Never Forget the Ugly Stain on the Irreparably Broken GOP

The fading face of evil incarnate

Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty. -- George Washington, Farewell Address to the American People, 1796 (desperately warning us about the potential toxic effects of a political party run amok and going rogue autocrat)

Demagogue: a political leader who builds and maintains support by appealing to the desires and irrational emotions, fears and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument grounded in facts and reality; demagoguery is inherently immoral, anti-democratic, anti-rule of law and pro-authoritarian

The New York Times writes:

The court’s decision on Friday night, an inflection point after weeks of legal flailing by Mr. Trump and ahead of the Electoral College vote for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Monday, leaves the president’s party in an extraordinary position. Through their explicit endorsements or complicity of silence, much of the G.O.P. leadership now shares responsibility for the quixotic attempt to ignore the nation’s founding principles and engineer a different verdict from the one voters cast in November.

Many regular Republicans supported this effort, too — a sign that Mr. Trump has not just bent the party to his will, but pressed a mainstay of American politics for nearly two centuries into the service of overturning an election outcome and assaulting public faith in the electoral system. The G.O.P. sought to undo the vote by such spurious means that the Supreme Court quickly rejected the argument.

“The act itself by the 126 members of the United States House of Representatives, is an affront to the country,” said Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee. “It’s an offense to the Constitution and it leaves an indelible stain that will be hard for these 126 members to wipe off their political skin for a long time to come.”  

With direct buy-in from senior officials like Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and the Republican leader in the House, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the president’s effort required the party to promote false theory upon unsubstantiated claim upon outright lie about unproved, widespread fraud — in an election that Republican and Democratic election officials agreed was notably smooth given the challenges of the pandemic.

And it meant that Republican leaders now stand for a new notion: that the final decisions of voters can be challenged without a basis in fact if the results are not to the liking of the losing side,[1] running counter to decades of work by the United States to convince developing nations that peaceful transfers of power are key to any freely elected government’s credibility. (emphasis added)

Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy abroad with support from both parties commented: “[Democratic] institutions have held strong [but] there’s no question that people around the world are now looking to America and it’s really important for Americans of all parties to stand up for the rule of law and for democracy.” (emphasis added)
 
Also, some Republicans who opposed Trump’s post-election antics are predicting that the party is at risk of self-destruction. Former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey commented: “I keep comparing it somewhat to Jonestown. They’ve all drunk the Kool Aid. It just hasn’t killed them yet.”

That speaks for itself. The GOP is no longer fit to govern. It has become fully autocratic-authoritarian and anti-democratic. Some experts have been warning us about this ugly possibility. By now, it is obvious that the GOP is literally the enemy of the people, democracy, the rule of law, inconvenient facts and truth, honest governance, competence and civil liberties.

It is time for a new party to replace the corrupt and obsolete GOP. Clearly, the GOP is not going to fix itself. It can't. It needs to be moved into irrelevance, while its deluded and betrayed rank and file followers are somehow brought back into normal American society and real reality.

It is time for a new party

California Republicans, if you are finally disgusted enough, but still want a political party, register with the California Common Sense Party. It's reason and evidence-based. In that way, it is non-ideological. If that kind of reason and reality-grounded ideology is unacceptable, then the CSP is probably not your cup of tea.

One thing is certain for me, the demagogic, autocrat GOP is definitely never going to be my cup of tea. Never. The GOP now is the demagogic opposite of the Common Sense Party. George Washington warned us about this and now we have it in its full-blown anti-democratic ugliness and hate.

Footnote: 

1. Do not be fooled by the GOP distraction that the president and GOP have every right to contest the election. That truth intentionally ignores and deflects from the fact that contesting a free and fair election with no evidence of coercion, unfairness or fraud. That is exactly what our demagogue president and autocratic GOP have done. In the name of party above nation and the rule of law, they have caused great damage to democracy and respect for elections and the rule of law. 

The GOP's talking point defense of what they have done is a purely demagogic, anti-democratic autocrat argument to deflect from what they have done and why. There never was anything to be gained from what has been done except money flowing into the president's pockets and advancement of the GOP's relentless attacks on democracy and elections. It is one of the most corrupt and immoral (evil, actually) political stunts I've witnessed in my lifetime. A pox on the GOP leadership. They should be ashamed. Unfortunately, shame doesn't apply to them.

Deflection