Opinion | The G.O.P. Is Now a Personality Cult

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by upnorthgirl
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Think of how the Republican Party used to define itself: pro-family, tough on fiscal policy and strong on national security.

On family policy, Republicans tore children from immigrant parents at the border and are now trying to rip apart health insurance for 21 million Americans. If the Republicans’ lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act wins, 133 million Americans will also lose protection for pre-existing conditions.

The Republicans sued to end the health insurance law because of a revulsion for Obama, and they are incoherent about the consequences. When a judge asked the Justice Department lawyer, August E. Flentje, if a stay should be lifted so that Obamacare would be dismantled immediately, he sounded horrified, saying, “We think it’s great the stay is in place.”

On fiscal policy, Republicans disgraced themselves in 2009 during the Great Recession when not a single G.O.P. member of the House of Representatives backed a desperately needed fiscal stimulus. To spite Obama, Republicans were willing to let Americans lose jobs, homes and savings, supposedly because of their concerns about deficits.

Then under Trump, those same Republicans approved a tax break that was far costlier, with the benefits disproportionately going to corporations and zillionaires. This year the administration expects the budget deficit to surge to $1 trillion (which means we are terribly positioned for a recession), but those fiscal hawks are silent. They proved themselves unprincipled opportunists.

On national security, Republican firmness toward Russia disintegrated the moment it was needed, when Russia interfered in the 2016 elections. The Obama administration shared intelligence about Russian interference with 12 congressional leaders in September 2016, seeking a bipartisan warning (including those running elections around the country) about Russia’s actions. Republicans led by McConnell blocked any serious response, thus enabling Russia’s assault on American democracy.

Meanwhile, we have a president who vigorously defends Russian President Vladimir Putin and jokes with him about getting “rid” of journalists. In polls, Republicans are more than twice as likely to approve of Putin (25 percent) as of Nancy Pelosi (9 percent).

SasparillaTango on July 21st, 2019 at 13:15 UTC »

What are the pillars of conservative values?. Well fiscal responsibility was supposed to be the main pillar but the 25% increase in defense spending and trillion dollar deficit show that to be false.

snogglethorpe on July 21st, 2019 at 12:28 UTC »

What's bizarre is the awfulness of the "personality" they're a cult of ... the worst person, no charisma, not clever, not a good speaker, not intimidating, not even marginally good looking, nothing.

I thought cult leaders typically at least had some sort of charisma, were in some way impressive, but Turnp has basically zero positive qualities.

It's like forming a cult around a large misshapen lump of fat you find in the sewer.

8to24 on July 21st, 2019 at 11:46 UTC »

The party became a personality cult when they elected an actor, Ronald Reagan, President. Republicans complain about how liberal Hollywood is yet are the ones that keep electing movie and TV actors to office. Reagan, Schwarzenegger, Trump, etc. While not an actor Bush loved playing dress up wearing military flight suits or dressing like a cowboy with boots, buckle, and hat.