Where It Stops…

What would it take to drag the GOP back to reality?

Probably a charismatic leader who could create a movement committed to sanity. Which is...unlikely when the party base is demanding MORE versions of the Maricopa clown show.

I elaborate here: https://t.co/pgRbgF6nS4

— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) May 20, 2021

Ask anyone involved in a local church, and they'll tell you 90% of the work of the church is done by 10% (or less) of the people.  They are the handful willing to volunteer, eager to help, or just wanting to see things get done.  They volunteer so the other 90% don't have to; because the other 90% don't want to.

The same applies to any organization, except in business where "ambitious" people work harder in hopes of getting promoted.  But the Peter Principle gets them in the end, so we don't need to worry about that here.

Political parties are largely volunteer organizations, especially at the state and local level.  The party "officials," especially the paid ones, are the cheerleaders for outrage, the better to drum up money. "Outrage" used to be called "ideology," but it was always about the dangers of the "other party," so things haven't changed all that much.  The myth of comity in politics once upon a time is just that:  a myth.  Everybody remembers hearing about it being so once upon a time; nobody actually remembers it that way.

And if they do, they're fools; or liars.  Or both.

So do the crazies at the local party level indicate a danger to democracy?  No more than the crazies in a church indicate the death of Christendom.  If the assholes take control of the congregation, they can kill the local church; but most likey that church was on its deathbed anyway.  Healthy, thriving congregations keep the crazies in check, if only by sheer numbers of sane people.  Congregations lumbering to their grave only have the crazies left; all the sane people have moved on, or been finally driven out as they are outnumbered by the insane.

I suspect the GOP only has the crazies left.  That's a problem for the GOP.  It's not a problem for the rest of us, except insofar as they pass bad laws we have to get better people in to office to repeal.  But that's always the issue in every election:  protecting what's good, trying to correct what's wrong.

And ‘round and ‘round it goes.