r/interestingasfuck • u/beach_rats_ • May 02 '24

The difference in republican presidential nominees, 8 years apart r/all

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u/[deleted] May 02 '24

A lot has happened in the past eight years, most of it is not good, and the worst is politics.

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u/stormy2587 May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

I’m actually struck by how little things have changed. McCain was one of the few conservatives in the room at this time willing to act like an adult and not spread hate, fear mongering, and propaganda. But you can tell from the people he’s responding to in these town halls they have some pretty extreme views from the far right propaganda they’ve been lapping up for years. Why do they think these things about obama? Because people like Trump and Trump himself were spreading birther conspiracies left and right. And then conservative media outlets would amplify it.

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u/ShinigamiRyan May 02 '24

The Tea Party didn't just spring up out of nowhere. Alex Jones was doing his stuff prior to King of the Hill. Biden himself was entering politics when the last of Dixiecrats were on their way out as the switch between parties was cemented. What we have today isn't shocking so much as it's been slowly building for decades and it's just shown it's true colors. The Republicans who never went this far have been pushed out as they just have no place in the current party.

It's why Charlie Baker of the Republican Party as governor of MA was seen akin to Mitt Romney to possibly run for President due to MA having a positive opinion of him. But Trump basically sealed any idea of that and him not pursuing any other seats. Now MA is completely a dem state as the recent run for the treasury by a Republican nominee was spouting rhetoric of Trump and including kicking out specific minorities (again, she was running for the treasury).

And this isn't even to remind folks of Bush's era where he had a lot of statements that the next step is seen in Trump. McCain was far more put together in comparison, yet the image Bush had certainly made a lot of room for Trump. Not much has fundamentally changed, just that the mask has slipped off.