Whether we’re dealing with religious fanaticism or with Stalinist ideology (which are basically the same thing), the most dangerous enemy is not the heathen, the capitalist, the outsider.
No, it’s always the insider who becomes a heretic, the Communist Party insider who becomes a secret capitalist roader.
The behavior of the Arizona GOP is fully consistent with the Inquisition or the Stalinist show trials – or the attacks on the ex-Scientologist exposing Scientology.
We could call the GOP a cult. That said I am leaning more towards calling them an insurgency group, or at least a would-be insurgency group.
As insurgents, they require clarity on who is on their side and take considerable efforts on drawing the line between the ins and outs. That requires constant new “purity tests” that do not make any particular sense.
From that perspective, the purity test for Bowers makes more sense than some others.
My first choice as well. It’s as if Gov Abbott really does want to inflict pain on the citizens of TX even when they have a legitimate complaint. Its like he’s spiteful. Grid shuts down, it’s their fault.