I think social media might have amplified their reach, but the Republican movement has always been so. Sure, they had the thin veneer of respectability from “moderates” that only wanted deep tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for companies, no protections for workers and they’d be very careful about blowing the dogwhistle to get dumbass racists to vote for them.
But it was always a thin veneer. The base has always been chock full of crazies, cranks, conspiracy theorists, racists and people that just generally hate freedom and the American experiment. They want the “betters” (the rich and the white) to rule, and they want to make normal Americans cry, and they don’t give a fuck about anything else.
I think social media might have amplified their reach, but the Republican movement has always been so. Sure, they had the thin veneer of respectability from “moderates” that only wanted deep tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for companies, no protections for workers and they’d be very careful about blowing the dogwhistle to get dumbass racists to vote for them.
But it was always a thin veneer. The base has always been chock full of crazies, cranks, conspiracy theorists, racists and people that just generally hate freedom and the American experiment. They want the “betters” (the rich and the white) to rule, and they want to make normal Americans cry, and they don’t give a fuck about anything else.