What is wrong with Republicans that they support and elect the dregs of society? Are they stupid, uninformed or part of a cult that loves corrupt politicians. It will be a long time, if ever, that I support or vote for a Republican.
For what it's worth, the US has according to surveys the most ignorant voters on average in the developed world. In a Harvard administered poll taken in the early 1990s a majority not only couldn't name or name correctly their member of Congress, a smaller majority couldn't name or name correctly which PARTY they belonged to. As one researcher commented, the results were worse than what you would get with a coin toss.
Reading your comment Gregg I thought "gee New Zealand's got to be up there." And hey, there we are at # 3 with the USA at #2 and Italy at #1 in the most widely cited empirical research measuring public misperceptions of factual data, the Ipsos MORI "Perils of Perception" / "Index of Ignorance" survey.
We've got an election on 7 November 2026 and we are seeing an inordinate amount of disinformation, misinformation, misrepresentation, voter ignorance, Members of Parliament being intimidated and threatened at public campaign meetings etc. It's scary the overt level of 'far-right' tactics that are entering into our political landscape.
It would seem that in order to be a member of the Republican Party, one must be corrupt. After all, that is the so-called leader they put into the highest held office in the White House. Just as Mary said: "If you're on the side of donald trump, that's all that's needed to get you in." Shameful and corrupt.
SO agree. I'm trying to figure out how our Democratic Leaders can get through to people! I know that many that are still voting republican, such as older seniors (which I am) have no idea what is happening. They just carry on oblivious to their very government who is in charge of their money, education, environments, children, parents, lives. We MUST make sure we are voting and more so, that message has to be strong.
Just to be clear: I am NOT a republican. I am a lifelong Democrat. BUT I'm older enough to remember when our two different "political" teams could come to agreements; work things out; find the balance. THAT is gone. It's hard to even call us the UNITED States of America. We are not united; we are divided. It's a shame. We had a good thing going in this country and I hope beyond hope that we can get rid of the corrupt riff raff (that shows my age) and move forward. Our country cannot be CORRUPT. But that's what we have NOW.
I thought these candidates had to go thru a background check and be approved by a committee. Guess I was wrong again. Republicans are just whores - dropping their drawers for just anybody.
What about the Democrats? Are these candidates acceptable. We understand everyone sins and comes short but this is too much.
More specifically they are asking for people to write postcards to help elect Katy Padilla Stout who is running for the 23rd House district in Texas (the republican is brandon herrera, who Mary discussed in her article). They send you the postcards, list of voters and options of what to say. You provide the postage. This is one way to help keep such a disgusting and repulsive AH out of politics. This district leans likely republican, in spite of the murder of innocent young children and teachers in Uvalde, TX.
Since Nixon's "Southern Strategy," which brought all those white Southern Democrats into the Republican Party, racism has been a big part of the Republican brand nationally. The Reagan administration used those mostly white working- and middle-class votes to cut corporate taxes, gut labor unions, etc. Sad to say, the Clinton administration's welfare "reform" continued to pander to the racists while giving breaks to corporations and the wealthy, e.g., by pushing the repeal of a big chunk of the Glass-Steagall Act.
You left out Darline Graham who is not qualified to be a senator and is only the candidate because her brother was such a devoted trump toady. Meanwhile, Dr. Annie Andrews is a fabulous candidate: mother of three, respected pediatrician and I bet she knows that foreign engagement is a crucial aspect of being a senator and she knows that vaccines work!!!
I can only hope the Convicted Felon President will be such an albatross in the general election that these scumbag candidates of the Regressive Party will swept away by a big blue wave. That will only be the beginning, though. There will be much work to be done afterwards to keep any advantage won in November. Hope the Democrats are up to the job.
The same types that deemed women witches as an excuse to eliminate them. They are legends in their own minds. The misogyny is off the charts. Truth is, women terrify them (as we should) because they are weak.
It was, often enough, a twofer: eliminating the "witches" meant their family's property could be confiscated and redistributed to the accusers. (An historical aside, with, I hope, no current basis. Still greed is a big factor.)
Hard as this is to read and ponder, I appreciate Mary shining a light on these monstrous candidates and what is at stake. As utterly deplorable as the Republicans on this list (and elsewhere) are, the people who vote for them concern me more. While it may be tempting to write them off as ignorant or uniformed, I fear many are sociopathic. After all, when they look at their choices and choose to support the toxic and violent, the criminal and corrupt, the abusers and hate-mongers, they’re saying, “Yeah, that’s the one that reflects and represents me, what I value, and what I want the this world to look and act like!” It’s a vile and dangerous rot, and elections now seem to decide not just what policies will be prioritized or whether taxes will rise or fall, but whether the rot will continue to spread until it devours our society.
