I wonder what would happen if, across the nation, people started holding signs in front of Toyota dealerships and handing out leaflets about why money spent on Toyota funds insurrections.
I think you could use a refresher on the history of the parties. I can recommend a few books, including @HC_Richardson's To Make Men Free (I'll put the covers in the next tweet.)
1/
How Lincoln’s anti-slavery, strong federal government pro-industry party morphed into the party of the Proud Boys is a little complicated, but I'll break it down.
Unless otherwise indicated, all facts taken from these books ⤵️
The book is detailed and complete and there’s no way to do it justice in a Twitter thread, but (after I fill my ☕️) I'll try to hit a few main points.
Ben-Ghiat, a historian, tells the stories of an impressive list of strongmen👇 Patterns emerge.
🔹They all use their public office to enrich themselves.
🔹Most come to power with a history of lawbreaking.
🔹They act like gangsters.
🔹They encourage violence.
One way to see the evolution of the Republican Party is that what was once the right wing fringe has now taken over the party, and moderates are leaving.
Another way to see this is what @dziblatt calls the conservative dilemma, which is this:
Conservatives tend to represent the wealth and powerful corporations, therefore the policies they advocate are not appealing to the majority of people.
I had trouble understanding the genuine panic meltdown last night. It seemed clear to me (this is only June 2020) that the vote last night was the start of negotiations.
Not with the Republicans, but within the ranks of the Democratic Party.
2/ You see, McConnell and pals want to undermine democratic institutions.
They're having trouble winning national elections. Their policies are unpopular, and their demographics are shrinking. (Duh, right? They cater to white supremacists in a country growing diverse.