By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
As a political junkie, I was fascinated by what at least a dozen voters in Northern Kentucky – who identified themselves as MAGA Republicans – said last week about why their discontent with current Trump Administration policies did not deter them from voting against U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie.
I’ve never been a fan of exit polling but it was very enlightening to hear or read what each sampled voter said about how their concerns about the war in Iran, high gasoline and grocery prices and other negatives had not changed their minds about honoring President Trump’s desire to vote Massie out of office.
My immediate reaction was to describe that phenomena as political brainwashing and I know others used the same terminology. However, I did some Internet research on the subject and came up with a surprising result.
A host of political scientists, sociologists and psychologists say their study of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement reached the consensus that brainwashing is the wrong definition of this massive, mainstream political movement.
Applying that label overlooks the true mechanics of how the movement works. Instead, experts prefer to analyze MAGA through the lenses of populism, identity politics, and the power of social media.
Brainwashing is an inaccurate description because MAGA lacks the absolute physical control, forced isolation from loved ones, severe sleep deprivation and acute physical trauma or psychological trauma used by the Chinese Communists during the Korean War to use “thought control” as a weapon. Sadly, those harsh tactics convinced 21 American POWs to remain in North Korea after the war ended.
By comparison, people join and stay in the MAGA movement willingly. They are not captives. Mr. Trump did not invent the grievances of his base; he tapped into them very skillfully and continues to do so.
His supporters already held deep-seated frustrations regarding stagnation in the American economy, shifting cultural norms like DEI, distrust of corporate media, and the fear of immigrants flooding across our southern border.
It is clear to me that MAGA is not an example of brainwashing. I see it now as a potent example of voter polarization, populist fervor, and modern media isolation. Like it or not, MAGA has created a deeply rooted cultural and political shift in American history.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
