The Ever-Expanding Parallel MAGA Universe

 

The Ever-Expanding Parallel MAGA Universe

Old GOP Myth Becomes Immutable MAGA Doctrine

The term “cult” refers most often to a group of people with usually atypical beliefs living in relative isolation from the world. They tend to centralize around one charismatic person—the cult leader—who orders the beliefs, behaviors, and customs of all the other members. Many cults stand in as de facto new religions for their followers, but some are irreligious in nature. 

MasterClass, November 10, 2022

“The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man.” 

Donald Trump at a NJ rally, May 13th, about a fictional movie character

If you say it enough, not only will lots of people believe it, but many will absorb it into their psyche as an immutable truth. The power of a cult leader absolutely requires an identified vulnerable group, a plan that pledges to address the elements that make that group feel vulnerable whether based in fact or fantasy, and active recruitment of that group. Blame, justified or not, accelerates the formation of a cult and raises the power of the charismatic leader who assesses the blame. Where myth and fantasy are the underpinnings of the rational supporting the cult’s meaning, those “alternative facts” become sacred truths, and denying them is often considered a form of sacrilege. Worthy of punishment and retribution. If the cult leader is suffering from delusions of grandeur or other psychological disorders, such characteristics often imbue that leader with a form of mystical power. When a cult gets big enough (think Nazis in WWII), such bizarre beliefs are no longer “atypical”!

But sometimes those “charismatic” traits fall pretty squarely within medical definitions of mental illness. For example, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website, “Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition that affects how people think, feel and behave. It may result in a mix of hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking and behavior.” According to that same site, dementia can also include confusion and disorientation, seeing things that aren't there and being suspicious, known as paranoia. It’s hard for me to read these definitions, consider the writings of psychologist Mary Trump assessing her own uncle, read the news, and not believe that ex-president Donald Trump suffers from all of the above symptoms.

But even where mental illness is not the cause of the consistent belief in a theory that sounds very plausible – in this case, “trickle-down/supply side” economics – that people keep repeating the behavior based on that theory, one that has never, never, never worked, and are expecting a different result, well…. A vestige of so-called “Reaganomics,” this theory was based on the notion that rich people, with more money in their pockets from reduced taxes, would use that extra cash to hire more people into good jobs… and thus create many new jobs paying lots of taxes to justify the tax reduction. In short, this theory holds that incenting these “job creators” inevitably will create “a rising tide that floats all boats.” But the rather consistent result of reducing taxes for the rich is no real job creation but rising deficits, underfunded government programs and serious pain for those not in those top earning brackets. The rich don’t just hire just because of tax cuts.

Indeed, convicted business fraudster Donald Trump, with lots of bankrupt companies in his wake, and his pack of supply-side economists, are viewed, under every voter poll I have seen, is regarded as 15-20% more competent to helm the adjustments perceived to be needed by the US economy than Joe Biden, whose inflation reduction and infrastructure construction statutes have created millions of new jobs at seriously higher pay. This is the power of mythology. But wait, America, not only does the potential going forward Trump administration passionately support a supply-economics further federal corporate tax cut – the 2017 reduction from 35% to 21% that delivered no new jobs but instead a trillion-dollar hit to the deficit – so do several states considering such proposals to their local tax structure.

That’s bad enough, but one such state (Kansas) – which enacted such a failed supply-side tax cut a decade ago that literally defunded public education so badly that even the GOP legislature overrode their own Republican governor’s veto to reinstate the tax – is still considering another go at what has become sacred MAGA doctrine: that cutting taxes will create jobs and pay for those cuts. Writing for Capital & Main, reproduced in the June 10th FastCompany.com, Marcus Baram explains… that Kansas is: “not alone. Mississippi and other states are pushing tax cuts for the wealthy, which could dramatically reduce funding for education, health and other vital programs…

“Though these tax reductions were widely considered a failure, some of the same forces that backed them are now pushing through income tax cuts that largely benefit the wealthy in Kansas as well as in Mississippi and other states… Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves wants to eliminate the state’s personal income tax… The [comparable bill, farther north, benefits the] top 20% of earners in Kansas—those with average annual incomes above $315,000—[who] would get nearly 40% of the benefits, with [supporter, Kansas billionaire Charles] Koch himself receiving an estimated $485,000 in annual tax breaks under the proposal, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research group that favors a progressive tax system. It would also cost the state almost $650 million every year once fully implemented, per ITEP.

“The bill was sponsored by two lawmakers who have received campaign contributions from Koch and who have significant ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a national organization of conservative lawmakers and corporate interests that drafts ‘model legislation’ for state legislatures to adopt and has long advocated for the elimination of state income taxes. Kansas state Sen. Ty Masterson was named the chairman of ALEC in December, and fellow Sen. Caryn Tyson was named the country’s legislator of the year in 2021 by the group. Neither lawmaker returned calls for comment to Capital & Main.

“Among other groups pushing for the GOP proposals are Americans for Prosperity, a conservative think tank formed decades ago by the wealthiest men in Kansas, Charles and David Koch. While the proposals were being debated, AFP representatives set up a lemonade stand outside the Kansas State House in Topeka to advertise their views.

“When the bill was first introduced, it was met with intense pushback from both Republicans and Democrats. ‘I’m tired of the trickle-down economics. It doesn’t work,’ said GOP Sen. Rob Olson in a speech on the floor of the state Senate… Facing a likely veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, the plan was tweaked by Republican leaders in the legislature but continued to face fierce opposition… ‘The only true income tax relief that’s being given is being given to the top bracket, the wealthiest,’ Democratic Senator and Senate Minority Leader Vic Miller told the Kansas Reflector. ‘If you’re going to give tax relief, it should be directed to those who need it the most, not the ones that need it the least.’”

When facts and common sense have left the building under charismatic leadership of a convicted felon showing serious signs of severe mental deterioration, you have a classic cult of “true believers and followers.”

I’m Peter Dekom, and sometimes those magnificent vestments so many “see” draping their wondrous leader cause the followers to miss the obvious: their emperor has no clothes!