Back in June I observed that Trump is a cult leader and Biden isn’t. When Biden was the figurehead, the Dem activists had nothing positive to gather their attention, so they focused exclusively on being ANTI-TRUMP cultists.
Today the RFK cultists are swarming in Substack’s twitteroid Notes today. They talk about inspiration and crying tears of joy. They LITERALLY see RFK as the second coming of God. The Trump cultists are the same way. Both are true cults in the full sense of the definition, and they’re joyful at the merging of their two prophets into one. (But where’s the Holy Ghost?)
Dem fans are still non-cultish. Their loyalty to the Party is strong but it’s not a PERSONAL cult. Now they have a positive focus for their energy so they’ve given up the crazy screeching about EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO DEMOCRACY and JANUARY 6 VIOLENT INSURRECTION.
They don’t see Harris as a god or a prophet, and they certainly didn’t see Biden that way. They’re just political activists who want Harris to implement their particular goals, a normal negotiation between powers.
BUT: Activists who are perfectly loyal don’t have much negotiating power. For a long time blacks and other immigrants were blindly loyal to D, so the party simply ignored them and often acted against their best interests. Negotiation only works when the powerful side needs your support and knows you WILL walk away if you aren’t partly satisfied.
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Later, polls say that RFK’s supporters are mostly going back to D now. Partly because RFK was always a Greenie, and Greenies belong to D. Partly because Kennedy family fans are naturally D. So the cultists I’m seeing online don’t represent ordinary people. Unsurprising. Online people are always the most extreme adherents of every side.
Polistra's Mill 