Thread by @fenrir_71

The Virginia GOP just nominated for governor the hedge fund billionaire ex CEO of The Carlyle Group, who personally hosted Osama Bin Laden's brother at a gala dinner on September 11, 2001.

Because they're the party of "patriots" & the "working class."

The best part about it? They had a train wreck of a primary designed to weed out the trumpies so this guy could win. He played on about "election integrity," but that's the old white supremacist dog whistle party line anyway.
2/

They had a "drive through" primary and required all sorts of numbers and signatures from their primary voters, information which the actual base refused to give, basically en masse.

"Election integrity."
3/

There was even some sort of non legally binding promise/threat that if the primary voter voted dem in the next eight years they'd be ejected from the party.

Think about that.

#Purge anyone?
4/

Anyway the party waived all those good white Republicans' need to pass on all that info and instead made it hard for them to get to the drive through spots. Five to ten hour drives and such.

They did this to THEIR OWN VOTERS.

So the rich guy could win.
5/

And you know what makes it worse? Is that rich asshole is gonna platform on "stop the steal" and The Great Socialism Scare like it's still 2020 to drive out the people who DIDN'T vote for him the first time.

And if he wins, he'll stick it to them every chance he gets.
6/

Which will of course further radicalize the GOP base and the cycle of unending fear and hate continues.
7/

At every opportunity to make the right choice the GOP has made the wrong choice. For decades now. The "George W is cute and funny now" thing made me sick.

I wonder if the millions of Iraqis who've lost family members in that lie of an oil war think W's cute now?
8/

The GOP just cannot be allowed power again. Ever.

Their clear disdain for representative democracy and obvious love of violence to obtain their ends means if they do all bets are off.

Do you honestly believe they'll recognize free & fair elections anymore?
9/

Our nation is in far more peril now than it was a year ago. Despots return to power from exile often y'all, history proves this.

Move over Jesus, the GOP has a new martyr.
10/

So it's crunch time now, the while system is on the line. Is it perfect? Hell no, but nothing is and I personally am good with fighting the good fight within the rules of a liberal democracy.

I don't know what the GOP is offering anymore but I know it's not that.

<fen>

Post Script: That Oligarch in VA may very well win. There's historically a "snap back" effect against the party that just won the presidency in VA's off year gubernatorial elections.

Biden won VA by ten though so there's a good chance dems will hold VA.