains to be seen. But if America’s going to have a chance, it needs to remember all that the Republican party is guilty of. It needs to remember how they chose authoritarianism over democracy, electability over decency, white supremacy over diversity, conspiracies over truth — all encapsulated in how it continues to choose Donald Trump over America.