I think this is pretty exemplary of the fact that the right doesn't actually stand for anything but political aesthetic and power retention. They lean into this symbology because it's an identity not because it's a belief system. CurtisRemarc/1328065002515869700
The contradiction between small gov/big authority, "pro life"/anti social programs, personal liberty/oppressive religious fundamentalism, etc, draws a clear picture of a machine that desires power and in-grouping, at any cost.
People vote Republican because they prefer the optics of Republican lore, not, as they will inevitably protest, the "policies". Arguably a lot of these failures apply to neoliberalism too (eco-friendliness vs. fracking gov, etc), tho