"Sadly, it may well be that not enough Americans are paying attention to
what is being revealed in these hearings. Those within the Republican
base remain firmly in the thrall of Mr. Trump and the baseless
conspiracy theories he sells them, while GOP elected officials are
fearful of doing anything to turn his ire on them. Voters might want to
send a message about their dissatisfaction with the status quo. But
inflation will pass, wages will rise, and supply chains will adapt. The
consequences of re-empowering an unhinged personality, after he has
faced no serious consequences for literally trying to overthrow the
democratic order, would last forever." -- Washington Post editorial board, in observing "Jan. 6 testimony shows that Donald Trump is unhinged. Voters must listen." (our emphasis) This goes further than the Malignant Loser, though. The party "in the thrall" of him (whether his sway may or may not be weakening) long ago adopted an anti-democratic, antediluvian, theocratic philosophy -- what we call Christofascism. The consequences of re-empowering that party in 2022 or beyond would be catastrophic and last forever.
it may well be that not enough Americans are paying attention
ReplyDeleteI think this will take time. It's true that the TV viewership for the hearings has been only in the ten to twenty million range, very small compared to the total adult US population, but these days information tends to spread more slowly through the population via social media and personal connections, and many people are relying on summaries of the information rather than watching the hearings directly (I do, for example -- I don't even have a TV). It will probably take a month or two for the full impact to be felt.
The hard-core Trumpanzees are unreachable, but a lot of borderline and uncommitted people are reachable. At the very least, if the revelations about Trump convince the Republican establishment that he's unelectable in 2024, they're likely to make a real effort to block him from getting nominated, setting up a destructive internal conflict.