The Party of Biff

In a shocking attack, a man broke into the home of the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the third most powerful person in American politics, and assaulted her husband Paul, seriously injuring him.  This deranged individual clearly had the intent to attack, kidnap and torture Speaker Pelosi herself.

And the Republicans laughed and laughed and laughed...

The attack came to light last Friday, and by Saturday morning my timelines on social media were filled with far-Right trolls, politicians, and pundits mocking the attack.  They made light of the serious injuries sustained by the husband of the Speaker, and they even started coming up with fantastical conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories not based on any reality outside of the Right's desire to never feel pity, sorrow, remorse, or compassion for a Democrat.

We have finally achieved Trump's true legacy.  The Republican Party, a party that claims to be Christian, has eagerly become a party of bully-worshipping, relishing in the horrific news that their opponents were hurt.

A few things give this massive shift in the Republican decency context. This was not celebrating the Democrats losing in a political battle, like the passage of a Republican bill or a Republican winning an election.  This was different.  This was relishing truly horrible news, a violent attack by a deranged person on an innocent victim.  This was gleeful applause and excited jubilation at the thought that the spouse of someone they politically disagreed with being physically hurt (as they continue to claim they embody Jesus' teachings).

This wasn't a celebration from the extreme lunatic fringe either.  Sure the QAnon, Proud Boy, and pro 1/6 Insurrection traitors all applauded, but so did a lot of so-called traditional politicians, celebrities, and talking heads.  The Governor of Virginia and the GOP candidate for governor in Arizona both made light of the attack and joked about it.  This is mainstream Republicans behind the high fives.

And the individual who attacked Paul Pelosi is exactly what sane people have been worried about.  Republicans have ratcheted up their rhetoric to dangerous levels, accusing the other side of trying to destroy America and take away 'hard working' Republicans' money, houses, and savings.  They constantly imply Democrats are trying to kill all Republican voters.  They CONSTANTLY accuse Democrats of trafficking children as sex slaves, trying to force a gay lifestyle on children, even going as far as outright accusing Democrats of killing babies to drink their blood in some sort of Satanic ritual.

Once again, these crazed rantings are not from the extreme fringe.  Mainstream Republicans have pushed these INSANE blabberings.  As they get more and more outrageous, people have expressed concern that individuals with compromised mental capacities would not only believe these preposterous remarks, but would act upon them.  This seems to be the case with Pelosi's attacker; a mentally compromised individual whose actions were fueled from deep within the Republican Conspiracy realm.

And yet, many Republicans think this attacker did nothing wrong, even begging for someone to bail the assailant out of jail.  Why?  Because many Republicans think nearly killing a family member of a Democrat isn't really a crime.

Republicans since the 1990s have slowly become bullies.  After Clinton was elected in 1992, they ran in 1994 with a more bully-like tone.  "We'll rein them in!  We'll make him do what we want! And they'll have to like it!"  In 2001, after terrorists attacked the country, in the hours afterwards, Republican talking heads hit every major news network as bullies personified, immediately accusing the Democrats of being behind the attack to deflect from their own negligence.  Then came Obama and the racist-fueled bullying, which started the GOP down the path to where they are today.  Trump was their ultimate manifestation, a pathetic narcissist whose entire persona was based on being the biggest bully around.  Because Trump was smart enough to target the longtime enemies of Republicans (African Americans, Latinos, women, the LGBTQ+, Native Americans), the principles which the 'Christian Right' hated (compassion, caring, welcoming, equality for all), and societal norms no one had ever dared challenge (truth, facts, and reality), his supporters loved him even more, spawning the ugliness we see today.

Republican candidates in 2022:

• Still believe the 2020 election was fraudulent (it wasn't)
• Believe millions of people vote illegally every election (they don't)
• Insist you can use gumption and screaming to beat a pandemic (you can't) 
• Claim COVID came from a lab in China (it didn't), but that the virus is a myth (it's not), that everyone actually died of ventilators and innoculations (that seems intentionally stupid), or were killed by Democratic commanded Black ops (...[stares in disbelief]...), to kill all the poor elderly people (is there a gas leak in your house?), elderly people who were too old anyway and should just die off (did you hit your head?)
• Claim to be pro-Israel but openly are anti-Semitic to American Jews (wha...?)
• Think the Founding Fathers wanted them to force THEIR version of Christianity on everyone (No.)
• Have extolled the virtues of Hitler (yes, THAT Hitler)
• Continually throw specific minority groups out as 'Them or Us' bait (particularly the African American and LGBTQ communities)
• Have embraced the idea of a police state (many from their gated communities)
• Insist that Black people had it better under slavery (Sweet Jesus NO!!!)
• Have vowed to ensure Democrats are unable to win elections ever again (promising to throw out legitimate election results)
• Insisted no woman ever needed an abortion (an insane belligerent lie)
• Have threatened their opponents and their families with hatred fueled by lies (encouraging threats)
• Have pushed conspiracy theories which have come from the most vile, extreme, disturbing, and anti-Christian dark corners of the world (trust me, do not go down that path)
• Push the idea they will force everyone to do what they say, OR ELSE (!)
• Feel the 1/6 Insurrections were doing nothing wrong when they assaulted the Capitol and those police officers, then insist the people really behind the attack were far leftist groups, then proudly give Trump credit for sending those people to the Capitol, then insist the people who tried to overthrow a legitimate election and the US Government itself were harmless pranksters (...sigh...)
• Embrace fascism, whether its full bore evil dictator ruling über alles, or some sore of 'Fascism Lite' which allows them to throw out only the elections results they don't like and then return to a normal existence (you'd never go back. They're dumb as bricks)

Now they're celebrating a violent attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband.  And the Republican voters love them for it.  Sickening.  It's politics according to Biff Tannen.

Republicans do not want Leadership.  They want a Bully.

I don't think Moderate Republicans are happy with this, but they are shockingly quiet, the kid who sees the bully tormenting the other kids in school.  They know the bully is wrong but they say nothing because they don't what the bully to make them a target.  There's another word for that; cowardice.

Bully Worshippers are what the Republican Party has become, and until they get voted out of office enmasse they'll continue to get worse and worse.  I only hope this doesn't end with a bodycount, but sadly I think many Republicans won't be satisfied until it does.