I downloaded the printout of the ‘platform’ the GOP came up with for this cycle (which, while more than the ‘no platform’ they had last time), is only barely a thing now. It consists of a list of 20‘ideals’ I guess you could call them, if charitable, SET IN ALL CAPS, as though that made them any more valid.
I waited a while fora review here of this mess, but not seeing one posted, am making an attempt of my own.
The ‘points’ made in the platform fall into a few general categories. Bigotry,Greed, and Fear, so at least those match the general mindset of republicans.
Category 1 includes point 1: Seal the border and stop the immigrant invasion. Point 2: Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. Point 10: Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders. Point16: Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory,radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children. Point 17: Keep men out of women’s sports. Point 18: Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again. And finally Point 19: Secure our elections, including same-day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship.
See the common thread here? I would describe it as “Make America a WASP refuge Again!” but I am a cynical old man.
Point 1: Brown people are scary! 2: Pogroms are the civilized way to get rid of those people you don’t like! 10: Lie about crime statistics,fueled by the friends of the GOP who are undermining nations in Central America for profit, and propping up the cartels, while creating a class of drug addicts here. Use any excuse to do this,and make it brutal! 16: Teach only WASP culture, and make sure that teaching is as favorable as possible to the children of the 1%, and as brutally denialist as possible to those who are not them. 17: Kill the Trans people, and once that’s done, move on to the gays(and don’t stop there once that’s done).. 18: Label all Muslims as ‘pro-Hamas’, and then use that excuse to remove them. 19: Make sure people can only vote for us! (Notice how they don’t say if they are for or against same-day voting, voter identification,and paper ballots?)
Category 2 includes a shitload of wishful thinking, and ‘plans’ designed by Underwear Gnomes. It includes:
Point 3: End inflation, and make America affordable again. Point 4: Make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far! Point 5: Stop outsourcing, and turns the United States into a manufacturing superpower! Point 6: Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips! Point 11: Rebuild our cities, including Washington D.C.,making them safe, clean, and beautiful again! Point 13: Keep the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Point 14: Fight for and protect social security and medicare with no cute, including no changes to the retirement age. Point 15: Cancel the electric vehicle mandate, and cut costly and burdensome regulations. And Point 20: Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success!
As before, there is a common thread hire, but this one is “Here’s something the public claims to support, but we have no fucking idea how to do it,and often profit greatly from doing the opposite, so we are just gonna put these out there for the rubes and suckers, and then do the opposite as soon as we gain power.
3: End inflation just how? By what mechanisms? The tricks used by previous GOP administrations did the opposite. 4: Dominant energy producer. In other words, drill, baby, drill! Make the USA the same as the UAE! Model our society on Saudi Arabia, but with different ceremonial attire. 5: Stop outsourcing... unless you can profit greatly from it, or just like the idea of slave labor in poor countries, and not having technology that is safe or reliable, and make even more money from long and twisted supply chains. 6: Large tax cuts for ‘workers’, which means anyone making 6+ figures. The rest must rely on tips, because you ain’t getting a real paycheck any more. 11: Rebuild our cities, etc. How? With what work force? And where will they live? I’ve seen the slave quarters on plantation tours and do not want to return to that. And besides, the GOP’s idea of ‘safe and beautiful” does not match my aesthetic in any way whatsoever. 13: Keep the US Dollar… which requires other nations trusting us, and GOP policies do the opposite. 14: This is just bullshit, put there to soothe the illiterate masses. They constantly try to do away with anything that is actually good for the citizens. When they pay back the money they stole from the Social Security Trust Fund (with interest) I may give them the benefit of the doubt, but not now. 15: Back to gas guzzlers, everyone! Roll coal, baby, because in power there is no responsibility for your actions! But there is a lot of profit to be made from fossil fuels. 20: HOW??? Put forth a concrete plan thought out more deeply than that other staple of GOP ideology,the ‘Laffer Curve’ and you might have some credibility, but at present, these are just words.
Category 3 is based on fear. Well, all of it is based on fear, but this is just masked terror of anything that is not THEM.
Point 7: Defend our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our fundamental freedoms,including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms. Point 8: Prevent World War Three, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great Iron Dome missile defense shield over our entire country – all made in America. Point 12: Strengthen and modernize our military, making it without question the strongest and most powerful in the world.
7: Well, we actually only want the parts that let us lie without challenge, that promote our kind of ‘Christianity’, and the part about guns. 8: Although many of our biggest backers are the war profiteers, we just want to channel unlimited (and un-audited) funds to them without having to use them. Ronnie Raygunz did great business with his “StarWars” scheme, and we want to turn this up to 11. The whole “World War Three” thing is just to keep you scared – don’t worry, we would just hand over territory to our friends who are, or are becoming, dictator without consideration, because knuckling under to tyrants always prevents war. (See: Neville Chamberlain, 1938). 12: Ignore what the military in this country is supposed to be for,and turn our backs on our allies who seek freedom and democracy and respect. We just want endless lines of marching storm-troopers,because, damn they looked good in Nuremberg and on the Death Star.
Not a conclusion,but an end note: We all know this, but how many of our less political friends and co-workers do?