"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing....We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power." -- from the novel "1984" by George Orwell (6/25/1903 - 1/21/1950).
One could imagine any Republican / White Supremacist / Forced Birth party leader saying something like this in a private meeting discussing strategy. There's deep cynicism, dishonesty and amorality in the party that worships power and a narcissistic, unstable demagogue who brought them a taste of it several years ago. They want it back, and they'll lie, cheat and undermine elections in order to get it, because to them "the object of power is power."
(photo: Associated Press)
