From Wil Wheaton:
The real threat to democracy is not the Big Lie. It's something worse.
This is not to suggest that election denialism or conspiracy theories are not dangerous; they are, of course. But the House January 6th Committee has reminded us of something important: The whole Big Lie thing is ludicrous, risible, inane bullshit. It is an entire political belief system based on demented theories about Italian satellites, Venezuelan voting machines, and the hallucinations of Mike Lindell.
But that's not the point.
You may have noticed how the various claims from Rudy/Dinesh/[Insert name of insane Republican] are ever-shifting. A bogus charge is made, it is debunked, and it is quickly replaced with the next fabrication, and so on. It's an endless morphing chain of guano-soaked nonsense. But despite the parade of absurdities, no factual refutation ever seems to stick.
Why? Because the lies don't matter. Only the outcome counts.
In other words, millions of Americans don't necessarily believe something crazy and bogus. They believe something much worse.
The Big Lie is the pretext for the refusal to accept the peaceful transfer of power to political opponents who are seen as evil and dangerous.
Forget about the dropboxes, mules, and rigged voting machines; nobody really cares about the votes or the counting of votes. It's not about that; it's about winning — or to be more precise, defeating the enemy.
A subtext of right-wing politics now is that the other side simply cannot be allowed to win. They hate America, they hate God, and they will destroy everything you hold dear.
It's the Flight 93 election forever. It's Jan. 6th … forever.
The Big Lie Is Just the Pretext – by Charlie Sykes
You may have noticed how the various claims from Rudy/Dinesh/[Insert name of insane Republican] are ever-shifting. A bogus charge is made, it is debunked, and it is quickly replaced with the next fabrication, and so on. It's an endless morphing chain of guano-soaked nonsense. But despite the parade of absurdities, no factual refutation ever seems to stick.
Why? Because the lies don't matter. Only the outcome counts.
In other words, millions of Americans don't necessarily believe something crazy and bogus. They believe something much worse.
The Big Lie is the pretext for the refusal to accept the peaceful transfer of power to political opponents who are seen as evil and dangerous
(Source: morningshots.thebulwark.com)