What they say: Small government
What they do: Spend massively on police, military, and surveillance while pushing laws that dictate personal behavior (abortion bans, anti-trans legislation, drug criminalization).
What they say: Free market
What they do: Hand out subsidies to corporations, give massive tax breaks to the wealthy, and block labor protections.
What they say: Traditional values
What they do: Use “tradition” as a smokescreen to resist civil rights, suppress diversity, and enforce a narrow Christian nationalist vision.
What they say: Personal responsibility
What they do: Blame poor people for their conditions while defending corporate bailouts and generational wealth hoarding.
What they say: Rule of law
What they do: Apply it selectively—crack down on protests they dislike, but excuse insurrectionists and lawbreaking when it suits them.
What they say: Cautious to change
What they do: Rush radical deregulation and culture war laws through state legislatures while blocking any progress toward equity or justice.
If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?