Conspiracy theories have conditioned GOP to believe anything – Las Vegas Sun

Monday, Oct. 11, 2021 | 2 a.m.

New Hampshire state Rep. Ken Weyler was so convinced about the accuracy of a new report on the COVID-19 vaccine that the 79-year-old Republican felt compelled to circulate it among his colleagues recently.

Imagine his fellow legislators surprise in learning the findings of the report, including that the vaccine contains a living organism with tentacles and is causing the babies of vaccinated parents to be born transhuman with pitch-black eyes.

Amazing. And, of course, completely insane.

This report was as loony as your Fox News-obsessed uncle on a handful of MDMA. It was chock-full of insane and thoroughly debunked theories, complete with a side dish of unhinged ranting against the pope and the Roman Catholic Church for being satanists and luciferians for supporting public health measures.

The report was so cuckoo that it embarrassed even Republicans New Hampshires GOP governor said Weyler should be removed from his position as the Houses top budget writer.

But it was really just another day for a party that has clearly decided theres no such thing as a theory too implausible or patently untrue for its voters to buy up to and including the Big Lie.

Lets look at some of the GOPs greatest hits in recent years:

5G technology has been inserted into the vaccine, which will allow the government to control the minds of people who have received their shots.

5G technology is being used to spread COVID-19.

The vaccine makes people magnetic.

(Fill in the blank) is an effective treatment for COVID-19. Options include bleach, horse dewormer, toothpaste and mouthwash containing colloidal silver, hydroxychloroquine, swallowing an ultraviolet light, and many more.

The growing number of severe weather events isnt a product of climate change but is occurring because the U.S. government is weaponizing the weather, including being able to create and steer tornadoes, generate torrential rainstorms and more.

The government is putting chemicals in the water that turn frogs gay. People too.

(Fill in the blank) has created snow that burns instead of melting, and is blanketing parts of the country with it during the winter. Options include Bill Gates, the government, George Soros, the Illuminati, or some combination of all of these and more.

Mass shootings are being carried out by individuals who have been brainwashed by the government as part of a plot to stir support for gun control and ultimately disarm Americans.

Antifa was responsible for the Jan. 6 insurrection.

COVID-19 is no worse than the flu.

COVID-19 does not exist.

The coronavirus was created by China as a biological weapon.

The coronavirus was created by the United States as a biological weapon.

The coronavirus was created by Anthony Fauci.

The purpose of vaccine mandates for the U.S. military is to remove Christians, free thinkers, opponents of Joe Biden and men with high testosterone from the ranks.

These are just some of the theories that have been promoted by GOP leaders in politics, traditional media and social media.

We could go on. We havent even delved into Israeli-controlled space lasers, small towns that have been forced to submit to Sharia law, or anything involving pizza restaurants, cannabalist pedophiles, the Clintons, etc.

QAnon could eat up an entire issue of our publication itself.

After years of rolling out these theories one after another, like a conveyor belt of crazy, its no wonder that the Big Lie took hold among so many Republicans. The parade of theories worked like artillery barrages before an invasion, softening up the beaches so the fable of massive voter fraud could gain a strong foothold. The results can be seen in polls like a national survey conducted last month by CNN, showing that 59% of Republicans believed former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

He didnt, of course. Any number of Republican witch hunts for massive voter fraud have come up empty, including a presidential task force that Trump assembled himself.

But amid the drumbeat of GOP conspiracy theories over the years, the Big Lie is really just part of a bigger story of the party manipulating a gullible and scared base of its supporters and twisting reality into a balloon animal.

This is todays Republican Party. How much further will it go beyond claiming octopus-like creatures are swimming around in the vaccines? Time will tell, but you can bet it will find a way.

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Conspiracy theories have conditioned GOP to believe anything - Las Vegas Sun