this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2025
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It’s a political base problem few are willing to admit.

Republicans are imploding over Jeffrey Epstein, and the evidence is hard to miss. The panic among GOP lawmakers is unlike anything I’ve seen in a decade of reporting on Congress.

Republicans can’t keep their heads down and trust that the base will keep holding them up, because the Republican base is what’s causing the current panic.

Far-right lawmakers are anxiously trying to navigate around the Scylla of Trump and congressional leadership pushing them to hold off on the Epstein issue, and the Charybdis of the hot-headed multitudes who lifted them into office after getting them to promise to reveal every dark secret of the Epstein case.

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[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 176 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

And yet, not a single republican I know, has ever even considered changing their vote. These articles are hopium, diminishing his base is not going to happen.

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 74 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Every little bit helps. My dad changed his vote in 2016. My mom opted out in 2016 and changed her vote in 2020, and is now campaigning for Democrats. For that matter, I voted for Bush, McCain, and Romney before discovering how I'd been lied to and voting for Clinton, Biden, and Harris (and now I'm literally a democratic socialist). I know people who haven't changed their vote, but who stopped campaigning for the GOP. I know people who are only voting in local races now.

The articles aren't just hopium. The base is diminishing; it's just not going as fast as we would like. Maybe the Epstein thing will finally do it.

[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I appreciate the comment and it is certainly good to see some change among the populace. I personally haven’t seen that change and if anything have seen people who touted themselves as neutral before somehow finding all of this acceptable. But I am always happy to see that some have actually changed their opinions.

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

I personally haven’t seen that change

I really hope you do soon. Hey, look at it this way, you've met one now!

[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I appreciate the comment and it is certainly good to see some change among the populace. I personally haven’t seen that change and if anything have seen people who touted themselves as neutral before somehow finding all of this acceptable. But I am always happy to see that some have actually changed their opinions.

[–] baronvonj@lemmy.world 36 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There were the two on the House Oversight committee who voted with the Democratic members last week to subpoena all the Epstein files.

[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It was three actually, but if two of the people are Nancy Mace and Scott Perry, I can promise you it has nothing to do with the tide turning.

[–] baronvonj@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I think I misunderstood your "changed their vote" comment. I mistook it for Congressional voting records but after seeing someone else's reply I'm guessing you meant the voting public.

[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Right on, yeah I meant more among the populace, or I would also accept meaningful change from the politicians on that side of things. I thought about clarifying that afterwards but didn’t want to seem like I was moving goalposts are itching for a fight or something. I just see these articles as the same as the last 10 years of ‘this time he’s really gonna have to face the consequences.’ The one I hate most of all is ‘Roberts privately expresses concern over the publics image of the supreme court.’ Like, no, he really fucking doesn’t.

[–] baronvonj@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

💯

I will throw in my own anecdata that I have relatives and in-laws who historically voted Republican who have at least outwardly said they have been changing how they vote starting either 2016 or 2020.

[–] prototact@lemmy.zip 29 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

There is a basic assumption in most news articles, that most of voters are somehow misguided and that with the right information they will eventually change their minds. In the case of MAGA and adjacent Republicans, we are talking about people that have been bred by the system to respond to certain kind of messaging and little else. They are mentally handicapped by the system, they do not possess the tools to process what is happening and even their basic humanity has been sabotaged. The solution is not to convince them to change their vote, but to discourage them from taking any actions. This is what the system does with progressives, they discourage them and convince them that politics are useless. It's time this is used against the lobotomized strongest minority.

[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Very well put, and a similar realization and tactic to what I tried with my dad after the first term. Unfortunately it didn’t work out for me, but I agree with the strategy. After J6 I stopped trying with my dad though, like Uvalde/Sandy Hook, if that isn’t gonna sway you, nothing will.

[–] rayyy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Unfortunately as a result of all this the U.S. has rapidly slipped into a failed state with little chance of recovery, while China is assuming the role of global dominance.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, of course not. Do you really expect them to vote for a liberal?

[–] makyo@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You're right about the majority of his base who are all in on the cult and will never change their minds. But he had a lot of help from other demographics who aren't in the cult like those who are Q first or independents who thought he'd improve the economy 'like he did in his last term' LOfuckingL.

We gotta watch the polls, he's trending down over the last months and this surely isn't helping. He'll probably never drop below 35% ish but the closer he gets to that the less power he has because a great majority of his power is derived from the bully pulpet.

[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Idk, my dad is one of the classic conservatives and definitely doesn’t fall into the maga camp, even going so far as to tell my mom he hated trump (only after his loss to Biden but before j6). I see him as a pretty run of the mill republican that represents a wide swath of the voting right. Anyone that watches Fox news is actively looking to convince themselves of the rhetoric. It’s especially easy to weather all of this right now because they have another year before the migrant caravan magically shows up to distract them again before midterms. That, or the Clinton flight logs which somehow absolves trump of his relation to Epstein.

[–] thrawn@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I’ve been a part of turning several conservatives since 2016 but as of 2024, and under far more convincing circumstances, I haven’t seen one turn. I’m glad others have faith, and I’ve seen some online change, but every single one in my sample is entrenched more than ever. Here’s hoping they’re just the most stubborn or immune to reality

[–] KnitWit@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

That’s similar to what I’ve anecdotally seen. The right is absolutely locked in right now. The timing for me seems to be right around when Kamala got swapped in for Biden. Idk if that was just because election season, or if again seeing a person of color come that close to power reawakened them. That was when I saw new flags fly from previous unknowns/‘non-politicals’ as well.