Not to listen, but to lecture

Melissa McEwan of Shakesville, as you might have guessed, is a vociferous critic of the nasty guy, the vice nasty guy, and the entire GOP. Her blog seems to be only that for about six months now (though she had the nasty guy pegged from the day he became a candidate). Even so she and many who resist the nasty guy are pressured to “reach out.”

So McEwan imagined she was invited to dinner with the vice nasty guy. She imagines what she would say to him. But on arriving at the VP home she realized he doesn’t want to listen, but to lecture.

No matter how much good faith I extend, it will be abused.

He will lie. He will tell me lie after lie, weaving in between each dishonest phrase reminders of his moral superiority, his mendacity and sanctimony twisting into a blanket that threatens to smother me. He will say things that are demonstrably false, and reject out of hand any attempt to acknowledge the truth.
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There is no conversation to be had here, and not because I don't want one. Because he doesn't.
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I tell him I cannot join him for dinner after all. … I tell him that I have already spent far too much of my time and energy with men who don't want to listen, and I haven't a moment more to spare.

The GOP ran a disinformation and destruction campaign against Hillary Clinton for more than 20 years. That meant during the last election many (well, enough) had a low enough opinion of her they couldn't bring themselves to vote for her, even given who her prominent opponent was. That destruction campaign worked.

So, McEwan reports, the GOP is already starting on a campaign of personal destruction against Elizabeth Warren, just in case she runs in 2020. They are no longer even pretending to challenge her on policy. This is only about reputation. Perhaps they can make things so bad she’ll decide not to run in 2020.

And why are they doing this? Because that’s all they’ve got.