# The Republican Party is the Party of Evil **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 4, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187 "2021-03-04T17:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/241 "2021-03-16T00:22:03Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I’m granting them their opposition to abortion even though I don’t agree with their premise, I’m granting them their desire to reduce government regulation, opposition to Climate Change on grounds of economic expense, even opposition to gay marriage and transgender rights because it is against God’s directives or whatever. I’m granting opposition to “open borders” and for stricter immigration control and tighter policies. I’m granting them the desire for fracking because money. I’m granting them their opinion on gun ownership and resistance to gun control measures. Heh, you’re a better person than I am. I say vomit all over that shit. No granting. Even as a ‘lesser evil’, compared to what they’ve become. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/242 "2021-03-16T01:01:27Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > > If what you posted isn’t so — if you grant that being a Republican in 2021 _doesn’t_ mean needing to believe that — then I’m all set. > > I think it’s possible to be a Republican and not be a Trump cultist, but then they censure you and try to kick you out. Just trying to understand, here: do you mean that this is what would happen to a _prominent_ Republican, but of course not what would happen to a Republican who just, y’know, votes for Republicans and backs various Republican causes and thus and such? Or do you mean, _uh, yeah, including mere voters,_ like it sure seems you’re saying? Or, as someone else said: > [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Republican now MEANS Trump Cultist. > > If you favor smaller government, rule of law, State’s rights, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, you must join a different party. Again, I’m honestly trying to figure out if this is supposed to mean what it says: was it just a badly-phrased way of making some _other_ point, or was it meant literally as well as seriously? What’s your take? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/243 "2021-03-16T01:23:33Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > do you mean that this is what would happen to a _prominent_ Republican, but of course not what would happen to a Republican who just, y’know, votes for Republicans and backs various Republican causes and thus and such? Well, if an ordinary anti-Trump Republican “mere voter” keeps quiet about being anti-Trump, then sure, they’re not likely to catch heat from their fellow Republicans about it. But is the Trumpist majority going to be okay with a fellow Republican being vocally anti-Trump? Because if what you’re saying is that ordinary Republicans don’t catch heat for being anti-Trump as long as they don’t express anti-Trump views publicly, then yeah, not really seeing that as a testimonial to the GOP “big tent” of tolerance for dissent there. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/244 "2021-03-16T01:34:14Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, if an ordinary anti-Trump Republican “mere voter” keeps quiet about being anti-Trump, then sure, they’re not likely to catch heat from their fellow Republicans about it. But is the Trumpist majority going to be okay with a fellow Republican being vocally anti-Trump? > > Because if what you’re saying is that ordinary Republicans don’t catch heat for being anti-Trump as long as they don’t express anti-Trump views publicly, then yeah, not really seeing that as a testimonial to the GOP “big tent” of tolerance for dissent there. You’re phrasing it as ‘keeps quiet’ or ‘expresses a view publicly’ — but I’m wondering (a) about folks who don’t keep quiet, but, (b) well, how public _is_ a regular citizen? If you’re not, like, serving in Congress, or appearing on TV as _My Next Guest Needs No Introduction_, or whatever, then what does it even mean to speak your mind “publicly”? Who even notices? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/245 "2021-03-16T01:56:01Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Again, I’m honestly trying to figure out if this is supposed to mean what it says: was it just a badly-phrased way of making some _other_ point, or was it meant literally as well as seriously? > > What’s your take? _Not caring about the rule of law?_ (letting Trump skate on starting an insurrection). Almost all of those republicans who voted to impeach\convict have been censured by the republican party. And met with death threats. As was the Vice President. Using the Presidency to threaten and investigate political enemies. _Not caring about State’s rights?_ Suing to try to overturn elections of Other States, being OK with the President pressuring Georgia officials to commit voter fraud. Sending Federal LEOs into States where the States said that they _ **did not want** _ Federal LEOs. Spouting over and over again how they KNOW there was fraud without a shred of evidence, threatening death to those who will not buy into it. Luo Dobbs said it best. He said he he knows there was fraud. He cant understand why can’t they couldn’t find any evidence? Do I really need to go on??? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/246 "2021-03-16T01:57:51Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Do I really need to go on??? I hope so; the part I’m wondering about is where you said “you must join a different party.