There is something seriously wrong with a lot of Republicans.
I’m not referring to the infinite capacity of some of them to lie, nor to the infinite capacity of others to believe those lies.
I’m not even talking about Republicans supporting Trump’s politicizing of the CDC and FDA so that each is losing its long-standing credibility on which our health as a people depends.
I’m talking about their humanity, or, actually, the lack thereof.
180,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus. That is the population of my hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia more than three times over, as if it were gone, obliterated by a bomb wiping out everybody.
It’s unimaginable, yet in a CBS/YouGov poll taken August 22 Republicans said it was all okay.
The poll asked a simple question: “Is the number of US deaths from coronavirus acceptable or not acceptable?” Unbelievably, 57% of Republicans say that was an acceptable number.
What is wrong with these people?
Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the National Republican Committee, said nothing is wrong with them. What was wrong, she insisted, was that the question was unfair: “I think that is a really unfair poll. Republicans do not want to see people suffering from this pandemic.”
If what she said is true, why, then, did they give the answer they gave?
Democrats and independents were asked the same question. 90% of Democrats and 67% of independents said the 180,000 deaths were NOT acceptable
Republicans made matters worse and made McDaniel look like the political operative she is when 73% of them said Trump was “doing well” in handling the pandemic.
In contrast, 62% of all voters said our government’s response to the pandemic was “going badly.”
The obvious conclusion to be drawn here is that the poll is an accurate reflection of the attitude most Republicans have about 180,000 Americans dying from the coronavirus. It’s an acceptable number.
Let’s put that in a broader context.
Those 180,000 Americans who have died had families – wives, husbands, sons, daughters, parents, grandparents, all of whom have been thrown into unbearable grief.
That pain is deepened by the memory that they could not even be by the side of their loved one when he or she died to hold their hand, give them one last kiss, and say good-bye.
That fact alone makes this whole thing as unacceptable as it could possibly be, except to Republicans.
If we add to the number of immediate family members the members of their extended family, and close friends who are like family, long time co-worker friends, and many others, we are talking about the deaths of 180,000 people directly affecting as many as 2 million people.
What is more, this number doesn’t include the nearly six million Americans who have contracted the virus, thousands of whom along with their families are now dealing with long-term health effects.
When you think about the magnitude of the pain and suffering, death and grief, this pandemic is causing, the idea that anyone would believe it’s all acceptable is a testimony to how far the Republican Party has fallen under Donald Trump’s leadership.
Making it even worse is that he wants to have the same impact on the nation as a whole. He wants to dehumanize all of us, to diminish our humanity and pit us against one another.
This is a dismal picture of the Republican Party and everyone who identifies with it. It makes you wonder if there is any hope they might someday recover their humanity.
I was tempted to say to NO, there isn’t, but for the sake of my own sanity and the future of our nation, I decided to try to find some reason to believe there is a ray of light in this Republican darkness, and I may have found it.
By reading the poll numbers in the opposite way, it shows that 43% of Republicans don’t believe 180,000 deaths are acceptable, and 27% don’t believe Trump is doing a good job handling the pandemic.
Not a lot, I admit, but it is worth noticing those Republicans who stand against the majority. It suggests a minority of Republicans have not lost their humanity yet, at least not completely, though they still are Republicans. It means a few of them still have their soul and have not abandoned all their moral principles.
Whether or not this means they might also put their country before party loyalty and vote against another four years of Donald Trump is another question.
But when you’re fighting for your country’s survival, you grab at every straw available to you, and these figures, even though they represent only a minority of Republicans, is one such straw.
There is at least a chance Trump has not done permanent psychological and spiritual damage to all Republicans. That said, it doesn’t change the fact that, based on what they say about themselves, the majority of them have lost their humanity.
No wonder Joe Biden keeps saying this election is about the soul of America.
linnposts.com 
Jan,
Having watched bits of the first 3 nights of the RNC (all I could possibly stand), I found the usual Trumpian “lie-a-minute” banter that is impossible to keep up with.
For his indoctrinated (read: ignorant) supporters, this crap somehow resonates as real and true. This, of course, is the part that puts anxiety and fear in my brain and heart as we head toward November 3.
Bill Blackwell
Their day of reckoning is coming, Bill.
So much for “pro-life.”
You pretty much said it all, Judy.
The more I see and hear of Trump and his tribe, the more I dwell on Thomas Gray’s “memento mori”, written in a country churchyard. In a curious way, it’s a kind of comfort:
“…The boast of heraldry, the pomp of Power,
and all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
awaits alike the inevitable hour,
the paths of glory lead but to the grave”.
Nigel, I am among the many who hope Gray’s last line will serve as a pre-telling of Trump’s fate. Our nation cannot survive four more years of him.
Jan, once again you have turned the negative into a positive. And, here is even better news: America does not need 43% of republicans to vote for Biden. It only needs 5-8%. America does not need 27% of Trump’s base to stay home and refuse to vote. It only needs 2-3%. If 8-10 % of “republicans” voted for Biden, Democrats would be on their way to the landslide that we need for the change we want to happen in America. Even 5-8% in total would do the trick. This will be a tall order, but one that Democrats must embrace with all urgency. Smart republicans will barter with Biden to retain even the smallest influence in the next administration. And, this is why left, left progressives must continue to go along with the tide to assure a resounding victory. The Soul of America is all about retaining our democratic values and institutions and creating some semblance of unity once again in the crumbling “U-n-i-t-e-d States of America”. I am beginning to feel better that enough republicans will see the light. At least that is my hope!
John, I am pleased that so many Republicans are supporting Biden, well-known and ordinary people. I have been making calls for MN Democrats and I have had some people say they have been life-long Republicans who are voting for Biden, and the enthusiasm among Democrats is off the charts. All good signs that we will save the soul of this nation from total Trump corruption come November 3rd.
John, thank you for sharing those hopeful numbers.
Thanks Jan for your articles. I am so afraid that our party is being so wimpy and no chance of overcoming the opposition. I think Democrats have to stop virtual connections and move to some person to person contact. I hope for the best but???????
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Good to hear from you, Jan. I think Trump wants us to doubt ourselves and get discouraged. There are so many reasons to be encouraged about November. Trump is a scoundrel and Biden is not so Biden will not resort to the gutter tactics Trump is using, but in the end, I think most Americans will see through it all and will reject four more years of the chaos and destruction that is Donald Trump. It comes down to this in my view. I would rather Biden to be where he is than to be where Trump is.