I spend a whole lot of time in the car driving around mostly the flat lands of northern California. As such, I see some peculiar things. Among the more peculiar things I see are the lengths some people will go to declare their allegiance to Donald Trump.
It makes me ponder what drives some people to become so zealous for their demigod, Donald Trump, that they would turn their vehicle into what looks like a Bozo the Trump Clown Car.
Case in point: I was driving outside of Yuba City the other day and I saw a car that had multiple “Trump Won” signs on it. And I mean all over it. Multiple Trump placards were on the hood, all four doors of the sedan. On top of the car, the gentleman had four tiny American flags flying.
Then there are the Trump flags. I thought they might go away after Trump lost the election, but nope, they are still there. You see them in rural areas with expressions like “Trump 2024” and the ever present “Let’s Go Brandon.” Again, I must ask myself why a person would be so zealous about a candidate that they would be willing to fly sometimes highly offensive flags on their property?
How did we get here?
I think hate must be a part of the equation. Hatred for liberals. Hatred against the government — especially the “deep state.” Hatred against the mainstream media. Hatred of scientists who talk about climate change. Hatred against anybody who might possibly want to mention that we had slavery in this country from 1620 until 1865. Hatred against guys like me.
I am very politically active. I have worked on behalf of candidates since I was 18 years of age. Politics is in my DNA. I have my share of bumper stickers on my car — some of them vandalized. But I have never considered turning my car into some Bozo the Clown Car for a political candidate. Nor have I ever equated the American flag as being synonymous with my own political beliefs.
As Stephen Stills sang so many years ago, “There’s something happening here. What it is, ain’t exactly clear.” He was writing about a Vietnam War protest. I’m trying to figure out what is going on in the heads of some fanatics.
Perhaps that is a place that I shouldn’t go. It is a no man’s land of conspiracy theories simmering in a stew of some ugly racism. It is George Wallace resurrected from the grave. Right wing populist movements are dangerous. If you don’t believe that right wing populism is dangerous, you haven’t been following the January 6 hearings.
A reader wrote me last week and said she would like to hear more about Republicans who don’t like Rep. Doug LaMalfa. Me too. I have had correspondence with a few local Republicans who don’t like Doug LaMalfa one bit. But I haven’t heard them say much in public.
I keep waiting for the sensible center of the Republican Party to repudiate Trump. Doug LaMalfa certainly isn’t the guy who will do it. Rep. Liz Cheney is being heroic in her participation in the January 6 hearings. Vice President Pence turned out to be a hero by resisting the pressure from Trump to overturn the election. He also was the focus of an angry mob that wanted to hang him along with Nancy Pelosi.
If you are uncomfortable with the status of the Republican Party, you aren’t alone. There really is a large list of people who have left the Republican Party because it has become too extreme. Here are a few:
George Will. When the conservative columnist George Will left the fold, you would think that would make people think twice about supporting the present-day Republican Party. This is the guy who stole Jimmy Carter’s debate book and helped Ronald Reagan become president.
The very eloquent Steve Schmidt left the party even though he was a strategist for John McCain. The former Chairman of the RNC Michael Steele has left the party. Colin Powell left. None of the Bush clan would endorse Trump. Nicole Wallace, who was George Bush’s White House communications director, who now has a show on MSNBC, left the Republican Party.
The list goes on: Tom Ridge, who headed up the Homeland Security Department under George Bush wouldn’t endorse Trump. Christine Todd Whitman who headed up Bush’s EPA wouldn’t endorse Trump. Good heavens, even John Bolton wouldn’t endorse Trump, even though he served as a National Security Adviser to Trump.
Conservative writer Bill Kristol endorsed Biden. Peggy Noonan, another conservative columnist and former Ronald Reagan speech writer endorsed Biden. Even the very conservative, and readable, David Brooks of the New York Times wouldn’t endorse Trump. The very sharp-tongued Republican Rick Wilson endorsed Joe Biden. Even the awful Ann Coulter couldn’t pull the lever for Trump.
Frankly, I would think twice about continuing to pledge allegiance to a Republican Party that has strayed off into Weirdoland. This new Republican Party is against abortion but also is against vaccinating kids.
I wonder how sensible Republicans and Independents feel when they see people who drive around with “Trump Won” placards all over their vehicles. Former Attorney General Bill Barr investigated the matter and said it was all a bunch of ridiculous non-sense.
I would love to hear from local Republicans who just can’t stomach what their party has become. You have plenty of good company. Let’s have a dialogue.
Allan Stellar is an RN and a freelance writer who moved to Red Bluff after the Camp Fire. He can be reached at Allan361@aol.com.