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/247 "2021-03-16T01:58:22Z")
Booing or shouting down representatives in a town hall or other meeting? Does that count as publicly? Voting to censure a representative because they voted to impeach or convict Trump? Is that not a public act? How about voting in primaries for the farthest-right loon who brings guns into Congress and believes that Jewish space lasers cause forest fires? Isn’t that speech that’s as public as all get out? You cannot separate the crimes of the anti-democracy representatives from the support of the anti-democracy voters. This is not merely the normal disagreement on policy goals that all parties experience. This is an active campaign of suppression by intimidation and - as on Jan. 6 - active violence. If they build a gallows and shout that Mike Pence - a far-right loon - should be hanged, then how can any Republican in office feel safe from the mob? Sure, they blame antifa publicly - projection is their stock in trade - but every encounter with their constituents must bring about the same fears. As people keep saying here, the Republican Party is evil. A party cannot be evil unless it knows it has the absolute support of its voters. The voters as a whole don’t just tolerate the GOP’s evil, they encourage it, demand it, and punish those who act in non-evil ways. They are as complicit with the party’s evil as Ivanka and Jared were with Trump’s. I see no reason why they shouldn’t share an equal amount of the blame. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/248 "2021-03-16T02:08:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Booing or shouting down representatives in a town hall or other meeting? Does that count as publicly? Voting to censure a representative because they voted to impeach or convict Trump? Is that not a public act? > > How about voting in primaries for the farthest-right loon who brings guns into Congress and believes that Jewish space lasers cause forest fires? Isn’t that speech that’s as public as all get out? But the _reverse_ of that is sort of my whole point: you’re mentioning, here, the guys who boo or shout folks down at town halls or whatever; and you’re mentioning ones who vote to censure, and who vote for the loon in primaries. If you realize that some of them vote for the farthest-right loon in primaries, then you presumably realize that some of them vote for — _someone else_ in the primary? You know that some Republicans boo and shout down; I take it you know that other ones — uh, _don’t_ boo and shout down, right? And so on? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/249 "2021-03-16T02:24:40Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > You know that some Republicans boo and shout down; I take it you know that other ones — uh, _don’t_ boo and shout down, right? Yeah…the smart ones who know what will happen if they speak up. The enablers. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/250 "2021-03-16T02:39:41Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > You’re phrasing it as ‘keeps quiet’ or ‘expresses a view publicly’ — but I’m wondering (a) about folks who don’t keep quiet, but, (b) well, how public _is_ a regular citizen? If you’re not, like, serving in Congress, or appearing on TV as _My Next Guest Needs No Introduction_ , or whatever, then what does it even mean to speak your mind “publicly”? Who even notices? Well, apparently a lot of Republicans noticed the remarks made by [an Illinois county GOP chair when he said that he thought Trump deserved to be impeached.](https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/dave-millage-scott-county-iowa-gop-chair-donald-trump-impeached-20210131) He was berated, denounced, called a “traitor”, and forced to step down from his position by his fellow Republicans. Sure, a county Republican Party chair is not a “mere voter”, but he’s also not a national or state public figure. There does seem to be a great deal of Republican hostility to anti-Trump “traitors” in the party, even at very low levels. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/251 "2021-03-16T03:28:20Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, apparently a lot of Republicans noticed the remarks made by [an Illinois county GOP chair when he said that he thought Trump deserved to be impeached.](https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/dave-millage-scott-county-iowa-gop-chair-donald-trump-impeached-20210131) He was berated, denounced, called a “traitor”, and forced to step down from his position by his fellow Republicans. One needs only look at this and how many Republicans were censured or faced other opposition for espousing reality instead of fantasy to see how full of bullshit they are about “cancel culture”. Fuckers tried to cancel Dr. Suess years ago. They’re just pissed they fail at it, just like most everything else they actually try to accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/252 "2021-03-16T04:11:14Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > If you realize that some of them vote for the farthest-right loon in primaries, then you presumably realize that some of them vote for — _someone else_ in the primary? You realize that none of the ‘someone else’s’ WON the primary, right? Nowadays they won’t even get on the ballot. Unless they spout the FOX approved nonsense, they can’t even get any air time. The violent, racist, misogynist liars ARE the party. These are the guys that WON. Saying that that might be some good guys in that sea of filth is a little sad, don’t you think? If you want any of the stuff I mentioned before, you are NOT gonna get it from the Republican party. They ain’t about that anymore. These guys would throw stones at Reagan’s head, ferchrissakes. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/253 "2021-03-16T04:15:28Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > These guys would throw stones at Reagan’s head, ferchrissakes. Trying to make me think they must not be all that bad, are ya? