Sarcasm, condescension, and elitism.

“Never apologize “

on a large segment of the population and learned how to push their buttons. The type that get emotional validation from politics or politicians. They learned how to tap into and give lip service to their fears and grievances and echo it back to those folks in a way that makes them feel understood, and listened to, and important. They took elements of WWE and reality TV shows and applied it to politics for people who are entertained by those, who are yet also ill informed; in place of the serious thought and critical thinking that's needed to address problems today, they give their minions one dimensional caricatures and villains, simplistic slogans and meaningless platitudes they can all share and repeat, and circus type rallies and gaudy spectacles. And once they got their target audience on board and locked in, they knew the tactic of just making up facts, or repeating lies over and over would not only never be questioned, but would be widely accepted and repeated.

So many of them would rather die than admit they were wrong.

The delusion I see on some Facebook posts in my red area is staggering. You can almost tell they don't actually believe this shite is true but they simply cannot be wrong.

My older MAGAt brother has always been like this.

I sure can’t think of anything.

My parents were devout Catholics and raised us accordingly. Aforementioned brother became "born again" in his 30s. It suited him perfectly, since he believes it means "I'm right and you're wrong. You're not only wrong, but you're going to hell because of it."

When I rarely bring up anything not approved by Faux News my SIL has this "you're so lost" bullshit condescending look. I ignore all of it and end conversations with a "bless your hearts. I love you." Not fixable.

We switched to Presbyterian USA about 20 years ago. A mainstream church that recognizes gay marriage.

He's just sanctimonious about politics. I totally blame Limbaugh.

Evil asswipe!

potential (primarily rich) supporters from all walks of life.

— you’re an amazing person
— I’ve heard a lot of great things about you
— people say you’re the best (enter profession)

Etcetera, etcetera.

Who wouldn’t be flattered? WE see the lies, but these weak people just gush at the praise and sign on.

I saw Michael Cohen say one time that when F47 hired a lawyer he would first ask him to do something just a tiny bit shady. If the lawyer declined due to ethical or legal concerns the felon never used him again. If he agreed, the next ask was a little more questionable and before you knew it the person was in too deep and couldn’t get out and if he tried the threats began.

He may not be smart but he recognizes like minded people and he is also cunning and smells and capitalizes on weak people whether it’s someone like Musk or the rot of politicians he controls now.

However, Trump's rapidly worsening dementia is increasingly diminishing his "true genius." I think cracks are forming in his supporters' unquestioning faith. When Trumpers actually start dying as a result of his "genius," they mignt finally admit they were conned. One can only hope.

of covid. Didn't seem to matter at all.

Some grifter tells them a tale and they go along with it.
In this case the grifters are the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation.

someone than to convince them they have been fooled?
That is MAGA all the way.

rubes and dupes.

Last edited Sun Jul 6, 2025, 10:17 AM - Edit history (1)

MAGA is not even original

A variation of it was said on the Simpsons years before Donald Trump.

“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”
― Lyndon B. Johnson

I get it that there is the backfire effect (people's tendency to double down when challenged on faulty thinking and beliefs) and that there is the sunk cost fallacy.

But we are not going to stand by. We have to build things up again even after they were torn down. People are depending on us to do the right thing.

They will spend every ounce of their energies to literally change what is wrong to instead be considered what is right. Facts, morality, fairness, basic science, society and humanity be damned.

they are assholes.

And I'm not trying to just cuss, but they are assholes in every sense of the word. And it is chic to be the biggest asshole you can be.

People like that used to be roundly ignored but now they are listened to seriously and given the benefit of the doubt and validation. Why?
Let's look at the right-wing media that controls the airwaves first.

Monkey see, monkey do.

about Medicaid cuts. The pattern is obvious as they hate people who use Medicaid. They are assumed to be frauds and get this - living on the dole!
I am swatting them with the truth that the only people to receive checks from Medicaid are the medical providers. They assume people are being paid by Medicaid?
They have apparently been told that illegal immigrants are getting lots of Medicaid.

They have been told there is massive fraud and abuse, not understanding that it is the billing by medical personnel that is committing the fraud if there is any.

They are committed to their hate and feel no compassion for others.

Nextdoor? Just curious because here, I was invited as a neighbor by name to Nextdoor some year’s ago — definitely before Trump’s first term.

Some people use just a first name or initials.
I have been involved in environmental issues in a logging, mill town and have been advised over the years to not name myself publicly. But I won't be cowed like that. I grew up in a neighborhood where there were some grandmas with numbers tattooed on their arms. My motto is to speak up. That is tattooed on my brain.

If we were not divided, the felon's refusal to admit error would be a weakness.

Repeating lies frequently really works with religious people.

Bonus:

I'm going to repeat this over and over everywhere:

Why should a small number of people have so much of the wealth? Corruption, greed, and inequality have all but destroyed this great nation.

It sounds like narcissistic psychopaths finding and encouraging like minded psychos.

They aren't wrong from their perspective. These are the same people for the last 50+ years. They want government broken because they think it is broken.

When something works, how do you convince people it is bad? Break it. Then say how it is broken.

There is no genius to this politics. There is just stupidity from the people that think MAGA or the Tea Party or Nascar Dads or Soccer Moms or Reagan Dems were ever a voting bloc.

There has always been a morally consistent and ethically superior (though not perfect) center left Democrats, and a craven and ethically bankrupt GOP that has shifted from center right to hard right.

I look forward to the pendulum swinging back and knocking them on their asses. I pray we eventually have a Democrat that is willing to exercise the excessive powers given to the executive by the GOP leadership.

I look forward to the inevitable Next New Deal.

"Nobody can be against that"

Propaganda device creating a popular bandwagon movement on any topic that no one should question because "everyone" agrees with our plan.

I'd say it's the utterly shameless psychopathy in the far right. They have no character, no conscience, no decency, no sense of right and wrong unless it means "right is what I want and wrong is when I'm told no."

But yours is just as great, Peacetrain. Trump and fans have turned being wrong into a badge of great honor and admiration.

Go bankrupt

My conservative friend is going to find out the hard way. She is a caregiver to a woman who is on medicaid. She also gets paid by the state. Medicaid for the elderly is going to be on the chopping block. My state cannot afford to pick up what the feds stop paying for. She is also on Medicaid herself and her daughter relies on the hospital charity to pick up what her insurance didn't cover. I have told her over and over again that this big ugly bill will affect her family hugely. These are her words: 'They would never do that.' She also thinks the government is bloated and Elon will find the fraud, waste and abuse. Well that never happened either. She claims she doesn't watch the news, but clearly, she watches FOX news. I can't seem to convince her that she has been conned. She will find out soon enough when she loses her job over the loss of medicaid. She also said the tragic accident in Maryland between the helicopter and the plane was the result of DEI. I shut that shit right down. I am a female, combat vet and I was aircrew. The level of stupidity is astonishing to me. These people are being lead down the primrose path by FOX. I love her dearly as a friend, but honestly, don't know how much longer I can handle the ignorance.

How I wish our education system produced truly thoughtful people rather than hysterical test takers. How do we fix it????

* or incompetent. They never try to divide their own party with false claims that "both parties are the same". Instead they prefer to attack Democrats and the Democratic party. So far, that technique seems to be working for them.