The Republican Party has been the party of hate since the late 60’s, when Nixon and his ilk decided they could win by pandering to Southern racists. It has worked for a while. The rules at first were that it was against the rules to be explicitly racist, but the dog whistles were clear enough. Along the way, especially in places where racism didn’t sell so well, the party chose other demons to pursue. But there’s been a problem because in most cases, the demonizing has lost its effectiveness over time. Commies, hippies, and gays are largely passé as demons. Just a few years ago anti-gay measures helped win states like Ohio, but nowadays, targeting gays is completely ineffective. Even the nutcases on the right don’t care about it anymore.
Every time one demon loses its effectiveness, the Republicans start searching for another. Some are largely fictitious, like Antifa, and even here in America, where people are ready to believe almost anything, that hasn’t really worked. Some demons physically exist however. The latest are transgender children and teens. There has rarely been a less threatening demon. Nonetheless, legislatures in at least a score of states are targeting these kids, and the only reason they are doing so is to stir up hate so they can garner votes from the people they must convince to vote against their own interests.
It’s hard not to conclude that this is an act of desperation by a party devoid of ideas, which refuses to embrace policies that might actually help people. The threat is non-existent, as the West Virginia governor implicitly admitted, though he signed a hate bill anyway. We are even looking toward a political campaign in which a Republican transgender candidate has come out against transgender people.
Back when the former guy was first running for president he made gestures toward supporting popular policies, though folks with brains knew he was lying. He was going to protect our social security and get us the greatest medical care ever, remember? Today’s Republicans have thrown away that part of his playbook, and are increasingly playing strictly to the Foxwashed segment of the population. It shouldn’t work. It wouldn’t work, if they weren’t also in a position to steal the upcoming elections. Still, you would think they’d make sure that the folks they are planning on duping into voting for them would have some reason to do so other than fear of transgender kids.
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