It may be called the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), but MSNBC’s Ali Velshi said on Saturday that there’s nothing conservative about the Orlando event.
At this year’s CPAC, those in attendance are working tirelessly to out-Trump one another, whether it’s bragging about inciting an insurrection at the Capitol or making fun of AOC for being afraid as the attack unfolded.
“Bragging about actions that led to a right-wing mob storming of the Capitol is not conservatism,” the MSNBC host said. “Hatred and bigotry are not inherently Republican values – they seem to be these days.”
Velshi said the disturbing proceedings in Orlando are evidence that Trump won the internal GOP civil war, and now the few Republicans who still have their soul intact are paying the price.
“Those thousands of former Republicans who defected in disgust instead of trying to fix the problem, well they left the party ripe for Trump’s taking.” Velshi added.
Video:
Ali Velshi says what’s happening at this year’s CPAC shows that Trump has won the GOP civil war. pic.twitter.com/7IQRKsbJou
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 27, 2021
Velshi said:
Bragging about actions that led to a right-wing mob storming of the Capitol is not conservatism. Hatred and bigotry are not inherently Republican values – they seem to be these days. Any Republican who didn’t sell their soul to Trump will tell you that, but let’s also be clear. It doesn’t matter what they or I think because when it comes to the GOP, Trump is a king. He’s a pagan god, as Michael Cohen told me last hour. He won the civil war within the Republican Party and now traditional conservatives are paying the price for it. Those thousands of former Republicans who defected in disgust instead of trying to fix the problem, well they left the party ripe for Trump’s taking.
The GOP is a post-policy political party
In the past, the Republican Party at least pretended to care about policy matters – regardless of how bad they were – from so-called fiscal restraint to tax cuts for the wealthy.
In the Trump era of the GOP, the party isn’t even pretending to care about policy or governance. The Republican Party’s singular purpose is to worship Donald Trump, stir up minority resentment among angry white voters, and troll liberals.
As MSNBC’s Steve Benen wrote last year, “The Republican Party has abandoned its traditional role as a governing party and become what I call a post-policy party — one that no longer cares about the substance of policymaking.”
At a time of multiple crises, from a deadly pandemic to a crippling economic downturn to a climate crisis, one of America’s two major political parties has completely stopped caring about solving problems. That’s a dangerous place for the country to be.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
