The Republican Screed 2024
Words Republicans Live By in 2024, As Proclaimed by Donald Trump and Approved by 85% of Republicans
(IndieDems Note: This is not to be taken as an exhaustive list of Trump's insults, ignorance, & craziness.)
- Make over 30,000 false or misleading statements (lies) as President
- Spend weeks downplaying the coronavirus threat and stating it would soon “just disappear,” leaving the nation unprepared for the full force of the pandemic
- In later interviews with Bob Woodward, admit that you lied in giving your optimistic view
- Recommend that Americans ingest bleach to cure Covid-19
- During the 2020 Presidential campaign, refuse to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and disparage mail-in voting in a transparent effort to set the stage for an extra-legal or illegal challenge of the vote
- Create out of whole cloth the Big Lie that massive fraud prevented you and other Republicans from winning in 2020
- Have your followers launch numerous frivolous legal challenges to the lawful election results, all of which are thrown out of court.
- Pressure state election officials to illegally alter the official election results, including a flagrant appeal to the Georgia Secretary of State that results in your being indicted on 31 criminal charges
- Use the Big Lie about voter fraud to mobilize a rally in Washington on January 6 and incite the participants to stage a violent invasion of the Capitol
- After the rioters spend over an hour viciously beating Capitol policemen and vandalizing and looting the Capitol, appear in public to refer to the mob as “my kind of people.”
- After your presidential term ends, mobilize the Republican Party to launch an attack on democracy itself, with the aim of stealing the 2022 and 2024 elections by passing laws to allow extreme voter suppression and to place partisan hacks in charge of state electoral processes.
- Demean the military service of John McCain and insult his memory by raising the White House flag back to full mast while his memorial services were underway
- Mock a handicapped person
- Kidnap children and lock them in wire cages
- Tell lies about the extent of criminality among Hispanic migrants
- Call Hispanic migrants “animals” who were “infesting” America
- Brag about sexually assaulting women
- Call various women bimbo, dog, ugly, of low intellect, & Miss Piggy
- Refer to a United States female Senator by the racist-tinged term “Pocahontas”
- Support a known sex offender for the Senate from Alabama
- Publicly boast that you take the word of Putin over U.S. intelligence services about Russian interference in U.S. elections
- Come across as an obsequious lapdog of Putin in a 2018 joint press conference
- Refuse to take serious steps to counter Russian cyber warfare aimed at the U.S.
- Spread the proven Russian Big Lie about Ukraine interfering in U.S. elections
- State that the United States was no better than Russia in its moral values
- Insult and demean the United States’ democratic allies
- Call for the dissolution of NATO
- Press for Russia to be invited to the annual meeting of the G-7, despite our allies’ opposition
- Order the removal of 11,000 troops from Germany without prior consultation with our NATO allies
- Praise the leadership of the murderous thugs Putin and Kim Jong Un
- Proclaim that you are in love with Kim Jung Un
- Remain unstinting in your praise of Putin and Kim Jung Un after they are revealed as ordering the assassination of their political opponents abroad
- Allow your Postmaster General to gravely weaken Post Office operations three months before the presidential election, placing at risk the proper handling of the tidal wave of anticipated mail-in ballots
- Urge Americans to vote twice, a criminal as well as moral offense
- Establish a long track record of incendiary and disparaging remarks about veterans and military service. Include in the disparagement veterans who were wounded, captured, or missing in action, and call those killed in combat “losers.”
- In a meeting with top U.S. generals, call them “losers” and “a bunch of dopes and babies,”
- Support torture
- Accuse a former President of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to hide his real birthplace
- Call Hispanic migrants “animals” who are “infesting” America
- Engage in the character assassination of a respected U.S. Ambassador
- Treat as trivial the brutal murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi on orders of the Saudi Crown Prince
- Praise neo-Nazi demonstrators chanting "Jews will not replace us"
- Be willing to accept damaging information on political rivals from a foreign government
- Run political campaigns overtly supporting racism, xenophobia, and white nationalism
- Use fear-mongering and race-baiting to support that campaign
- Clasp to your bosom the extremist crackpot organization QAnon, which believes a cabal of pedophiles and cannibals is waging a Satanic conspiracy against Trump, by effusively praising QAnon’s chief Georgia advocate for winning a Congressional primary
- Talk about Hispanic immigrants the way Hitler talked about the Jews
- Impugn the integrity of a respected judge based on his ethnic origin.
- Tell U.S. Congresswomen of color to “go back where you came from.”
