Republicans and MAGA Are Waking Up to the Fact That They've Been Betrayed

I grew up in a conservative area and quite a few of my relatives became staunch Republicans and loyal supporters of the MAGA movement. There’s a common thread that runs through people like that. They like to hunt. They drive pickup trucks. They’re what’s called “salt of the Earth.”Most importantly, they see themselves as defenders of justice.Perhaps it can be said that they are loyal to a fault. But when they learn that loyalty has been misplaced, it’s not something they forget… or forgive.Farmers have memories that are as long as the seasons. They are slow to anger, but once roused their wrath is a terrible thing to behold.Lately I’ve been having conversations with the staunch Republicans in my community. Sometimes they identify me from a distance, and come storming up.“I’ve got something to say to you,” they mutter.There’s a long pause as I wait for them to go on.“I didn’t vote for this,” they say. “I’m not happy about what’s going on. Prices are too high. My neighbor’s about to lose his farm. This is not what we were promised.”Then they walk away.I know these signs. I’ve seen them before. City folk don’t know how to recognize what’s happening, but I do. Red rural populations are on the verge of an eruption.We’re seeing the defections on a national scale too. Marjorie Taylor Greene has begun to act like a woman scorned. It’s not so much that she’s seen the light. It’s more that she’s no longer hooked on the empty promise of a reward she knows will never come.It’s not enlightenment, but it will suffice for this moment.She and millions of others were duped into believing that their participation in this movement would lead to prosperity. Instead, they can’t buy eggs, their healthcare premiums have quadrupled overnight, and the hospital that used to care for them is a pile of rubble just like the East Wing of the White House.Now, millions of people are about to go hungry just as millions of farmers are about to lose their property. Our trade agreements are nothing but ash. It’s not just one bad year, the whole market has been destroyed.This Republican government would rather import beef from Argentina than pay the American cattle industry.Apparently this administration hates the American cowboy.What’s next? Are they going to destroy apple pie and baseball? Will Republicans offer a huge bail-out to Portugal so that Ronaldo will come and play here? Are we going to start driving on the left side of the road?Don’t laugh. I used to think the White House would stand forever too.But though the residents of the White House can look out their window at the rubble that used to be a relic of the people, they can’t see what I can when I look out mine. I’m in a salt-of the Earth American farm town. People drive by on tractors. They wear overalls to church. These are exactly the type of people who make America work, and who are always looked down upon by the billionaire donors.Believe me when I tell you that these people are furious. For the time being, much of that fury is still being directed at the “liberals.” But they don’t even have the energy to scream at us anymore. When we hold up signs that say, “We want healthcare for everyone, including MAGA!” they no longer flip us off.Instead, they lower their hands and look sorrowfully at the ground. These people are cut from the same cloth as those that marched on the Capitol because they’d been told a lie about election fraud.I wonder what might happen if MAGA decides to march again?We’re not in another era of tyrants yet, but we are in an era of betrayal. We’re on the threshold of tyranny. We’re knocking on the door.At what point will the mass of MAGA take a step back and object? At what point will they stop jumping at the shadows projected by chuckling billionaires and recognize their relatives and neighbors are not their enemies?The billionaires think they’re better than us. They call us stupid. They call us “suckers and losers.” Make no mistake, they do mean us.When the bank comes to take your farm away, and kick you out onto the street, or you go into the grocery and you realize you can’t afford to eat, will you be angry then?Will you be angry when you try to find a T-bone steak but the only thing that’s available is from Argentina, will you protest? What about when your children are denied life saving treatment at the hospital?What if it’s not the “libs” that are owned, but you?Will you feel betrayed?It’s worth thinking about, because that’s what’s happening every single day. More and more Americans are feeling the squeeze of the lies. It’s real now. You can watch the videos of who is being hurt. It’s no longer a figment of the imagination. They haven’t pulled some comic book villain into the light.The people getting hurt are your relatives, your neighbors, your friends, and you. At some point that’s going to become so obvious that nobody will be able to deny it’s true.Hunger has a way of piercing illusion.There are many people in this country who thought they were part of a grand movement. They thought they were signing up for mutual prosperity.They were deceived. The papers can lie and say everything is fine, but look to your kitchen table. You’ve got less to eat.Some people have invested so much in this movement, that they’re like the little old grandma who got duped by the email from the South African prince. He promised to share his riches with her, but first she had to send a small deposit. So, she did, then she sent another, then another, until it got to the point where she had to keep sending money because she couldn’t face how much she’d lost.The only way to escape this downward spiral is to stop.STOP!There’s no way out but to leave. Now, the whole nation has been dug into a hole. We have to come together, form our shovels into a ladder, and climb out. We have to change direction. The sooner we come together, the faster we can stop losing.MAGA is awakening to this. The sleeping giant is rousing. Look around! More and more former supporters are becoming critics. The cracks are showing.I can look out my window and see it. I see it in my neighborhood. I see it in my family. The end is always inevitable.It’s up to the rest of us to encourage this departure. Even if that just means standing silently and listening to a former MAGA complain this isn’t what he wanted. It’s up to the rest of us to create an overwhelming portal that leads onto the path of reason. It’s really not that hard because our message is based on reality rather than lies and delusion.The simple truth, even now, after all we’ve been through, is that I don’t want to see my fellow Americans starve. I don’t want to see them lose their farms. I don’t want to see the president destroy the people’s house. I don’t want to see the Republicans destroy American industries.When I eat a hamburger, I want it to be from a US cow.Because, the more our neighbors are helped, and our friends, and our relatives, the more prosperity there is for everybody. With that prosperity, we can finally fulfill the promise of this nation.Ultimately, we have to remember what it means to be citizens of a common country. United we stand. Divided we fall.The prosperity of this nation has been directed to serve the vanity of a single man. MAGA is starting to figure that out. I believe the fever is about to break. When that happens, they’ll be as staunchly anti-MAGA as anyone who has ever had to admit they’ve been betrayed.You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI’m so happy you’re here, and I’m looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe