And they are using it very poorly. Yesterday, Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney lost her primary bid to a Trump acolyte. Just like Blessed St. Meijer of the Midway, on policy grounds and general ethics, Cheney is no great loss, though having a Republican who believes that voting repression should occur only through non-violent means, and not involve coups, is an improvement (I guess). There’s also the consequence that, in 2024, if the election were thrown into the House, Cheney would have been the sole Wyoming vote (and each state counts equally), instead of a Trump supporter. So this isn’t good (the Democrat doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning).

That said, a key lesson from the Wyoming primary is Republican voters decided to do this. This was not foisted upon them by Democrats. This was not a reaction to Democrats actions (whatever they might be). They wanted the pro-Trump fascist. They are not victims, but willing perpetrators. And there is no equivalent on the Democratic side–universal healthcare or a $15/hour minimum wage isn’t remotely the equivalent of using the state’s monopoly on violence to shove sectarian dogma down people’s throats, despite what the Substack Bois might tell you.

We desperately need professional Democrats to internalize this.