WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT: The Party of Fear and Loathing.

Since the very beginning of exercising my right to vote nearly 50 years ago, I have been a registered Independent. I chose this course because I didn't want to pledge allegiance to a single political party. My preference is to vote for the person and their agenda rather than strictly by policies chosen for them by their respective parties.

Now, with that said, anyone who follows this blog knows that my mindset skews towards the liberal. And, since the Democratic party, by and large, embraces a more liberal agenda than their Republican counterparts (an understatement?), I tend to support them almost exclusively, but not entirely. Yes, there have been times when I voted for the Republican simply because I felt that they were the best person for the job.

However, that was then and this is now.

With the current lineup of fools, liars, sycophants, degenerates, con artists, grifters, and miscreants as their leaders, the GOP has absolutely nothing of any value to offer to me or any other American. The partial list, in no particular order, includes:

Jim Jordan

Marco Rubio

Ted Cruz

Ron Johnson

Matt Gaetz

Damon Nunez

Lauren Boebert

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Lindsey Graham

Kevin McCarthy

Mitch McConnell

John Kennedy

Ron DeSantis

Gregg Abbott

and, of course, the greatest grifter of them all, Donald J. Trump.

From the insanity of the theory that Jewish lasers in space are creating California wildfires, to the current debacle in Texas, Republicans have fucked up just about everything that they have put their stamp on. Even their ultimate hero, President Ronald Reagan, arguably did more to fuck up the middle class than any president before or since (with the possible exception of Mr. Trump).

Look, all politicians lie when they feel that they need to. They even have a nice word for it: political expedience. They ALL say things that they feel they need to get elected. However, the Republicans have raised it to a fine art. They will not only lie, but cheat and steal to stay in power.

Gerrymandering is a method of redrawing voting districts to insure that your base is now in the right place at the right time to get you elected. Again, the Republicans have become masters at this tactic.* Reagan was called a hero by his fellow Republicans for destroying the middle class by taxing Social Security, eliminating the Fairness Doctrine, lowering the taxes paid by the most wealthy, and diminishing the strength of unions by busting the Air Traffic Controllers strike.**

Virtually every State that struggles with its economy, education, and opportunities is under GOP control, i.e. a GOP governor and legislature.***

And, now, we have the mess that is Texas.

Yes, it was caused by a natural weather event but it was exacerbated by the incredibly inept Texan leadership. And, let's guess who runs Texas - you got it - the GOP. And, if their ineptitude wasn't enough, they pulled a classic GOP tactic, i.e. blame someone/something else. In this case, that means blaming the New Green Deal - even though it's only a proposal and not a law, and renewable energy sources - even though they make up only a fraction of the energy produced for Texas!!!

As if that weren't enough to make them a pariah, Senator Ted Cruz was caught, suitcase in hand, trying to escape the dire situation he found his constituents in. THEN, he had the audacity to try to explain it away by blaming his wife and daughters.

Of course, there is Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene whose most outlandish of her many questionable theories is that Jewish run satellites are deliberately aiming lasers at California and causing their devastating wildfires. Really.

Finally, the Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is requiring all flags over governmental buildings be lowered to half staff to honor the racist, misogynistic, blowhard Rush Limbaugh - a man who managed to piss off the entire Country except his base of - you guessed it - hardcore Republicans.

These may be the most outrageous examples of their depravity but there always seems to be more, including the fact that 43 Republican Senators could see no wrong-doing in President Trump's OBVIOUS incitement of his supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6th.

By comparison, a woman who is both feared and loathed by Republicans, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), and in contrast to their own senator, i.e. Cruz, had the audacity to raise $MILLIONS to help those suffering in Texas (she represents NY, by the way) and deliver it directly along with a message of hope.

THIS is leadership!!!

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, for the life of me, I'll never understand how the GOP got, and maintains, the support of working people. It has to be one of the great marketing schemes of all time. All they sell, all they have ever sold, is Fear and Loathing.

Well, I'm not buying it - never did and never will.

*https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/us/politics/republicans-gerrymander-trump-election.html

** htmlhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/column-how-reaganomics-deregulation-and-bailouts-led-to-the-rise-of-trump

***https://www.politifact.com/9-10-poorest-states-republican/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/us/politics/republicans-gerrymander-trump-election.