If you waste enough time following the daily political news, as I usually do, eventually your thoughts turn to the same question: What kind of creatures are these fucking Trumplicans, and what kind of generalizations can we make to simplify the conversation about them?
My analysis, based on reports I've read during the last week, is that Trumplicans are people who abandoned the (R) Party in 2016 to identify themselves completely as devoted followers of Donnie Pudd instead. These people need to be differentiated from the miniscule group of conservatives for whom Pudd is an embarrassing burden, and who can still be referred to as republicans. I suspect the members of this tiny group are secretly counting the days until Pudd suffers a fatal heart attack or is sent to prison.
Trumplicans, also known as MAGAs, share two significant characteristics. One is stupidity, the other is depravity. Among common, everyday MAGAs like those I see at local dollar stores, stupidity is the dominant trait. The proportion is typically something like 60 percent stupid to 40 percent depraved.
The proportions are reversed among the MAGA elite: 60 percent depravity, 40 percent stupidity. The MAGA elite is the smaller group that includes the Trumplican political class (governors, legislators, etc). Those in this group are smart enough to win elections, but so depraved that they spend all their time and effort on an evil agenda. The common MAGAs are stupid enough to be easily manipulated by the elites, but depraved enough that it doesn't matter much to them.