What is the fundamental purpose of the Republican Party? To minimize the tax bill of the rich. For those in the highest tax bracket—the people whose interests are actually represented by elected officials—politics is an investment. It is no big deal to invest a million dollars in the presidential race if it ends up saving you ten million dollars on your tax bill. Issues that do not directly affect the net worth of the rich are sideshows, in the sense that they are not the core purpose of the party, but rather instrumental tools to be used to advance the core purpose. It is that simple. All of the issues that attract the majority of the Republican Party’s voters—Gay marriage! Bible thumping! American exceptionalism! Tough on crime! Tough on terror! Abortion, babies, rah rah rah!—are not the issues that motivate the people who actually control the party. The rich, after all, are insulated by money from the potential negative impacts of these issues. They care about money, and how to keep as much of it out of the public till and in their own pockets as possible. The way to do that is to manipulate the tax code to their own advantage. In order to do that, they need elected officials working for their interests. In order to get elected officials, they need lots of votes. In order to get lots of votes, they need more than just the rich voting for them. In order to get lots of poor and middle class people voting for a party advocating policies in direct opposition to the economic interests of the vast majority of people, they wave around social issues like a matador waves a cape in front of a bull. The wealthy can watch the culture wars play out from on high, laughing to themselves all the while. All of the fine hardworking Christian culture warriors are the peasants fighting for their king, who urges them to battle for god while being primarily concerned with maintaining a healthy flow of capital. Donald Trump proclaiming “I love the Bible” is just the most cartoonish manifestation of the playbook that all Republican functionaries are working from.
