Here’s a quick reminder of the kinds of things that official Republican operatives and elected officials were saying, even just this past week.
And major law enforcement.
Important to remember here is that this single story of a drug smuggler attempting to get through customs and security with a ton of contraband is the tiny fact that allowed conservatives a chance to obfuscate their lack of policy ideas. You didn’t hear any calls from law enforcement, traditional media outlets, or the GOP when $11.8 million worth of cocaine was found in a pallet of baby wipes. Watch out for immigrants trying to wipe poo poo off your infants tushy was not all over Fox News. When a woman was busted for trying to smuggle a lot of cocaine inside of her breast implants, there were no calls from Republicans to end reconstructive surgery practices.
Myriad serious policy ideas are evidence-based and have shown real promise in reducing the abuses of opioids, and the correlating number of overdose deaths. You can read about equitable response ideas to target the most disproportionally affected groups of people here. Considering that the overwhelming majority of overdose deaths—especially those that include fentanyl—are the result of “illicit” drug use where the drug is “tainted” by fentanyl, legalization of various aspects of prevention is also something that has shown promise in reducing deaths. You can read about some of those ideas here. This includes things like decriminalizing the use of fentanyl testing strips, which allows people to see if the drugs they either plan on selling or taking have been compromised.
One of the reasons the Republican Party has been so successful in hoodwinking the working-class members of its constituency is that economics aren’t its strong suit. More specifically, believing the devil’s paradox that the “market” dictates transactional relationships, but there are also secret evil people that are simply evil through … magic, I guess? In fact, this is the same view taken by many of the wealthier, more economically “sophisticated” members of society as well, and maybe their “sophistication” is also magic?
The Onion anticipated in the day's news.
But it wasn’t all happiness.
There is a method in the GOP’s public messaging: They have no policies, nor do they have solutions to any of the issues facing our country.
Oh, wait, I found one of these secret “drug cartels” the GOP was talking about!
Selling fentanyl and other opiates in a high school parking lot, out of his police cruiser. Very cool.
True story!
Just remember, historically speaking, there’s like a 99% chance that whatever wild, fear-mongering “crisis” the GOP or law enforcement agencies cook up—bonus points if just happens to target marginalized groups of people who do not have a large microphone to defend themselves with—is 100% fabricated.
And it’s all fun and games, but we are one week away from Election Day, and there are definitely people who have already voted believing children dressed as superheroes and goblins and witches were going to be laid out in the suburban streets of the country, overdosed on their rainbow fentanyl hauls.
We cannot let Trump-endorsed election deniers to gain the power to administer elections. Can you chip in $1 to each of these Daily Kos-endorsed Democrats for secretary of state?
The midterm elections are only SEVEN days away, and there are MANY ways you can get out the Democratic vote. Check them all out at our Daily Kos GOTV page, and plug into the activity that matches your preferences & skillset.
On The Brief podcast, we speak with Way To Win’s co-founder and vice president, Jenifer Fernandez Ancona. Ancona comes in to discuss how grassroots progressive groups are spending money in the hopes of getting as many voters as possible out for the midterm elections. She also talks about which campaign advertisements are effective and which are not. One thing is for sure, though: We are living in historic times, and what that means for these midterms cannot be easily predicted—so Get Out The Vote!
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