GOP Leaders Assume Their Voters Are Racist, Sexist, and Homophobic

Here's just a sampling of the kind of things Republicans are doing in red states:

• In Florida, they've established a first-in-the-nation election police force.
• After passing a massive voter suppression law, Texas rejected a history-shattering 18,000 mail-in ballots during their March primary.
• Florida passed a bill that bans school lessons or workplace training that could make participants feel discomfort or guilt.
• A Missouri Republican has introduced a bill that would make it a felony to perform an abortion for women experiencing an ectopic pregnancy.
• Utah passed a bill that would ban puberty-blocking treatment, hormone therapy, and gender confirmation surgery and make it a felony if parents or doctors provide it. It would also make it a felony to take your child out of state to get those treatments.
• Florida passed a bill that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
• In Mississippi, Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee is attempting to deprive the school board of $100,000 in funding because he wants to see a spate of LGBTQ-themed books banned from school libraries.

Keep in mind that's just a sampling. Similar legislation is being considered or has already been passed in other red states. The so-called "party of small government" wants to decide who can't vote, what you can't teach in school, what you can't do with your own body, who you can't love and what you can't read. That is precisely why we are in the midst of what some refer to as a "culture war." Other than trolling, it's what passes for a Republican Party platform these days.

In the midst of all of that, some on the left are actually suggesting that Democrats need to lighten up when it comes to these issues. One can only assume that they want us to just ignore these attacks on our civil rights - just as the Republican Party has made them central to their agenda. 

One such person is neo-New Democrat Ruy Teixeira. See if you can follow his arguments.

1. Working class Americans are increasingly voting for Republicans.
2. They aren't doing so because of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.
3. Nevertheless, in order to win them back, Democrats must stop talking about racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.

Yeah, it doesn't make any sense to me either. 

What we know is that, ever since the so-called "Southern Strategy," Republicans have used these issues to divide us - while they lined their pockets by catering to wealthy donors. The "war on drugs" was code for locking up black and brown people. Paul Wyrich joined with white evangelical leaders to use abortion as a way to mobilize conservatives in the 80s. George Bush, Sr. capitalized on his Willie Horton ad. Karl Rove got marriage equality on as many ballots as possible as a way to ramp up conservatives to vote for George W. Bush's re-election. Then along came Donald Trump, who not only bragged about being able to "grab p***y," but launched his political career by questioning the legitimacy of our first African American president and by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals.

Is it any wonder that a party that did all of that has now been taken over by racism, sexism, and homophobia? Grievance about those issues is what defines the GOP right now. I am reminded of the infamous words of Andrew Gillum during a gubernatorial debate with Ron DeSantis.

Gillum: "Now, I'm not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I'm simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist." pic.twitter.com/BVHxKWalYL

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 25, 2018

I'm not calling Republican voters racist. I'm simply saying that the (mostly white, male, heterosexual) leaders of the Republican Party think their voters are racist, sexist and homophobic, because that's all they've put on the table for an agenda.  To ignore that is to turn a blind eye to what the opposition is doing.