Musing du jour: I was thinking of a way to explain the current state of US politics to a South African friend (being a naturalized citizen, I get it - some stuff is really weird). I told him the Republican party is like the friend-of-a-friend who tagged along when the group /1

went out and was a bit obnoxious but not so offensive that you would completely object to their presence. You even agreed with some of what they said, even if most of it went against your values. There were some spirited debates and you agreed to disagree, and life went on. /2

Then seemingly all of a sudden, the friend-of-a-friend you didn't like much but got along with ok turned into a major asshole, the kind who insults the doorman, gropes the waitress and steals money from the tip jar. That's how I think of the Republican Party now. /3

I went from disagreeing with them on policy to complete revulsion, and I can trace this back to when they stopped disagreeing with me on policy to completely disregarding democracy, decency and decorum. I'm not even talking about Former Guy, who is the pinnacle of disgrace. /4

It was a slow gradual climb to that pinnacle, driven by the desire for power at the expense of everything else. Principles? Out the window. Institutions? Inconvenient checks on power. Democracy? A problem because it means they don't win. I'm not naive. Politics = money. /5

The way the game is rigged, you need a cash to play and a shit ton of it to win. So yeah, I get that donors are more valuable to a politician than a constituent. Donors' interests come first. Neither party is immune to this inherent corruption in the system, and neither party /6

will lift a finger to change it. But there are other, more unforgivable threats to the country. I don't like tax cuts for the rich and large corporations, but elections have consequences and people knowingly voted for the people who do that shit. Fair. /7

That's a far cry from racism, collusion with a foreign adversary, voter suppression, endangering lives during a pandemic, inciting a mob to invade the Capitol, knowingly perpetuating lies to inflame tensions, feeding conspiracies and trying to overturn an election. /8

That's no longer being the obnoxious friend-of-a-friend you can get along with by agreeing to disagree on a few things. I can't agree to disagree on people who don't vote for you still having the right to vote. I can't agree to disagree on LGBTQ having the same rights as me. /9

I can't agree to disagree on our elections being protected from foreign influence. I can't agree to disagree on black and brown lives having the same value as mine. I can't agree to disagree on listening to experts, following science, or the value of education. /10

We can disagree all day long about policy but certain things like democracy and human rights should not be up for debate. /11x