The GOP's Plans For The Next Two Years Are Terrifying

Should Republicans take back the House, they have made it very clear how they intend to abuse their power — and it isn’t pretty.

(L-R) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) attend a campaign rally on April 30, 2022 in Newark, Ohio. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

by Justin Rosario

The press is back to gleefully predicting Republicans retaking the House in two weeks on the basis of inflation and gas prices. This is strange because inflation hasn’t gotten any worse in the last two months and gas prices have barely moved.

It is almost like the press made a conscious choice to shift the conversation away from the collapse of the GOP’s economic messaging while simultaneously downplaying the egregious amount of racism and antisemitism Republicans have started to spew as their closing argument.

Should Republicans take back the House, they have made it very clear how they intend to abuse their power — and it isn’t pretty.

Revenge

Revenge for what? Who knows? Losing? Trump being impeached twice because he’s a criminal? Not being allowed to murder Nancy Pelosi and overthrow democracy? Does it really matter?

Trump showed Republicans that it is possible, even preferable, to govern entirely by grievance. Perpetual victimhood means you never have to actually do anything to solve America’s problems. You never have to make anything better or even try. All you have to do is blame someone you hate and make them pay.

The economy is collapsing? Blame immigrants and make literal child abuse official government policy. Climate Change is wrecking huge swathes of the country? Blame blue states and threaten to withhold disaster relief. 

President Lyndon Johnson once said of the right’s use of racial resentment as a political weapon, “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.” This is no longer quite true of the modern American right. Now, it’s not enough to look down on someone, they have to hurt them. The cruelty is the point and not just with words, there must be a tangible effect. The lives of the people they hate must be made materially worse in some way. Even if it’s just creating a permission system for others to do the hurting.

In lieu of governing, expect a nonstop farce that will make the multiple Bengahzi “investigations” look sober and serious in comparison. Just look at what Matt Gaetz has up his sleeve.