The Republican Extremist Threat to America

-By Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post

Excerpts:

"When a sizable portion of one of the major political parties, aided by a right-wing propaganda machine and infused with religious fervor, rejects the basis for multiracial, multicultural democracy, we face a severe crisis. Even if Trump does not return to the White House, this radicalized segment will not disappear. How we reintegrate millions of Americans into reality-based, pro-democracy politics in a diverse country remains the great challenge of our time."

• “More than six in ten Republicans (63%) continue to say that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump
• One-third of Republicans believe a resort to violence might be justified
• “About half of Republicans (48%) agree with the need for a leader who is willing to break some rules”
• QAnon believers have jumped from 14 percent of Americans to 23 percent, with Republicans twice as likely as Democrats to buy into the extreme conspiracy theory.

“With their sympathies for authoritarianism, radical ideology and banning abortion, many Republicans, especially the GOP’s main base of White evangelical Christians, are out of step with the rest of the country.”