- Call African countries "s---holes"
- Incite followers to violence
- Have police authorities assault peaceful protestors to clear a path for you to walk across the street and pose in front of a church holding a Bible
- In a transparently racist appeal, warn “suburban housewives” that Democratic housing policies would “destroy” the suburbs
- Imply that the Second Amendment could be invoked to justify assassinating Hillary Clinton
- Tell law enforcement officers that they should feel free to rough up detainees and break the law, and be guaranteed a pardon
- Call a Republican U.S. Congressman who body-slammed a newsman “my kind of guy”
- Say it is OK to get information on political opponents from foreigners
- Approve Howard Stern's calling your daughter "a piece of a--"
- Overrule U.S. security services and grant Jared Kushner a security clearance
- Belittle a Gold Star American mother
- Create a sham “university” to defraud average citizens of their money
- Have a court order the closing of your foundation because of financial impropriety
- Play up being called “the chosen one,” an appellation usually reserved for Jesus Christ
- Subvert the military’s due process by pardoning three officers duly convicted of atrocities against civilians in separate instances
- Do the same to civilian courts by pardoning Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who housed Latino prisoners outdoors in inhumane conditions and was convicted on federal contempt-of-court charges
- Accuse TV personality Joe Scarborough of being a murderer
- Falsely accuse a senior citizen protestor assaulted by police of being an anti-government conspirator
- Violate the Constitution’s emolument clause and enrich yourself and your family by welcoming foreign delegations to your hotels and resorts
- Have good words to say about:
- The “very good people” (armed protesters) who showed up in the Michigan Capitol to intimidate lawmakers
- The person who allegedly shot and killed two people at a protest in Wisconsin
- The “Great Patriots” who drove into Portland, Ore., hurling paintballs and pepper spray at demonstrators
- Officers who kill unarmed African Americans. Claim they simply “choke” under pressure.
The party’s three leading candidates are speaking about history and race in polarizing and provocative ways that sometimes diverge from or distort the facts, some political strategists, experts and civil rights leaders said
(IndieDems note: At first, we thought we would incorporate Trump's recent overt us of the language of fascism into our existing feature story, "Trump's Resemblance to Hitler is Increasing, Not Diminishing," since it fleshed out the theme. But on second thought, Trump's words are such a clean-cut watershed, we decided they warranted separate treatment).
In a speech in New Hampshire on Veterans Day (Nov 11), Trump called his political enemies “vermin” and vowed to “root out” his liberal opponents if he returned to office, suggesting that they pose a greater threat to the United States than countries such as Russia, China or North Korea. Historians pointed out that his use of the term “vermin” echoed dictators like Hitler and Mussolini. Trump’s caustic rhetoric was viewed in the context that he has repeatedly praised dictatorial thugs like Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, and Hungary’s rightwing strongman Orban.
(His precise words:“We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country"....Outside threats are “far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within.”).
In an interview with rightwing broadcaster Glen Beck on November 7, Trump vowed to lock up political enemies if he returns to White House. Beck had asked, “if you’re president again, will you lock people up?” Trump replied, “The answer is you have no choice, because they’re doing it to us.” Trump went on to say Democrats and other opponents were “sick people … evil people.”
Trump's words over the past week simply prove conclusively what he has been demonstrating in one way or other since he announced his presidential bid in 2015: Donald Trump not only has no respect for America's basic democratic and moral values, he would cast them completely aside is he is re-elected president. The "rule of law" and common human decency mean nothing to him. As the public record plainly shows, Trump has nothing but contempt for God's Commandments that forbid lying, committing adultery, and stealing.
Of course, it's not just Trump whose moral universe is revealed as seriously questioned. Millions of Republicans support his immoral, authoritarian agenda. The more evidence of his criminal acts that are revealed in the legal trials he is facing, the stronger his support becomes among Republicans. The reprobate who is waging a war against democracy itself is the Republicans' overwhelming favorite to be their presidential nominee in 2024.
IndieDems note: As regular readers of these pages know well, IndieDems makes frequent use of commentary from other sources as the bases of our own analysis. Articles from newspapers, social media, etc., are posted with links to the original. Sometimes they a left to stand alone, sometimes followed by "IndieDems comment." But, in this instance, no link is provided to the original. Reason: the commentary is from a subscriber-only newsletter. But--the sentences are also a point-by-point recitation of facts. We thought having these facts as a convenient reference justified publishing them,even though it may strain SOP.)
Republicans Threaten the National Security of the United States
- The past few weeks should have convinced you that keeping Republicans in the House majority and putting them back in the White House would endanger national security as much as they would democracy.
- A sizable share of Republicans are ready to throw Ukraine to the Russia bear, which would hand a defeat to the United States more serious than Vietnam.
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) persists in holding up military promotions. Republicans appear unwilling to make any rule change to shut him down.
- Republicans are unrelenting in their infatuation with shutdowns, which would have our military men and women work without pay.
- MAGA Republicans and their cult leader mock and threaten the people and institutions responsible for upholding the Constitution and protecting our safety (e.g., disabled veterans, Capitol police, the FBI, court personnel).
- Instead of responsible stewardship and respect for the military, they offer insults (“woke,” “losers”).
- Instead of serious concern for their fellow Americans’ safety, they bait violent extremists with paeans to toxic masculinity.
- Democracy and ordered liberty will be on the ballot in 2024, but so will defense of the homeland, preservation of critical alliances and maintenance of a 21st-century military.
In a recent media article, David French points out he once worked together with Mike Johnson, whom Republicans recently elected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, in the "same Christian law firm." But, French says, two events from Mike Johnson’s early days as Speaker encapsulate how he and some other Republicans view the "broken way" Johnson and other evangelicals approach politics. In Johnson's first press conference after his election, a reporter started to ask Johnson about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But before she could finish, "Johnson’s Republican colleagues started to shout her down." Johnson simply shook his head and said. “Next question,” as if the query wasn’t worth his time.
The second instance came when, in an interview on a news network, Johnson was asked about the source of his basic political philosophy. He replied: What do I think about any issue under the sun? "Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.” ,
French disputed this, saying "the Bible isn’t actually a clear guide to 'any issue under the sun.' ” But, he said, it is a much clearer guide for Christian virtue--and went on to point out Johnson's failure to meet that standard in several ways. Where, for example, is the Christian virtue of honesty in Johnson's pepetuating the Big Lie about massive fraud stealing the 2020 election from Trump and participating in the criminal effort to overturn the lawful results? Or, promoting the same theories as some of the most corrupt and incompetent lawyers in American legal life?
French concludes: "This is precisely indicative of the political ruthlessness that’s overtaken evangelical Republicans. They are inflexible about policy positions even when the Bible is silent or vague. They are flexible about morality even when the Bible is clear...there is a clear theme that echoes throughout the Bible..."The ends do not justify the means."
IndieDems Comment:
Why anybody would take seriously anyone who claims his every word and deed is based on what the Bible says, is beyond me. The historical track record proves beyond a doubt such people, far from being Christians, are cafeteria Christians, people who have gone through the Bible, picked the parts they like, thrown the rest in the trash, and proclaimed their selection constitutes Christianity. Amazing that such people are taken seriously and leap to the top of evangelical leadership. Even after a novelist wrote the book Elmer Gantry, a character who represents these evangelical hypocrites to a “T.” And if you’ve never seen the movie, "A Face in the Crowd," check it out.
As for Johnson and his fidelity to the Bible, French eloquently points out the glaring hypocrisy of this coming from a person who played a major role in the Big Lie about voter fraud that led to the Big Crime of attempting to overturn a lawful presidential election. And phony baloney cafeteria Christians like Johnson continue to support for president a charlatan who violates no less than three of God’s Commandments, the ones that forbid lie, adultery, and stealing. Jesus explicitly called for adherence to the Commandments.
But the hypocrites vigorously oppose abortion, something Jesus never said one word about. In fact, neither does the Bible. Google it.
Nobel Prize Winner Paul Krugman examines the Republican election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House and other acts by Trump and the Trump-dominated GOP.
Excerpts
- “There are no moderate Republicans in the House of Representatives.”
- "...what Republicans think in the privacy of their own minds isn’t important. What matters is what they do — and every single one of them went along with the selection of a radical extremist.”
- Johnson is accurately noted as a proponent of election denial. “The term 'election denial' is a euphemism that softens and blurs what we’re really talking about.
“Trying to keep your party in power after it lost a free and fair election, without a shred of evidence of significant fraud, isn’t just denial; it’s a betrayal of democracy.”
“Johnson isn’t just someone who wants to legalize discrimination against L.G.B.T.Q. Americans and ban gay marriage; he’s on record as defending the criminalization of gay sex.”
Johnson is also on record as favoring radical cut backs in programs that benefit the average American. He once served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group that devises policy proposals. The budget proposal the committee released for 2020 under his chairmanship calls for the evisceration of the U.S. social safety net — not just programs for the poor, but also policies that form the bedrock of financial stability for the American middle class.
“So Mike Johnson is on record advocating policies on retirement, health care and other areas—like food stamps—that would basically end American society as we know it. We would become a vastly crueler and less secure nation, with far more sheer misery.”
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.”
NYT 9/15/23
Mitt Romney Has It Half Right
"much of the Republican Party has jettisoned any commitment to America’s democratic values in favor of narrow self-interest."