He appeals to their resentment. They believe they haven’t been given a fair shake; he blames a woman in a hijab for taking away their job or transgender athletes (all 15 of them) for their school’s lack of achievement.
As Mary's piece makes clear, today's Republican Party has moved from being neoconservative to being neo-fascist, and not only because congressional Republican policy is now based on what the Nazis called the fuhrerprinzip i. e. whatever the Leader believes, decides, or says is the policy of the Party, and therefore of the State. Should we be surprised that seeing an ideological soul mate becoming and being leader of the Republican Party, members of the US far right, fascistic as well as reactionary, would want to gain and wield power through it?
We are all being worn down little by little but we have to keep going. We cannot let these dispicable people become “leaders” in our once great country! Thank you Mary for all you do.
Donald Trump is a deranged, pathological liar who slithers through power like a rabid criminal dressed in a suit. Every sentence he spews is a filthy twist of truth, every promise a rotten scam. He rules like a gutter‑born tyrant, drunk on deceit, snarling orders while drowning in his own corruption. His mind is a cracked sewer pipe leaking paranoia and bile. He’s a shameless fraud, a foul‑mouthed crook pretending to be a savior.
I guess all these defects in Republican candidates have little impact because so many Republican voters get their 'information' from Fox and equivalent sources, in other words, they have no idea of the defects.
It is hard, and depressing, to believe that Republicans will accept all of these faults rather than give a hated Democrat a vote. Of course their acceptance of the faults is undergirded by the massive lies that Fox et al. tell of the Democrats' doings and policies.
Time for major efforts to persuade voters that character is the most important element of a political candidate. Intelligence can be bought, and advice can be bought. The ability to recognize the right thing and do it, to be honest and kind and open-minded, cannot be bought.
All of these candidates are vile and awful. But what is even more vile and awful is the fact that many, if not all, of these disgusting candidates will win. That is an indictment on humans residing in these United States.
What is wrong with Republicans that they support and elect the dregs of society? Are they stupid, uninformed or part of a cult that loves corrupt politicians. It will be a long time, if ever, that I support or vote for a Republican.
For what it's worth, the US has according to surveys the most ignorant voters on average in the developed world. In a Harvard administered poll taken in the early 1990s a majority not only couldn't name or name correctly their member of Congress, a smaller majority couldn't name or name correctly which PARTY they belonged to. As one researcher commented, the results were worse than what you would get with a coin toss.
I believe it, sadly. However, they would be able to tell you details of Hollywood favorites and other crap. It's unbelievable.
Wow, I believe it.
And they've gone downhill ever since!
Reading your comment Gregg I thought "gee New Zealand's got to be up there." And hey, there we are at # 3 with the USA at #2 and Italy at #1 in the most widely cited empirical research measuring public misperceptions of factual data, the Ipsos MORI "Perils of Perception" / "Index of Ignorance" survey.
We've got an election on 7 November 2026 and we are seeing an inordinate amount of disinformation, misinformation, misrepresentation, voter ignorance, Members of Parliament being intimidated and threatened at public campaign meetings etc. It's scary the overt level of 'far-right' tactics that are entering into our political landscape.
It would seem that in order to be a member of the Republican Party, one must be corrupt. After all, that is the so-called leader they put into the highest held office in the White House. Just as Mary said: "If you're on the side of donald trump, that's all that's needed to get you in." Shameful and corrupt.
The rethuglikkkrussians party has become so corrupt!! N all trumps crimes. J6. The grifting, greedy, criminal behavior! Sickening!
SO agree. I'm trying to figure out how our Democratic Leaders can get through to people! I know that many that are still voting republican, such as older seniors (which I am) have no idea what is happening. They just carry on oblivious to their very government who is in charge of their money, education, environments, children, parents, lives. We MUST make sure we are voting and more so, that message has to be strong.
Just to be clear: I am NOT a republican. I am a lifelong Democrat. BUT I'm older enough to remember when our two different "political" teams could come to agreements; work things out; find the balance. THAT is gone. It's hard to even call us the UNITED States of America. We are not united; we are divided. It's a shame. We had a good thing going in this country and I hope beyond hope that we can get rid of the corrupt riff raff (that shows my age) and move forward. Our country cannot be CORRUPT. But that's what we have NOW.
My God. My God. My God. Why have you forsaken us?
I thought these candidates had to go thru a background check and be approved by a committee. Guess I was wrong again. Republicans are just whores - dropping their drawers for just anybody.
What about the Democrats? Are these candidates acceptable. We understand everyone sins and comes short but this is too much.
Progressive Voter Turnout is an organization that I write postcards for. They need many more people to help.
