Never-Trumper Jennifer Rubin today:
If 53 percent or 56 percent of Republicans actually believe something that is patently false, one party suffers from delusional thinking. There is no way to “understand” MAGA voters, nor is there is any possibility of reaching political agreement with them. They are beyond the bounds of rational political debate. Those who comprehend how dangerous such delusions are in a democracy must break away from them, not enable them to win elections.
And it goes on in that way for graf after graf. And yes, it’s true, and yes, it needs to be said. So what’s my problem? Simple:
You figured this out just now, Ms. Rubin? The dysfunction has been obvious for years as Digby reminded us recently, even to establishment figures like Norman Ornstein.
But it took aTrump, someone who merely re-packaged the Republicans’ pre-existent authoritarianism without the raised Beltway pinkies, for her to finally figure out that the GOP suffers from “delusional thinking” that is “beyond the bounds of rational political debate” and that the only sensible response is to “break away from them.”
Too late. When it may have still actually made a difference, say in 2003, clear-eyed commentators who could actually see the Republican party for what it was were locked out of mainstream gigs. The observations Rubin now proffers in the WaPo were branded “unhinged” back then, not fit to print. But they were very, very true. And it’s waaaay too late now to make much of a difference.
Don’t get me wrong. Rubin’s a pretty good writer. But I’m sorry, “better late than never” doesn’t cut it when the stakes are serious threats to democratic governance in the world’s most powerful country. Now, we will have to live with the awful consequences of the mainstream’s obliviousness to the beginnings of the GOP’s descent into fascism. And there is no way to avoid them.
Sure, Rubin should continue to play catch up. Good for her, but let’s look for contemporary insight as to what to do now to those who always saw the modern GOP for what it was.