I wonder what it's like to seek political power and know that your job is to promote lies that sell, and base success on enough people never finding out the truth.

And finding some rationale for why it's ok for that to be your life's mission.

Part of the problem is that there doesn't seem to be any negative consequences for lying about these things but there are positive consequences such as getting re-elected.

I normally try to consider other causes besides rewards and punishments but in this case the simplest explanation seems to work. Of course lying is easier too since you don't have to have command of the facts. People will believe your lies because they want to believe.

and realize the damage of just hearing what they want to hear? Do their own children have to end up in concentration camps? And if they did would they make the connection?

If democracy survives, we have a lot of work to do educating our young people. And everyone else.

Some people need to experience it for themselves before they will learn. Others can learn from seeing the bad stuff happen to other people.

their upbringing. If they had an authoritaran patriarchal Dad, they look for that in a leader and equate those qualities with love.

I've long believed that people look for or expect qualities in God that reflect their family (good or bad)--it makes sense that it would be true in politics too.

repubs won't change until we thoroughly trounce them in the voting booths.

Years ago, Stephen Colbert coined the term "Truthiness." It means things that feel true to them, regardless of the evidence. MAGAts are just sure the Bidens are corrupt, so all evidence is interpreted with the assumption that the Bidens are corrpt and guilty. The evidence doesn't need to actually prove anything. They simply assume that what they wish were true actually is.

I think fundamentalist relgion has trained these folks to ignore evidence in favor of what MUST be true to remain consistent with their world view.