The two-week temporary ceasefire has done little to quell GOP fears about the war in Iran costing the party seats in November.
Republicans are relieved over Trump’s steps toward reconciliation in Iran — but they worry the measures are too little, too late to save them from a brutal midterm election cycle.
Behind the public celebration by many Republicans of the temporary two-week ceasefire announcement, longtime party operatives continue to warn of a bleak political reality as the cost-of-living concerns around the war including spiking gas prices that are likely to continue for weeks if not longer even if the fragile ceasefire holds.
A person close to the White House, granted anonymity to speak candidly, put it bluntly.
“This war in Iran almost cements the fact that we lose the midterms in November — the Senate and House,” the person said.
That’s just sad. In almost any other democratic country, a government would be forced out of office for any one of these crimes - and those responsible would almost certainly all face criminal charges as well.
I think you forgot to watch your mandated daily 3 hours of Fox News. After watching that, I assure you that you will think everything is going great in the USA. Well, except for those brown people causing all the crime.
I certainly wouldn’t let that influence me, since I’m fully aware of what FOX News is all about.
But yes, I see what you mean. Still, I can’t understand how anyone can still believe this crude propaganda, given what’s happening in the U.S. every single day. Anyone who claims to know nothing about it either simply doesn’t want to know or is profiting from it themselves.
In my opinion, this level of absurdity and criminality cannot even be concealed by the massive propaganda machine at the regime’s disposal - Fox News actually plays a rather minor role in this compared to all the mainstream U.S. social media platforms.
Trump’s COVID response was a total shit show. And a million other shit shows. Trump got re-elected.
I would like to live in a world where propaganda did not work. But the propaganda seems pretty powerful.
I’m not saying propaganda doesn’t work. Just that it’s very easy to see through because the lies are so far removed from reality. This reality simply can’t be hidden anymore: social benefits have been slashed, the cost of living is higher than ever, as are gas prices - something that’s particularly noticeable in the U.S. - and so on. Even if you bury your head in the sand and get your information exclusively from channels that are completely brought in line, you’ll find it hard to overlook that this regime does nothing but enrich itself.
Nevertheless, you are of course right: the only question is whether the propaganda is still sufficient to maintain the quasi-religious status that the MAGA cult ascribes to its leader.
In short: What the U.S. regime is doing seems to me to indicate that they no longer see any need to go to great lengths to conceal their sinister machinations. That, in turn, seems to me to strongly suggest that they will soon rule by sheer force. With ICE, this regime already has the means to do so, for this obvious secret police has a budget equivalent to the military spending of a medium-sized country; it has a budget that exceeds the combined budgets of all U.S. federal agencies (CIA, FBI, etc.). In my judgment, there can be only one reason for this: the establishment of an autocracy modeled after kleptocracies like today’s Russia.
But hey, that’s just my opinion, and I’m from Europe - Germany, to be precise -which is why I can’t help but notice many parallels with our own dark history.
My impression is that the Fox News propaganda works because it makes the viewers want to believe that Republicans are the good guys. It is a psychological trick, brainwashing. The lies being easy to refute is irrelevant - the viewers don’t want them refuted.
My impression is that the main tool of Fox is not the factual claims, but the feeling of tribal belonging.
Yeah, sure, that’s how propaganda always works. If Fox were to report anything based on facts, it would be clear to everyone that conservatives represent only the interests of the super-rich - which, of course, couldn’t be more at odds with the interests of ordinary people.
What I’m trying to say is that this regime is acting so brazenly that it’s almost impossible to overlook the fact that there’s no tribal belonging here - rather, the idiots who, for a long, long time, felt a sense of belonging for some eccentric reason, are now confronted with a reality in which even they can see that they’ve been used as pawns, that the tribe to which they felt they belonged has no other purpose than to enable the loyalty of expendable foot soldiers who stand up for their masters even though they’re being exploited.
Here’s my point: Anyone who is still on board now can only assume that they will benefit in a fascist-authoritarian state. ICE creates incentives for this as well, because a job there offers people with no education whatsoever a salary they wouldn’t get anywhere else.
So, I think it’s a mistake to underestimate the supporters of this regime. I don’t think they still believe the lies, but rather that they are fully aware of what they’re participating in and that they think they will benefit from it.
Trump approval rating among Republicans prove you wrong. I don’t like it either.
You don’t seem to understand: What I’m saying is simply that those who still support this regime do so because they expect to gain something from it. Most of them don’t support it because they still believe the fairy tales.
In the U.S. in particular, there are many who have been left behind by society. They see Trump as a chance to make something of themselves - and indeed, his administration offers them that opportunity.