A Foundation of Sand

So, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) got loudly and extensively booed at a Utah Republican event for his vote to convict Trump in his impeachment trial.  And Rep. Lynn Cheney (R-WY) is apparently on the verge of being ousted from her leadership position in the party because of her vote to impeach Trump.  And Arizona, Texas and other Republican states are coalescing behind efforts to continue challenging votes from the 2020 in order to support Trump. And Republican officials across the country -- both in Washington and locally -- continue to push the Big Lie about the election, that there was a conspiracy that kept Trump from remaining in office.  And these officials keep showing fealty to Trump.

There are two things that are so monumentally wrong-headed about this all, no matter how much the GOP base may believe the Big Lie these officials are pushing.

The first is that none of this will change the 2020 election.  Joe Biden is President of the United States.  The votes were certified in each state of the country, and the Electoral Votes were registered.  He is the president, he will remain the president, there is no mechanism in the U.S. Constitution to change that.  And it won't be changed.  All this does is create distrust in future elections -- which is horribly dangerous, but it's most dangerous to the Republican Party because they're positioning their base to not trust elections, which is the first step in not voting.

And the second oddity is that, as low as Trump's support was while in office, never once crossing 50% and always hovering around 45%, give or take a few points.  But now, four months out of the White House, Trump's approval has plummeted to only 32%.  And that's who Republican officials are pushing their party to rally around.  Not only someone with an absolutely dismal 32% approval, but an approval that is dropping like a rock, down by about one-third in just four months.

This is just weird.  Pushing something that is a know Big Lie that has zero chance of having any impact on changing what is -- and doing this all to support someone with only 32% approval.

And weird, too, because pretty much all Republican politicians pushing this know it's not true, that Trump really, actually lost.  And know, as well, what a cretin he is, who would never return their loyalty.  And left out of all of this is that "if" the presidential election had been truly stolen, that all the elections on the ballots would be suspect, stolen and invalid.  

Yes, yes, I get it that this is what the Republican base believes.  But they believe it because the party itself is who is pushing that Big Lie belief.  And as a party you may keep that base, but that base -- while strong in some states -- is dwindling nationally.  And yes, I get too that some of it is done for fundraising.  Except fundraising can be done with minimal effort based on forced-outrage over an issue.  This is taking government actions.

The public disintegration of the GOP into fascist, ignorant madness is one thing, but that elected Republican officials – in Washington and locally – think this is the way to fly and why they were elected, is another entirely.  It has become a party of “We have no political beliefs, but only want power.”

When your party’s issues are Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head, banning the Muppets, prohibiting meat, going to a bakery for a snack  and falsely thinking free books were forced on children, that your are a party with pretty close to literally nothing.