It started with the crowd size at the inauguration of 45, the guy who is smarter than most (so everyone is saying), all the way to the Big Lie which he just described as "the crime of the century" despite there being at least a couple more years before you could reasonably make that determination. Of course, by the end of the century, they might not have finished the 2020 election recount. In this everything is a conspiracy world, gaslighting has become acceptable, especially by those who have a history of believing in the reality of things aren't as they appear. The trouble is that you can plug in just about anY comfortable notion ...and there are plenty who have. They may be just momentary or cover the expanse of eternity. They may come in completed packages or fundamental foundations whose final appearance depends on evolving developments.
The important thing about gaslighting is whether you are the GASLIGHTER (not to be confused by the old lamplighter of long, long ago) or the GASLIGHTEE or BOTH. Historically, I think this technique was more an individual exercise rather than a group. But it seems as if the Republican Party's herd mentality has elevated it to a whole new level. This is not my father's Republican Party of Lincoln and Eisenhower whose ideology ran along the lines of freedom, anti-communism, conservative spending (except for the military), pro law enforcement, and the like. Apparently, this has been breaking down over some time but it really broke down under the evil genius they feel can keep them in power. For me it was disparaging POW'S and other military that showed a hatred for those who were true heroes like John McCain and those who landed at Normandy. My other point would be, who to hell is he to judge anyone?
But for the current Republicans to join into the madness and have some of the greatest flip-flops, gaslighting, redistrictings, voter suppressions and demonizations in political history makes me believe that their obsession is equal to Gollum's in Lord of the Rings which is truly precious. When you are at a point where you will do or say most anything, I suspect you've lost the big picture altogether. The utter lies and hypocrisies are justified or become part of the new norm. No apology necessary. When they can push out one of the most conservative people because she stood for the truth about the election, even with the Dark Lord's blood coursing though her veins, shows a real lack of interest in preserving the American political ethos unless it's the underbelly that no one wants to talk about for at least a hundred years.
