Thread by @l78lancer

You every wonder why voter suppression is the holy grail of the GOP? Listen to Paul Weyrich explain it in 30 seconds in his own words - 40 years ago.

But wait there's more.

Weyrich is the co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, Moral Majority, Free Congress Foundation (now American Opportunity), and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC.)

Christianity is the vehicle used to promote and justify ideology and policy.

To be clear, the scope goes far beyond voter suppression. But without voting right, American citizens don't begin to have a chance to preserve and defend democracy, lives or livelihoods.

So let's be clear voting is not the first right, but it is the most important - bar none.

Listening to Weyrich, it's clear why the Christian right abhors voting rights, why the Heritage Foundation writes pseudo-intellectual material for justification, and why ALEC drafts unconscionable model legislation not just for voter suppression, but stand your ground...

...health care, criminal sentencing and prison management, anti-immigration, anti-LGBTQI, anti-environment legislation for the states, and other policies.

Is there any wonder then why many private prison and immigration facilities are owned by so-called Christian conservatives?

Or, why while they claim to be doing prison reform, no substantive programmatic reforms ever occur, simply piecemeal things like a handful of exploited pardons? Or why republican run states fight so hard to resist restoring voting rights to individuals released from prison?

Those rightwing conservative organizations - and many others - are the animating force behind their ideology converted into action by policy and politics which have fractured Washington today. They have deep roots and are well funded.

But for as important as Washington is in our daily lives, much of the work - and much of the action of rightwing conservatism - occurs in the states. While Washington makes the most noise the majority of the policy and denial of rights is in the states.

This is why even though getting #BidenHarris2020 elected is critical, just as critical will be the state gubernatorial, legislative, attorney general and secretary of state elections, and congressional district races for at least the next 8-10 years.

The damage to our society today isn't just because there's a culture war promulgated by the conservative right. It's far more pervasive and ingrained into our society, including business and industry. It's their basic, fundamental mission. The culture war is part of the strategy.

In short it's the ability to rule by minority and control power and economics. It's just that simple...and complex.

It's hard to not sound conspiratorial, especially when discussing the rightwing of today, knowing that much or their practice as well as their strategy is the promulgation and proliferation of conspiracy to convolute the conversation.

But let's not be confused. All of the above is real. The above are functioning organizations with significant memberships and participation, and all or their policies and politics have been on full display before our eyes and effecting our lives.

And they are organized. There are branches and divisions with multiple organizations coordinated to develop and promote policies in every discrete are of conservative concern from the local level through the federal level, like branches on a tree including:

Electioneering and Voter suppression
Immigration
Abortion
Gun
Tax and Fiscal policy
Incarceration
Education
Abortion
Environmental
Health Care
Religion
LGBTQI
Judges and Justices
Census
Transportation

And so forth.

Therefore the left needs to understand that neither Trumpism nor conservatism are going away even with historic wins in 2020.

The question is, where is the comparable vision, strategy, organization, coordination on the left?

Furthermore, Even though Never Trumpers have their own mission to eliminate trump, many - if not most - still believe in the conservative tenets laid out above. So we on the left cannot be naïve, lazy, complacent, arrogant, or inattentive. Nothing can be taken for granted.

It will require years, even decades to repair the damage. Therefore, every election from now on has to be take as seriously as 2020. And we have to adopt a long range organized strategy for the future just like the republicans have had for decades.

If we don't, and we allow ourselves get caught up with the victories then revert to factional fighting and looking out for the interest of just our piece of the coalition, conservativism will rear it's ugly head again just like it did in 2010 that we're still suffering from now.

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