The Boat Of Plenty

I assume most of us are familiar with the concept of cognitive dissonance. It is generally defined as when two actions or ideas are not psychologically consistent with each other. When appearances conflict with each other and the mind has difficulty reconciling them.

Our culture is replete with this kind of discord.

You would think political leaders would focus on helping voters separate and assimilate defining issues so when they articulate their reasons for submitting legislation on highly controversial issues, their constituents would lend vociferous support.

I could run down a list of issues that are currently causing cultural conflict (i.e.,Gun Control, Abortion, Gender Identity, etc.) but the point is, all of these issues are not new. Most are unresolved, and probably never will be. It is as if no one wants them to get resolved. They are the defining points of political drama that energize the electorate.

And all of the debate and rancor perfectly defines cognitive dissonance. Everybody is speaking past each other. The goal posts keep moving, and the cultural turmoil continues.

As we pass the halfway point of the Biden administration's tumultuous term, and the next race for the White House begins to heat up, it strikes me as odd that the Republicans are still contemplating "new" candidates. Trump is currently leading all other potential Republican challengers by at least 35% points, and we have all watched as the ratings of the current White House resident has collapsed. Why would Ron Desantos, Mitt Romney or Tim Scott want to derail the steamroller Trump has created? Do they not understand that in a Constitutional Republic, the will of the people is the guiding light for the party?

No matter how you view the last Presidential election, it is an uncontested fact that Donald Trump drew 11 million more votes than when he won in 2016. It is an uncontested fact that during his four years in office our nation became energy independent. It is uncontested that minorities in America were enjoying the lowest unemployment in fifty years. That the New York Stock Exchange reached an all-time high. Trump rebuilt our military, began construction of a wall on the southern border, reduced prescription drug prices, and shut down the threat of Islamic extremism. He successfully renegotiated the burdensome NAFTA trade agreement and withdrew America from the economically devastating Paris Environmental Accords.

Trump ran as an outsider, and was at one point opposed by the Party, but went on to win and complete his punch list of campaign promises. He did exactly what he promised he would do and the health of the nation improved dramatically.

If you look at the history of Republican leadership under Bush and during the campaigns of Romney and McCain, the Party has consistently choked. Whenever they seemed invincible, like right after the 911 attacks in New York, the Republicans have self immolated. They say all the right things (cut taxes, shrink government, protect the borders, maintain a strong defense, etc.) but fail to deliver. The right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing.

An old axiom in politics is, "When your opponent is self-destructing, get out of the way". Why would the Republicans even think about running against Trump? How is it that two opposing party's that are supposed to represent diametrically opposite points of view and political operating systems could in the end, be near mirror images of each other? That is cognitive dissonance illustrated. 
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It makes no sense, unless there is a Trojan Horse within the party working to undermine any possibility of winning back the White House.

And why would that be? 

Sometimes you have to accept the obvious. It is Occam's Razor: That the most obvious answer is also the most plausible. The Beltway Brotherhood, the cabal of self regulated and spoiled oligarchs in Washington DC are comfortably ensconced in their Gilded Seats of Power and simply don't want to rock the Boat Of Plenty.