Want To See The GOP Naked?
Get yourself a copy of the movie “Slay The Dragon”.
A thoughtful and factual documentary on how powerful money men and tech-savvy grunts co-opted the GOP, put obedient loyalists into office, and put American democracy of, by and for the people on the run.
Step 1. With tons of money and a torrent of slimy negative ads, state legislatures were filled with obedient loyalists.
Step 2. Eighty percent of state voting districts are mapped by the party in power. In 2010 the GOP loyalists were in the majority and could gerrymander the voting districts (especially in Battle Ground states), such that, once elected they could not easily be voted out. Then they could pass any legislation the money men backers wanted without fear of losing their seats. The GOP was no longer subject to the will of the majority. Notable examples are from Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
Step 3. Double down and repeat step 1 until we have the current situation where you can bust unions, suppress voting, defund public schools, cut health care, remove safety nets, stop any action on the climate change crisis, pack the courts, and elect unfit people to high office. What the majority of Americans actually want can be ignored without penalty. Any semblance of real democracy is teetering on the brink in the neo-GOP dystopia.
The movie lays out the facts methodically with great footage and interviews. The recording of Gov. Scott Walker discussing the game plan with a person he thinks is one the Koch brothers is amazing. Also remarkable is the sly gloating of the mastermind behind plan.