(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Disillusioned GOP megadonor Peter Thiel won't back any Republicans in 2024 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-26 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” — 1 Timothy 6:10 It is boilerplate in conservative speechifying that they are doing what the American people want. It is a lie. Now the Republican disassociation from mainstream thought has started to affect cash flow. Rightwing megadonors are showing hesitancy in throwing good money at bad people. Reuters reports as much today, Tech billionaire and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, an early backer of former President Donald Trump who later broke with him, has told associates he is not planning to donate to any political candidates in 2024, according to two people close to the businessman. Thiel is unhappy with the Republican Party's focus on hot-button U.S. cultural issues, said one of the sources, a business associate, citing abortion and restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students can use in schools as two examples. Thiel is a corporatist and traditionalist — at least politically. He supported the GOP because he relied on their history of pro-business positions and their ongoing propaganda that they were the party of profits. However, the scales have fallen from Thiel’s eyes. He can see clearly that the GOP is now home to gun-toting, anti-freedom, anti-choice, culture war zealots who would rather destroy America’s credit rating than honor the financial commitments they made when Trump was President. Thiel should not be surprised. After all, he recognized the problem seven years ago. Although, his perspicacity was blinded when he cast his lot with insanity. At the Republican National Convention in 2016, Thiel was alert to the GOP’s pursuit of hate and shiny objects. He told the congregation, "I am proud to be gay. But most of all I am proud to be an American. I don't pretend to agree with every plank in our party's platform, but fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump." If your political strategy relies on Trump being honest, you must gird yourself for disappointment. Thiel bought the image of Trump as a successful man who knew what he was doing. It was a chimera. Thiel should have spent time with New Yorkers — they knew the new Republican standard-bearer was a hollow man. Thiel’s distaste of Republican politics points to the GOP’s existential problem. They represent a minority of Americans. Nationally, their power springs from the constitutional perversion of the Electoral College and the undemocratic assignment of two Senators to every state. Locally, Republican legislatures in purple states have drawn districts favoring GOP candidates. It is ridiculous to have the rules written by the winners. It leads to self-dealing and entrenched minorities. Independent electoral authorities should not be a hard sell because it would benefit Republicans in blue states. But it will be a non-starter for conservatives because if the status quo favors you, you have no incentive to change it. This electoral success has allowed the GOP to ignore that they support positions increasingly rejected by Americans. Most citizens believe in the right to choose , sensible gun legislation , and LGBTQ rights . Most of us think book burning and bastardizing history are abominations. And few believe that America should be a theocracy. Hardly. An increasing number of Americans reject religion . Thiel describes himself as a libertarian — which for years has been the name taken by conservatives who are too embarrassed to admit they are conservatives. However, true libertarians — people who believe in individual rights — are now philosophically closer to liberals. There is no bigger government overreach than the authorities deciding reproductive choices and making bathroom selections. I doubt Thiel will make that ideological leap. So the Democrats must be satisfied that he has turned off the spigots. If enough other plutocrats join Thiel, Republicans will adapt or die. Either one would be good. America needs a strong, thoughtful center-right party. If the current GOP can change its ways to be it, fine. But that is probably a shaky wager. There is no cure for rabies. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/26/2166032/-Disillusioned-GOP-megadonor-Peter-Thiel-won-t-back-any-Republicans-in-2024 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/