What Happened To The GOP? – Podcast March 6, 2023

The Decline Of The Republican Party Into Fascism.
Steve Williamson, Karen McClelland and Gary LaMaster discuss the modern-day GOP.  How did it happen? What does it mean for the US? No longer the majority political party and no longer conservative, the GOP maintains power only through its cultivation of the culture war combined with lies and fearmongering.

To demonstrate how depraved the party has become, Steve cites Trump’s fascist-style speech at the recent CPAC conference: “In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today, I add, I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” he said. That statement could be likened to those made by autocrats and dictators throughout history. Or, perhaps as Karen says, a Marvel movie villain.

In the same speech, Trump described his own party this way, “We had a Republican Party that was ruled by freaks, neocons, globalists, open borders zealots and fools, but we are never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove and Jeb Bush.”

Though many have embraced Republicans like Trump out of the fear of societal change, Gary believes we must compare their statements against their actions. “They call themselves patriots. But they are trying to destroy our government. They claim to support freedom. But they are trying to limit the freedom of others. They claim to be anti-crime. But they have made military-style weaponry available to everyone, including criminals.”

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