The political media is in denial and the consequences will be disastrous

The Republican Party wants to usher in a new dark age in America.

For starters, its leaders want to roll back the timeline 50+ years, to a time when medical decisions for pregnant women were made by the government.

Other human and civil rights, especially for the LGBTQ community and people of color, would inevitably be next.

They want to erase decades of slow and painstaking progress towards a more inclusive, tolerant and humane society.

They constantly use lies and conspiracy theories to deceive the public and the press. They thrive on misinformation and misinformation. They have their own propaganda organs to incite hatred and division. They want to use the power of government to punish people and companies that speak out against them or teach their children the truth.

Their public support is built on tribal loyalty, ignorance and gullibility – often compounded by racism, misogyny, homophobia, religious intolerance and generalized grievances. That’s a lot of Americans, but it’s not the majority.

So they want to count only the votes in their favour, and only the votes in their favor count.

They have no agenda for government beyond wanting to punish and reprimand and marginalize and demonize.

They have no proposed solutions for climate change, wealth inequality, racial injustice or inadequate access to health care – if they see them as problems.

Thoughtful and conservative republicanism is in eclipse. Today’s GOP is a party of radical reactionaries.

And yet, daily political coverage reflects virtually none of this.

Instead, the elite media is casually reporting that Republicans are taking control of Congress in this year’s election, and possibly taking the White House in 2024, as if that’s just normal.

As if there was nothing to be alarmed about.

But he is.