Conservative Republican "Values"

Conservative Republicans are loving people.

But they only really love each other. Perhaps some may love family members who disagree with their Trumpism.

Maybe...

But they love something bigger. A larger family. A movement and a leader who appeals to their emotions, voices their resentments, and triggers their anger.

And so they love, trust and believe that leader. They love, trust, and believe Trump.

They believe he can do no wrong, AND don’t care if he does wrong.

Q-Anon fed the most gullible and hateful of them a putrid stream of evil Trump-sanctioned lies.

Trump claimed he doesn't "know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” and they "basically believe in good government”.

So there. If he weaponizes lies in attacking, angering or hurting those they hate, all the better. They love him more for it.

They love him despite the numbers of credible accusations and reports of his criminal sexual conduct. They loved him for telling them President Obama wasn’t a natural-born American.

They love him despite his blatantly corrupt efforts to extort a Ukrainian investigation of the Bidens, even though there was no evidence of a crime.

They love him despite his uncivil and unpatriotic refusal to concede to President Biden’s victory.

They love him despite his Big Lie that the election was “stolen”. They believe him like a cult believes their leader.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of  “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present” and Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University was blunt:

“The Big Lie is one of the most successful propaganda operations in U.S. history.”

It just might be the tipping point of America’s fall into authoritarian one-party rule. The Big Lie is the “justification” for his followers to suppress voter rights and seize control of elections.

But they love Trump despite, or because of, his lies, hate-mongering, and gross authoritarian behavior. 

They love him despite his terminating the long American history of peaceful transfer of power.

They love him despite his incitement of a violent mob to march on the Capitol to overturn our election.

They love him despite his refusal to order them to stop their assault on the Capitol.

They love him despite the fact he repeated his Big Lie as he PRAISED his mob of violent insurrectionist thugs.

Why?

Why do they love him despite his utter and complete corruption, criminality, depravity, dishonesty, racism and narcissism?

What possible reason could there be for this fanatic loyalty?

People who say Trump is guilty have testified under oath. People who say Trump is innocent have refused to testify under oath or pleaded the Fifth.

Trump had something to say about pleading the Fifth Amendment in the past.

“You see the mob takes the Fifth,” he said. “If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”

Maybe he should ask his lawyer John Eastman?

Trump's 1/6 coup co-conspirator, crooked lawyer John Eastman, has pleaded the Fifth over a hundred times. He also begged his Dear Leader for a pardon.

Same with fellow coup partners Republican congressmen Scott Perry, Andy Biggs, Mo Brooks and Paul Gosar.

Do they understand asking for a pardon is an admission of guilt?

Trump WH attorney Eric Herschmann advised Trump lawyer John Eastman, author of the memo Trump relied on to try and overturn the election: “Get a good f*cking criminal defense lawyer. You’re going to need it.”

Jan. 6 committee member Adam Kinzinger on CBS Face the Nation said of Trump: “If he truly believes the election was stolen, he’s not mentally competent to be President”.

He was repeatedly told there was no massive voter fraud by every expert, including his own sycophantic Attorney General Barr, who called the claims "bullshit".

Trump fired director of DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Christopher Krebs for telling him the truth.

He willfully ignored poll workers, election certification boards, secretaries of state, and 60 federal and state courts.

The term "willful blindness" is a key legal term to identify someone who knows what they're doing is illegal, but who tries to make sure they don't hear or know about things to eliminate any criminal liability.

Trump’s Big Lie alone proves he is not morally and ethically fit to be president. His criminal actions to interfere with our election spell G.U.I.L.T.Y.

The list of his corrupt and criminal offenses against our elections and democracy is being revealed by the January 6 committee.

Trump pressed Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger, “So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state. There’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated.”

(The state counted its ballots three times before certifying Biden won there by 11,779 votes.)

Trump pressured acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen to declare that the election was corrupt.

According to acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue's notes, Trump said, "Just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen."

His urged his cartel of crooks to manufacture a scheme of fake and illegal electors to declare him the winner.

Trump consigliore Rudy Giuliani ramped up racist rage by smearing Black women election workers in Georgia

He described surveillance video he claimed showed the two exchanging "USB memory sticks containing fraudulent vote counts, passing out dope, as if they’re vials of cocaine."

“I mean, it’s obvious to anyone who’s a criminal investigator or prosecutor that they are engaged in surreptitious, illegal activity,” Giuliani said. “And they’re still walking around Georgia. They should have been questioned already. Their homes should have been searched for evidence.”

Trump falsely accused poll worker Ruby Freeman of being a “professional vote scammer and hustler.” 

His racist supporters heeded the call to action.

Ruby, her mother, and her daughter were terrorized and threatened by angry Trump supporters, to the degree the FBI urged them to move out of their homes for their safety.

Lady Ruby: “There was nowhere I feel safe. Nowhere. Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States to target you? The president of the United States is supposed to represent every American, not to target one. But he targeted me, Lady Ruby, a small business owner, a mother, a proud American citizen who stood up to help Fulton County run the election in the middle of the pandemic.”

Trump supporters don’t care.

Arizona Republican “Rusty” Bowers testified to the January 6 Committee, “I do not want to be a winner by cheating.”

Before you praise him for having a modicum of decency, remember Bowers also said. “I’d vote for him again”.

What he means is, “I do not want to be a winner by cheating, but I’ll gladly vote for a cheater”.

This takes us back to the question: What possible reason could there be for this fanatic loyalty?

It’s a slight consolation and ray of hope that not ALL conservative Republicans sold their soul to Trump.

While the overwhelming majority is firmly in the Trump cult, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are two House Republicans who value the Constitution and rule of law over loyalty to Trump. 

Their party is rabidly furious with them for acting with conscience and courage.

Pence advisor and Republican, J. Michael Luttig understands, “Donald Trump and his allies are a clear and present danger to the United States”.

But tragically, he's in the minority among Republicans. MOST Republicans still believe Trump’s Big Lie.

They value their leader more than democracy. They value power and wealth over cooperation and community. They value cruelty over compassion, and dominance over equality.

And if it serves their interests, they value a cheater over an honorable man, and lies over truth.

Trump is one of them, and that’s why they love him.

This is who and what they really are, and what they value.

They ARE authoritarians without conscience.

~~~~~~~

News Update:

Authoritarians without conscience also tend to flip on their leaders, if it saves their neck.

Mo Brooks has offered to testify before the January 6 committee.

Subpoenas were reportedly issued related to Trump fake elector scheme to: David Shafer, chair of Georgia GOP Brad Carver, Georgia GOP Thomas Lane, Trump campaign aide in Arizona & New Mexico Shawn Flynn, Trump campaign aide in Michigan.

FBI Search warrants were served for the phone of Nevada GOP chairman Michael McDonald A second search warrant was issued for Nevada party secretary James DeGraffenreid, who also signed fake elector document, but FBI agents could not locate him Wednesday, KLAS reported.