Republicans Are Supposed To Abstain From Behavior That Will Cause Harm To The Reputation Of The Party
Today, most Republican voters are virtually indistinguishable from MAGA and QAnon— which is pretty creepy, to put it mildly. The QAnon part of Trump’s coalition is based around a baseless conspiracy theory that there is a secret, global cabal of powerful individuals engaged in child trafficking— and worse (like using children’s body parts to stay young or something insane like that; I was ready earlier how Michael Flynn promotes that at MAGA rallies. Followers of QAnon— like Flynn and Marjorie Traitor Green— claim that these [non-existent] prerps are part of a deep state working against Señor Trumpanzee, whom they see as a savior figure fighting to expose and dismantle this alleged cabal.
They believe— or claim to believe— that a group of elites, including politicians (RINOs and Democrats), business leaders and celebrities, are not only involved in a global child sex trafficking ring but that they control world events and governments, manipulating them for their gain. Should these people be allowed to vote in elections? Among their other nonsense, they predict an “imminent” event called The Storm, during which this cabal will be exposed and brought to justice. This will lead to “The Great Awakening,” where people will realize the truth about these elites and the alleged deep state.
So why the focus— an obsession, really— on childhood sex?Is it just because child abuse and sex trafficking are emotionally-charged and elicit strong reactions, helping them quickly gain attention? And conspiracy theories involving secret societies and child abuse are not new. They tap into long-standing societal fears and myths about powerful people exploiting children, which can be traced back to earlier conspiracy theories and moral panics, such as those involving the Illuminati or Satanic ritual abuse. Linking RINOs and Democrats to heinous crimes like child trafficking dehumanizes and demonizes them, justifying extreme opposition to those they believe are part of the cabal, creating a clear moral dichotomy of good versus evil. Think about Edgar Welch, the 28 year old Trump-supporting moron from North Carolina who drove up to DC and shot up the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria believing it was a hub of child sex trafficking. (Welch was sentenced to 4 years in prison but was released in 3, in time to vote for Trump in 2020.)
QAnon has basically merged with the MAGA/GOP because its outrageous themes resonate with populist and anti-establishment sentiments that now define Republican Party. Aside from Marjorie Traitor Greene and Flynn more than a few Republican politicians and public figures have either explicitly endorsed QAnon or expressed sympathy with its bullshit, lending it a veneer of legitimacy in GOP-world, including Lauren Boebert (CO), Jim Marchant (NV), Joe Rae Perkins (OR), Angela Stanton-King (GA), Paul Gosar (AZ)…
Most of the Republicans yelling the loudest about child sex crimes seem to be projecting, attributing horrific and frightening thoughts onto others. For example, virtually all of the gays in politics who are out of the closet (or were never in it) are Democrats. Pretty much all of the closet cases are conservatives, which generally means Republicans.
For example, last year we took a look at North Dakota Republican state Sen. Ray Holmberg (then 79)— a retired school guidance counselor and the longest-serving state legislator in the country. He was forced to retire when a scandal began to break about him flying back and forth to Prague— a beautiful city far from Grand Forks— to have sex with young boys, so young that what he did was rape, even though he was paying them. If he was in the Czech Republic he could be charged with raping a child. But in the U.S. he can only be charged with traveling to Prague with the intent to rape a minor. He served more than 45 years in the state legislature and he deserves to serve the rest of his life in prison. Good Republican that he is, at least some his trips abroad were paid for by taxpayer money.
At first he pleaded not guilty to the sex tourism charge and to another charge about receiving pornography of underage boys (including naked pictures of two prepubescent boys) being abused. Yesterday, the North Dakota Monitor reported that Senator Holmberg, now 81, has cut a deal, pleading guilty to a child sex tourism charge (traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual activities) in return for the porno charges being dropped. “Prosecutors,” wrote Amy Dalrymple, “also agree to seek a sentence on the low end of sentencing guidelines.” That probably will amount to 3-4 years… instead of 30.
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