The second debate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Like most political debates, it was rich on talking points, and poor on any real substance.
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During the first debate, only two candidates would say that they considered Trump unfit to serve as president. It was fitting that there is no venom as strong as that from a politician who feels as if he was previously denied his place as #2 on the presidential ticket. Chris Christie was that man. Everyone else that made it to the second debate was willing to kiss the ass of Trump so that they could be his VP choice for the 2024 nomination.
Why is this important?
The GOP no longer has any leaders who can steer the party away from the cult of Trump. The only hope for the GOP would be for Trump to eat a prescribed diet from the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, and pass away like its former spokesman. Virtually all the candidates are afraid of Trump's followers, as many have used violence (or the threat of violence) to intimidate GOP leaders who believe in real law and order. So, they avoid taking positions against him, even though they wish hed go away and give the GOP a better chance of winning next November.
90 years ago, another democracy was under threat from a cult leader (and his followers) who believed that his will would triumph over all. Heck, a movie (Triumph of the Will) was made at one of his rallies won the a gold medal at the 1935 Venice Biennale, and the Grand Prix at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. His nation was under great social stress as ours is today, and like Trump, he promised redemption. True redemption never came, as this leader led his country into war and its distruction 6 years later. Established politicians thought they could control this monster, as they once thought they could control Trump. But the cult got out of control, and the evil leader ended up ruling everyone by fear - as is the threat if we let Trump get back into power.
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One problem with cults is that no one likes to admit that what they are part of is a cult. The cult has its own myths that must be accepted to be a believer, and has its own reinforcement mechanisms to prevent its followers from questioning the cults beliefs or leaving the cult. Some cults are benign, only affecting the lives of their followers. Heaven's Gate was one of those groups, even though everything ended in a mass suicide. Jim Jones' People's Temple cult was more malignant, as a congressman investigating the cult and 4 members who wanted to leave were murdered before the mass suicide in Jonestown. (This is from where we get the expression "Drinking the Kool-Aid.") But worst of all so far, is the cult of Trump. At least 6 outsiders died as a result of the January 6th insurrection. And yet, 35% of GOP members believe that the rioters were defending their country. What flavor of Kool-Aid did they drink?
On January 7, 2021, most GOP legislators were willing to speak the objective truth about the soon to be former president. Yet, within 2 weeks, they became afraid of their base and decided against impeaching him a second time (and finally convicting him for a threat against their lives.) The leaders are afraid of the cult, and its leader is still spewing venom. Trump has no respect for the rule of law, as it has never been effectively used to stop him from achieving his goals. His followers have no respect for the rule of law, as they only want it applied to people who are not members of his cult.
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As I write this, one of the extremist members of Trump's cult is calling for the removal of the Speaker of the House for cutting a deal with the opposition party to keep the government running. These extremists do not care how many people in their districts will be hurt by a government shutdown. They only care about serving their cult's leader. And he wants to destroy the government, so that it can not destroy him.
The year coming up will likely be a very interesting year. But I yearn for the relative peace of my youth. Things were much better when the two political parties would work out deals with other and both take credit for doing good things. We need that spirit to return, and we need to develop mechanisms to keep the lunatics from gaining control of the asylum....
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