The obverse of that coin, however, is that the damage that Trump has done could allow the right kind of Democrat to come in, point at it, and use it as a reason/excuse to completely revolutionize the executive branch and advantage our side politically by pointing out the incompetence of the GOP and promoting the changes s/he makes in the light of day (as opposed to the darkness of DOGE).
By way of metaphor, sure, your house burning down is “irreparable” in one sense, but you do get to build a new house, not just patch up the old, damaged one. And we sure as hell need a new fucking house in this country.
Also, I think it takes some level of fairly specialized knowledge of the federal government as well as insider knowledge of what’s been going on recently (DOGE, etc.) in order to quantify any “damage” and how hard it will be to “repair.”
I disagree. MAGA is simply the most recent manifestation of the pro-bigotry/pro-ignorance/pro-irrationality faction that the US permanently built into itself when it allowed the slave states to join when it was founded. The names change, but the faction remains and short of the US being culturally torn down to bedrock and rebuilt from the ashes probably always will.
Is this the same issue that’s been unresolved for over 500 years?
“America: a clean slate where people of goodwill can really make progress”
Versus
“America: where a guy who plays his cards right can make out like a bandit!”
Largely agree. MAGA is that, but I would characterize it as the open resurgence of the faction you described that largely went underground after the civil rights victories of the 50s and 60s. The internet allowed them to find each other and unite without the shame they would otherwise feel in small numbers–but Trump was the catalyst of that and a necessary condition of its appearance and maintenance. Another necessary condition of the political success they’ve had is the cowardice and abandoning of principle (or the pretense of principle) on the part of the GOP.
Yes, that faction will continue without Trump, but it will be greatly weakened. The MAGA branding will be nonviable without him, and what will they call themselves then after we’ve all seen their ugliness? “The Fascist Racist Dickhead Division”? They won’t be able to pretend to be anything else in the future (as the Tea Party, their previous incarnation, was somewhat able to do, as they hadn’t made their real beliefs open yet).
I think the mean-dumb people are a certain percentage of humanity and, like the poor, will always be with us. I do think we’ve evolved, however, as a global society and no longer believe in the aggregate, as we once did, that many bad things are good or at least tolerable–even if the mean-dumb people still want the bad things.
Yeah, that celebration back in 2276 was a gas, wasn’t it?
What happened is that the Republicans recruited them for votes, and just as they did to the Democrats previously they ate the party from the inside and took over. They are the Republican party, now. Trump was just the final catalyst causing them to rip the masks off and shove the old leadership aside.
Agree, but there is a large percentage of cowardly “fellow travelers” who are not really MAGA. I would say most of the GOP senators are that. They will do whatever allows them to stay in power and make money at it. In the House, there are more true MAGA freaks.