An Absence of Thought

There's various theories about when politics got as bad as it is now, but there's no question that now, it's a mess. 

I've said it before, but the main reason is that the majority of voters do not want to weigh the issues, do not want to consider policy  alternatives,  do not want to think. A large percentage just want to be entertained. Cast your mind back to Donald Trump's first presidential campaign. How often did you hear him talk about how acting presidential was boring? How he avoided any substantive discussion of policy or any specific plans? No, his whole schtick consisted of rolling out empty applause lines and mocking his opponents. Rather than dismissing him as a clown, 46% of the electorate voted for him. 

Even after watching him stumble through four years of incompetence and ignorance, more people voted for him in 2020 than did in 2016. He was lucky, during his first three years, that there were no major new wars and the economy was still on the upward trend started in Obama's second term. His one big challenge, the Covid pandemic, he mismanaged so badly, providing no leadership and undermining his own team at every turn, that hundreds of thousands likely died who might have lived.  His legacy in that crisis was to give cover to conspiracy theorists and fringe anti-vaxxers who turned public health measures into political footballs. His main accomplishment, pushing the pharmaceutical companies to get a vaccine out in record time, was overshadowed by his encouragement of the nutjob caucus. 

Now, we're a few months before the first candidate selection contests for the 2024 election, and Trump is looking like the favorite to be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, despite there being saner and arguably more effective candidates available. Of the declared Republican candidates, all would champion a typical conservative agenda, with the added bonus of not seeking revenge against every perceived "enemy" and turning the presidency into his personal fiefdom. 

All because voters don't want to think.

They are acting strictly emotionally. 

They feel like their guy is getting attacked and that it reflects on them. They don't want to admit that they were horribly wrong, so they believe every implausible word that comes out of his mouth. Because to believe otherwise reflects terribly on them. 

There's still no plan. Other than exacting retribution upon his foes. And one mistake he won't make if he's re-elected: that's appointing anyone who isn't 100% personally loyal to him.