So, here's my hot take- with the emergence of Sarah Palin, the practice of "plain-spoken pandering to the lowest common denominator" has become central to the Trumpublican Party stategy.
Perfected, obviously, by Trump- who historically is pretty far from Republican (he even "wrote" a book outlining his political positions- "The America We Deserve"), he took the Palin Blueprint to absurd new levels during the run-up to his 2016 election. He would say things he very likely knew to be false, but that he knew would resonate with his emerging base. This increased when he became president- there are too many to list, but his comments on levying tariffs on China that they would pay spring readily to mind. Anyone who works in business knows that's not how tariffs work, Trump likely knows it, but he words statements in that way because his base likes to hear he's doing SOMETHING to their perceived enemies.
Ted Cruz mirrored this earlier this year with his borderline-retarded tweet about the Paris Climate Agreement: "By rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, President Biden indicates he’s more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh. This agreement will do little to affect the climate and will harm the livelihoods of Americans." Ted Cruz is no retard (his behavior during the Texas Valentine's Day Storm to the contrary). He's a graduate of Harvard and Princeton and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, he knows EXACTLY what the Paris Climate Agreement is. He also knows that The Trump Base doesn't, and that his comment will weaponize them against Biden and climate change. And the best part is that these statements and strategies trigger the left's desire to get facts right, which AOC falls into constantly, and reinforce the "elitist" brand among the Trump Base.
So, to sum up: they are saying stupid thing to stupid people, and it's weaponizing their stupidity into events like the Capitol Riots.
I would bet dollars to donuts, when Bobblehead Gaetz makes comments like "there’s no age that you can’t be sexy" he's doing exactly the same thing. I mean, this is a rep for Florida after all.