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/254 "2021-03-16T10:05:05Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > > If you realize that some of them vote for the farthest-right loon in primaries, then you presumably realize that some of them vote for — _someone else_ in the primary? > > You realize that none of the ‘someone else’s’ WON the primary, right? Well, (a) fair enough, but **Exapno\_Mapcase** talked about voting _in primaries_ for the farthest-right loon who brings guns into Congress and believes that Jewish space lasers cause forest fires. And so I figured, if he’s going to talk about Republicans who voted that way _in primaries_, then I’ll of course ask about Republicans who voted the other way _in primaries_. That said, (b) if you want to talk about how she won the primary she was in, then I can’t help but note that, to the best of my knowledge, the Republican who won the primary and then the election in my district has never, to the best of my knowledge, said anything of the sort about space lasers and forest fires: some Republicans voted for him in the primary, just like some voted for ‘someone else’ — and, as far as I can tell, neither candidate here spouted anything along the lines of that loony remark, and one of the candidates promptly _won_, because, well, local Republicans were perfectly willing to vote for him. > [@](#): > > If you want any of the stuff I mentioned before, you are NOT gonna get it from the Republican party. They ain’t about that anymore. These guys would throw stones at Reagan’s head, ferchrissakes. What are you _saying_, here? That _all_ of them would? That, okay, not all, but _most_ of them would? That, well, no, obviously not ‘most’ of them, but _some_ of them? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/255 "2021-03-16T13:33:32Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Or do you mean, _uh, yeah, including mere voters,_ like it sure seems you’re saying? I think of you actively speak up about the madness and try to argue against the cult stuff, they will consider you a RINO. If you do it at Republican events, then yes, I expect them to tell you to shut up or leave. But most people don’t want a confrontation within the party that way. “We have a common goal,” so they will not say anything to the MAGAs. “Go along to get along.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/256 "2021-03-16T15:18:04Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > If you realize that some of them vote for the farthest-right loon in primaries, then you presumably realize that some of them vote for — _someone else_ in the primary? You know that some Republicans boo and shout down; I take it you know that other ones — uh, _don’t_ boo and shout down, right? Let’s talk boo and shout, shall we? Are these other Republicans shouting down the loons that are taking over the party? Are they censuring them? Are they driving out of the party? Do they even say that they don’t represent the party? No to all of the above. But they do show 90% approval ratings for Trump. And they vote at 90%+ for Trump. They are Trumpistas in a Trump-based party that old-line Republicans are fleeing. A half dozen older Senators have announced they won’t run in 2022. Who do you think will be the nominees to replace them? How many will be outright loony white supremecists? How many of your quiet Republicans will even make it through the primaries? How many quiet Republicans will walk out of the party because they don’t want to be represented by the party of evil? How many will just go right on voting to put Republicans in power at all levels of government? Silence = Acceptance ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/257 "2021-03-16T16:50:59Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Okay, I agree with him that that bill seems extreme. I doubt it will get any real traction, much less get passed out of the House, let alone make it to the Senate. FYI, the reason the Way forward bill looks extreme is that, as per usual with articles from the right, the description of the bill in the article has no basis in reality. All the bill does is grant due process to undocumented immigrants accused of crimes, rather than automatically deporting them or holding them in detention indefinitely. Basically, being caught with a joint in your pocket won’t get you immediately kicked out of the country any more. > **[Summary of H.R. 5383 (116th): New Way Forward Act - GovTrack.us](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr5383/summary)** > > Summary of H.R. 5383 (116th): New Way Forward Act ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/258 "2021-03-16T19:13:29Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > But they do show 90% approval ratings for Trump. And they vote at 90%+ for Trump. They are Trumpistas in a Trump-based party that old-line Republicans are fleeing. And to The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper: The Republican electorate is being radicalized by Fox news, a tool of the increasingly evil Republican Party. > **[Fox News Accused of Radicalizing Americans by Former Neo-Nazi Recruiter](https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-accused-radicalizing-americans-former-neo-nazi-recruiter-1574330)** > > Frank Meeink, once a prominent neo-Nazi, said that Fox News says the "same radical stuff that I used to say." ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/259 "2021-03-16T19:15:56Z")
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-authorized-effort-to-hurt-bidens-2020-campaign-report-says/ar-BB1eErXn?li=BBnb7Kz](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-authorized-effort-to-hurt-bidens-2020-campaign-report-says/ar-BB1eErXn?li=BBnb7Kz) > Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a range of operations last year intended to hurt Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and support President Trump’s re-election while sowing discord to exacerbate tension in the U.S., a U.S. intelligence assessment released Tuesday said. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187/260 "2021-03-16T23:34:56Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Silence = Acceptance Fair enough, but then I’m left with this: let’s say I talk with a Republican who in fact thinks the world of Trump, and loudly announces it; okay, I know what to make of that guy. And let’s say I later talk with a “quiet” Republican who doesn’t speak out against Trump; maybe that’d be a fine time for me to put your _Silence=Acceptance_ line to good use. But what use is your line to me when I’m talking with a Republican who, _instead_ of remaining silent, has bad things to say about Trump and, well, _says so?_ Oh, sure, I could angrily wag a finger at the guy and insist that his silence equals acceptance; but that’d be _weird_, so long as he’s, y’know, not bothering with silence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-evil/937187.md?page=14)