Pennsylvania Republicans have nominated State Senator Doug Mastriano to be the next governor. Mastriano is one of the most radical gubernatorial candidates ever to receive a major party nomination. Many Republicans have indulged Trump's claims that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election. But few have gone as far as Mastriano has to try to justify Trump's fever dream.
We stand on a crumbling precipice. There may be no going back onto solid ground unless we can figure out why people who, by historical standards live well, live freely, can travel the world and are secure personally are so alienated from the rest of us. What drives this tribal urge to reject reason, rationality and the bonds of family and community that makes for civilization? It’s as though a mass of our fellow citizens have an endocrine disorder causing mental illness.
Mastriano may seem like a kook, but he IS the perfect example of who the Republicans are now. There is no longer even a pretense of governing for everyone. If he wins in November, he has made it abundantly clear that he will govern only for those who supported him. The same is by and large true for Republicans across the country now.
He also kicked off his campaign in Gettysburg on a Saturday, wearing a tacky prayer shawl and blowing a huge shofar (ram's horn), a desecration of the Jewish Sabbath. I sure hope Shapiro kicks Mastriano's antiSemitic ass.
Ok, right now, send a few bucks to Shapiro. If you do not have an ActBlue account, only takes a moment to get one. A truly frightening time for America. Compacency will doom Democracy. Thank You.
I hate feeling like I'm scared shit-less - but the number of insane and incompetent idiots who are finding success in the mid-terms is really astonishing. I read an article yesterday about Mastriano's extreme Christian Nationalism, and the currents I observe in society and most especially in our polity are frightening beyond means. When truth is lost, we are in deep doo-doo!
In a bizarre way, this Candidate may be the best hope to wake up in this country to bring in to light the sickness that has permeated 30% of the population and 20% of non-participants in the election cycle. Hopefully Mastriano will be sufficiently extreme to cause a reverse revolution of sane people to get rid of the extreme Republican sickness infecting this country. If not , be prepared to have a christian sharia law as the law of this country!
This guy is completely terrifying. What can we do to make sure Josh Shapiro beats him? Just donate to his campaign? I've done postcards for Reclaim Our Vote before - I just asked if they're doing a campaign for this race. If Mastriano wins we are doomed (even more than we already are).
Absolutely horrifying that a person like Mastriano has the chance to become a state governor. Even more terrifying, that there are so many that support, enable and promote his proposed policies - so there may be future candidates like him on the ballot for other positions of power. I have no words...💔
I wonder what Mastriano was like before his military service in Iraq and Afghanistan? Could he be suffering from PTSD or has he always been this way?
Human beings are social creatures by nature and most make up what we call the “silent majority”. Religious beliefs can be strong in people- look at some Catholics and Evangelicals on abortion, for example. But this latching onto QAnon and maniacally supporting the Trump Big Lie isn’t Christian or “normal” behavior and conflicts with “Christian” values which are supposed to be based on the Golden Rule and Christ’s teachings. This must cause a tremendous amount of cognitive dissonance. That combined with military service in a hostile war zone can’t be good for sensible reasoning back in the US.
I wonder how such an educated (4 master degrees and a phd, maybe more, that’s just what popped out at me) person can get so roped in to nuttiness, it surely begs the question.
And as bad as this man is himself, he won his primary by *24%* over his nearest competitor - nearly 318000 votes more!
Whether this speaks more to how good or bad those competitors were, or how badly they may have campaigned, it does speak worlds to the thinking (or lack thereof!) of the people who voted for him. Very very scary indeed.
How many of us who are scratching our heads at the nuts in the Republican Party have written a check to the Democratic nominee running against him? Have we even heard of her?
We stand on a crumbling precipice. There may be no going back onto solid ground unless we can figure out why people who, by historical standards live well, live freely, can travel the world and are secure personally are so alienated from the rest of us. What drives this tribal urge to reject reason, rationality and the bonds of family and community that makes for civilization? It’s as though a mass of our fellow citizens have an endocrine disorder causing mental illness.
Mastriano may seem like a kook, but he IS the perfect example of who the Republicans are now. There is no longer even a pretense of governing for everyone. If he wins in November, he has made it abundantly clear that he will govern only for those who supported him. The same is by and large true for Republicans across the country now.
Wow, these Republican candidates just keep getting worse and worse...
He also kicked off his campaign in Gettysburg on a Saturday, wearing a tacky prayer shawl and blowing a huge shofar (ram's horn), a desecration of the Jewish Sabbath. I sure hope Shapiro kicks Mastriano's antiSemitic ass.
Ok, right now, send a few bucks to Shapiro. If you do not have an ActBlue account, only takes a moment to get one. A truly frightening time for America. Compacency will doom Democracy. Thank You.
I hate feeling like I'm scared shit-less - but the number of insane and incompetent idiots who are finding success in the mid-terms is really astonishing. I read an article yesterday about Mastriano's extreme Christian Nationalism, and the currents I observe in society and most especially in our polity are frightening beyond means. When truth is lost, we are in deep doo-doo!
In a bizarre way, this Candidate may be the best hope to wake up in this country to bring in to light the sickness that has permeated 30% of the population and 20% of non-participants in the election cycle. Hopefully Mastriano will be sufficiently extreme to cause a reverse revolution of sane people to get rid of the extreme Republican sickness infecting this country. If not , be prepared to have a christian sharia law as the law of this country!
This guy is completely terrifying. What can we do to make sure Josh Shapiro beats him? Just donate to his campaign? I've done postcards for Reclaim Our Vote before - I just asked if they're doing a campaign for this race. If Mastriano wins we are doomed (even more than we already are).
Absolutely horrifying that a person like Mastriano has the chance to become a state governor. Even more terrifying, that there are so many that support, enable and promote his proposed policies - so there may be future candidates like him on the ballot for other positions of power. I have no words...💔
I wonder what Mastriano was like before his military service in Iraq and Afghanistan? Could he be suffering from PTSD or has he always been this way?
Human beings are social creatures by nature and most make up what we call the “silent majority”. Religious beliefs can be strong in people- look at some Catholics and Evangelicals on abortion, for example. But this latching onto QAnon and maniacally supporting the Trump Big Lie isn’t Christian or “normal” behavior and conflicts with “Christian” values which are supposed to be based on the Golden Rule and Christ’s teachings. This must cause a tremendous amount of cognitive dissonance. That combined with military service in a hostile war zone can’t be good for sensible reasoning back in the US.
I wonder how such an educated (4 master degrees and a phd, maybe more, that’s just what popped out at me) person can get so roped in to nuttiness, it surely begs the question.
And as bad as this man is himself, he won his primary by *24%* over his nearest competitor - nearly 318000 votes more!
Whether this speaks more to how good or bad those competitors were, or how badly they may have campaigned, it does speak worlds to the thinking (or lack thereof!) of the people who voted for him. Very very scary indeed.
Great reporting!
Judd, what is keeping Democratic Governors from just doing the same in kind for the Republican nominee?
How many of us who are scratching our heads at the nuts in the Republican Party have written a check to the Democratic nominee running against him? Have we even heard of her?
Absolutely terrifying. And though I'm a frequent reader of the NYT, I had no idea about this important story.