Oh please, oh please, oh please! I love my diverse MAGA brothers, sisters, and even those confused. But, I am begging you, with hope in my heart, to please GROW UP. You can be yourselves without looking and acting a fool. Let Trump be Trump, yet let him be focused on the goal, which is Making America Great Again, without the clownish behavior. And, just give me a minute to get started on Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.

This came to my attention this morning because Peter Laffin of the Washington Examiner posted an article: “MAGA needs to grow up.” As I read the article, I 99 44/100% agreed, which might surprise people.

I like fresh and exciting. I want us to be fresh and exciting. I don’t want us to be like the humorless, baby killing, lockstep fascist Democrats. We could be fresh and exciting and reliable without mimicking the heinous scolds.

Let’s take a look at Mr. Laffin’s opening paragraph:

The Make America Great Again movement has surpassed every conceivable expectation since its inception nine short years ago. It devoured the Republican Party and swept into the presidency in 2016, which enabled it to transform the Supreme Court, pass the largest tax reform legislation in history, and enact the most successful foreign policy of any administration this century by fundamentally reimagining U.S. trade policy and reasserting military deterrence. It maintains a massive and enthusiastic base of support — it is, arguably, the nation’s most potent political faction. Poll after poll now shows voters prefer the MAGA platform to the Democratic alternative by overwhelming margins. Its leader and founder, former President Donald Trump, is favored to retake the White House in November.

Yowza! I got excited just reading that. But…

And yet, the MAGA movement has not achieved anything like its true electoral potential — and it likely never will. That’s because it refuses to grow up. The movement, like its woke counterpart, is animated primarily by its addiction to grievance and attention-seeking behavior, not by an authentic desire to implement its political vision. MAGA isn’t concerned with winning elections — despite the surprising popularity of its policies, it hasn’t notched a signature electoral victory since 2016 — and even less with forging the coalitions necessary to govern. Instead, the movement seems content to simmer in paranoia and resentment.

This is true because candidates have to truly believe. They cannot just mouth the words. I also think that this MAGA movement is a bottom up movement. Trump captured what the people were already feeling. Our wins will start happening more and more at the local and state levels. Like this headline from Louisiana:

“Republicans Pull Off Clean Sweep: Voters Hand Them Every Elected Position in State”

The election also saw other key races, including a closely watched attorney general contest and upcoming runoffs in various positions, shaping Louisiana’s political landscape.

That’s what I am talking about. Back to Mr. Laffin:

So it wasn’t the least bit odd to see Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) show up at last Tuesday’s State of the Union address looking like a human clickbait article for a website that sells a dozen different brands of “patriot vitamins.” Her “outfit,” as it were, seemed especially designed to repel non-MAGA voters from joining the cause. From her cheap red MAGA baseball cap — and no, it isn’t “elitist” to pine for the days when elected leaders dressed like adults inside the Capitol — to her many loud buttons, to her T-shirt adorned with a slogan plucked directly from wokedom circa 2020, “Say Her Name,” in reference to Laken Riley, Greene put on a clinic of unsightliness. Her on-camera manner, which can be described as ballistic, veiny, and vaguely clammy, put an exclamation on her efforts to drive every last independent voter into President Joe Biden’s rapidly withering arms.

Oh, Marjorie:

Marjorie Taylor Greene says, "The State of the Union is Laken Riley," adds. SAY. HER. NAME." WATCHpic.twitter.com/dT0EItBKYn

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 8, 2024

Clearly, I am a prig, but I find MTG’s dress for the State of the Union offensive. Professional dress with a Laken Riley button would have sent the message. Dressing like she is going to a 1960 Party Convention does not raise faith in her abilities. Troy Nehls of Texas wore a Trump Mugshot tshirt, but at least wore a suit jacket over top of it. I find these examples just as offensive as Senator John Fetterman’s slovenly dress.

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s heckling Biden did none of any favors. She is a professional not a grieving Marine Dad.

Help us, Lord. Finally, from Laffin’s column:

Of course, none of this idiocy would be necessary if winning elections and implementing a political vision were the ultimate goal. MAGA only needs to be normal in order to prevail at the ballot box. The incumbent party is despised, and MAGA’s policy agenda is widely embraced, as it should be: It is the height of normalcy to desire a secure border, to prefer excellence to equity in education, to be skeptical of globalism, to challenge a news media that is as corrupt as it is incompetent, and to be wary of unnecessary foreign conflicts — or to at least demand a coherent strategy for conflicts we can’t avoid. The case for MAGA policy is an easy one to make. But persistent MAGA immaturity and malevolence make it impossible.

I, for one, wouldn’t trust the MAGA mob to run a gas station, let alone a government, because they appear so bent on lighting matches. And I won’t until they show some signs of growing up.

Well, here I disagree. I think we could run a gas station beautifully. I don’t want us to grow old and rigid. I don’t want us to grow all the way up. Just grow up enough to win.

Featured Image: Joe Flood/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons