The true believers are absolutely part of it.

And as we enter the third wave of the Tea Party (MAGA chuds and now the Freedom Caucus), the cynical despots at the reins have been replaced by a LOT of true believers who are both dumb as a post and have drunk all of the Flavor Aid.

But there are still plenty of Phyllis Schlafly types in the party. Hardened opportunists with nothing more than a deep hunger for power, and no moral compass.

Pro forced birthers don’t care.

Not even in a ‘the cruelty IS the point’ way, though obviously sex is bad and suffering must happen to women (in their world view).

They don’t care because it’s a numbers game. Some women will die. Some will be maimed to the point where they can no longer conceive.

Those women don’t matter. Only the endless brood mares who are pumping out kids. Sure a few will suffer, and ‘blah blah gods plan’, but they aren’t part of the equation. The mass of humans being pumped out who will fodder for the corporate grist mill, or failing that filling the ranks of military or prisons.

I guess I’ve been ‘lucky’ to be formerly part of an almost completely outsourced profession (IT) since right around when it was getting outsourced. So it’s all sadly old hat to me… not an endorsement, simply a tired observation.

In a similar vein, I vaguely remember a sociological tract detailing the value of psychopathy in ye olden times (think at the tribal level) as they both want power and are willing to make the hard choices that others might be too empathetic to do.

But their continued existence and proliferation among certain sectors (business, politics, religion) has become a detriment.

Every single week there’s a new bombshell detailing the pervasive corruption in the supreme court. And nothing happens. We are stuck with these tyrants until (a) the court is packed/expanded as threatened by Roosevelt in the 30s and noised about by the left during the 2020 election cycle or (2) they start dying off and aren’t replaced by more fascists.

At least the interests behind them are completely cognizant of what they’re doing.

The assault by Moms for Liberty and their other less ‘insane’ kin on school boards across the nation is honestly terrifying. And just so well coordinated.

I recently listened to a delightful pair of Behind the Bastards episodes (a podcast I can’t possibly recommend enough) about Jack Welch, the darling of the modern C-suite and those aspiring to such.

The way he shaped modern capitalism to the detriment of all is terrifying. But the hilarious aside is much he was like Trump, Musk, Zuckbot, spez and all the rest. A raging little boy who has been dealt some insignificant slight, generally imagined, who wants to burn down the world as a result.

But, since this was entirely in the pre-Internet era, and he was mostly a darling of the press when interviewed for his pithy anecdotes about how to business, it mostly flew under the radar. The modern hyper toxic tech bro CEO or his presumptively dumber and louder counterparts who have still stumbled into social media is nothing new. They are just airing their dirty laundry in the public square with a much bigger megaphone.