(https://turnoutpac.org/)
More specifically they are asking for people to write postcards to help elect Katy Padilla Stout who is running for the 23rd House district in Texas (the republican is brandon herrera, who Mary discussed in her article). They send you the postcards, list of voters and options of what to say. You provide the postage. This is one way to help keep such a disgusting and repulsive AH out of politics. This district leans likely republican, in spite of the murder of innocent young children and teachers in Uvalde, TX.
Since Nixon's "Southern Strategy," which brought all those white Southern Democrats into the Republican Party, racism has been a big part of the Republican brand nationally. The Reagan administration used those mostly white working- and middle-class votes to cut corporate taxes, gut labor unions, etc. Sad to say, the Clinton administration's welfare "reform" continued to pander to the racists while giving breaks to corporations and the wealthy, e.g., by pushing the repeal of a big chunk of the Glass-Steagall Act.
You left out Darline Graham who is not qualified to be a senator and is only the candidate because her brother was such a devoted trump toady. Meanwhile, Dr. Annie Andrews is a fabulous candidate: mother of three, respected pediatrician and I bet she knows that foreign engagement is a crucial aspect of being a senator and she knows that vaccines work!!!
And knows where Iran is located on a map!
As far as we know, she's not a criminal or a Nazi like the other people Mary mentioned. But she clearly is not fit to be senator.
I can only hope the Convicted Felon President will be such an albatross in the general election that these scumbag candidates of the Regressive Party will swept away by a big blue wave. That will only be the beginning, though. There will be much work to be done afterwards to keep any advantage won in November. Hope the Democrats are up to the job.
The same types that deemed women witches as an excuse to eliminate them. They are legends in their own minds. The misogyny is off the charts. Truth is, women terrify them (as we should) because they are weak.
It was, often enough, a twofer: eliminating the "witches" meant their family's property could be confiscated and redistributed to the accusers. (An historical aside, with, I hope, no current basis. Still greed is a big factor.)
The United States of Trump.
Has a ring to it, no??
Revolting… this is what we’ve become
Death Knell.
They are "the worst of the worst". How else would they be so loyal to the self-appointed king.
Hard as this is to read and ponder, I appreciate Mary shining a light on these monstrous candidates and what is at stake. As utterly deplorable as the Republicans on this list (and elsewhere) are, the people who vote for them concern me more. While it may be tempting to write them off as ignorant or uniformed, I fear many are sociopathic. After all, when they look at their choices and choose to support the toxic and violent, the criminal and corrupt, the abusers and hate-mongers, they’re saying, “Yeah, that’s the one that reflects and represents me, what I value, and what I want the this world to look and act like!” It’s a vile and dangerous rot, and elections now seem to decide not just what policies will be prioritized or whether taxes will rise or fall, but whether the rot will continue to spread until it devours our society.
He appeals to their resentment. They believe they haven’t been given a fair shake; he blames a woman in a hijab for taking away their job or transgender athletes (all 15 of them) for their school’s lack of achievement.
As Mary's piece makes clear, today's Republican Party has moved from being neoconservative to being neo-fascist, and not only because congressional Republican policy is now based on what the Nazis called the fuhrerprinzip i. e. whatever the Leader believes, decides, or says is the policy of the Party, and therefore of the State. Should we be surprised that seeing an ideological soul mate becoming and being leader of the Republican Party, members of the US far right, fascistic as well as reactionary, would want to gain and wield power through it?
Paxton is a crooked as Trump.
Who knew shit could be stacked that high
We are all being worn down little by little but we have to keep going. We cannot let these dispicable people become “leaders” in our once great country! Thank you Mary for all you do.
Donald Trump is a deranged, pathological liar who slithers through power like a rabid criminal dressed in a suit. Every sentence he spews is a filthy twist of truth, every promise a rotten scam. He rules like a gutter‑born tyrant, drunk on deceit, snarling orders while drowning in his own corruption. His mind is a cracked sewer pipe leaking paranoia and bile. He’s a shameless fraud, a foul‑mouthed crook pretending to be a savior.
Couldn’t have said it better!!
Great piece. I really hope voters who are in the fore mentioned states - nationally actually - get to read this.
I guess all these defects in Republican candidates have little impact because so many Republican voters get their 'information' from Fox and equivalent sources, in other words, they have no idea of the defects.
It is hard, and depressing, to believe that Republicans will accept all of these faults rather than give a hated Democrat a vote. Of course their acceptance of the faults is undergirded by the massive lies that Fox et al. tell of the Democrats' doings and policies.
Time for major efforts to persuade voters that character is the most important element of a political candidate. Intelligence can be bought, and advice can be bought. The ability to recognize the right thing and do it, to be honest and kind and open-minded, cannot be bought.
All of these candidates are vile and awful. But what is even more vile and awful is the fact that many, if not all, of these disgusting candidates will win. That is an indictment on humans residing in these United States.
Makes me ill