Free Kool-Aid

Join the cult, get free Kool-Aid. Disclaimer: The Kool-Aid isn’t really free.

Representative Mark Sanford was hit by an air strike, and kinda-sorta literally. Direct from Air Force One on his return home from his Singapore photo-op with dictators and saluting North Korean generals, Donald Trump bombed the South Carolina Republican’s re-election bid.

With about four hours left to vote in South Carolina, Trump tweeted, “Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina.” The Argentina line was about Sanford’s affair with an Argentinian. Trump criticizing someone for an extramarital affair would be like Bill Clinton attacking someone for leaving DNA on a blue dress. But, Trump’s attack worked.

Sanford narrowly lost his primary and will now be leaving Congress. And what did Sanford do to not help Trump “MAGA” and be nothing but trouble? It wasn’t voting against Trump’s agenda as he fully supported that. He criticized Trump’s character and called for him to release his tax returns. Apparently, saying anything negative about Trump is sacrilege to the Church of Trump.

Two other candidates who MAGA won primaries on Tuesday despite one being aligned with white supremacists and the other being a pimp. Seriously.

Retiring Senator Bob Corker said the GOP was looking less like a party and more like a cult. He’s not wrong. Have you talked to a Trump sycophant or followed any on social media? Even if you have, you probably can’t understand their motivation. I have tried by asking them, but admittedly, approaching them with “hey, why are you a sycophant” hasn’t produced the best reaction.

Corker is right. Republican lawmakers express privately their dislike for Trump but won’t criticize him publicly. They’re afraid of an angry tweet and the wrath of his voters.

But why has the Republican Party become the party of Trump?

Their motivation is not policy. They don’t care about family values, high deficits, or even if the president takes a lot of golf vacations, all stuff they used to care about. They don’t care about broken promises as they’re all going to pay for the wall on the Mexican border if it’s ever actually built. They hated the Iran deal which contained specifics, stipulations, held that accountable, and actually prevented them from building a nuclear weapon, but they love Trump’s deal with North Korea which doesn’t contain any guarantees.

They don’t really care about draining the swamp as Trump won’t fire Mr. Swamp Thing himself, Scott Pruitt. They don’t care about pay-for-play as Trump and his kids are making money off the presidency. Don’t ask any of them about emoluments as they probably couldn’t spell it let alone define it.

Do they worship at the Trump altar because he’s a great businessman despite multiple bankruptcies with many of them being scams? Do they love him because he supports the troops despite his draft deferments and attacks on POWs and Gold Star families? They hate the Clinton Foundation but that’s not it either as they ignore the Trump Foundation being a slush fund for Trump to purchase paintings of himself.

Maybe it’s the great economy and job numbers which he inherited from Obama. Is it the details of his policies, which is usually just “replace with something better?” Do Trump supporters really love Russia and desire jobs in China?

It’s not because Trump champions freedom because he calls the press our “biggest enemy.” It’s not because he cherishes our greatest alliances as he’s attacked Canada, Germany, and NATO. It’s not because he’s a devout Christian because he doesn’t go to church.

It can’t be because of his intelligence, personality, charm, wit, or accomplishments because he doesn’t have any. Most of all, it’s not because he’s going to take care of them because he doesn’t really care about them. His tariffs are going to hit his followers in the Midwest the hardest. His tax cuts mostly help rich people like himself and his children, don’t expire for corporations, but they expire for you.

It can’t be because he respects women, as he’s personally attacked them verbally and physically. It can’t be his concern for your children as he endorsed a pedophile for the United States Senate.

It can’t be because he’s honest. It’s not his desire to build bridges as he spends a lot of encouraging divisiveness. It’s not because he hires the best people.

I don’t think it’s the racism. Yeah, he’s a birther, attacks Mexicans, Muslims, compliments Nazis, retweets white supremacists and anti-Semites, believes minorities are monolithic, and endorses other racists for office. I always thought people loved Trump despite his bigotry. Sure, racism isn’t a deal breaker for any Trump supporter and the biggest reason for others, but I’d hate to think there are over 60 million Americans voting for a guy because of it.

So, sycophants? What is it? Why? Why have you pledged your loyalty to such a huge disaster of a human being, a man who more a collection of bad traits than an actual human being? This is a person with so much to overlook, ignore, or excuse to support. So, I ask again….why?

It must be the Kool-Aid.

Watch me draw.

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