As if we needed more proof of how desperate and venal Republican leadership has become, the recent action by Tennessee Republicans stopping outreach to children for all vaccines certainly provided it. Lots has already been written about this, much of it expressing disbelief as to the motivation of Republicans and their fellow travelers. My friends ask me rhetorically why this is happening.
The answer is disgustingly simple. It’s all about winning at any cost; the ends justify the means, even if this means snuggling up to the former president, a man by all measures flawed by his own insecurities and “mad as a March hare.”
Everything hinges on the 2022 midterm elections with an eye toward the presidential election in 2024. For this the Republicans are willing to disregard constitutional government, parade dark conspiracy theories, vilify all criticism, abandon civility, and turn their backs on common decency. And in doing so they threaten the lives of fellow Americans and risk destroying their own party. It’s all about trying to keep the “Trump base” intact and ride it to victory in the upcoming elections. If successful, they will be able to raise money from their doting supporters and keep their jobs in Washington and state government. In short, the “culture war” resonates with their voters.
There has never been anything like this in American politics. In comparison, the McCarthyism of the 1950s was milquetoast. It is difficult to say what is worse: the selfish, dangerous game of Republican leadership, or the avarice and naivety of self-identified conservatives, Republicans, and other enablers who continue to support the politics of hate.