Officially, the republicans believe that an unrestricted franchise allows people to vote twice, non-citizens to vote, the dead to vote, and prisoners to vote. Most of us here dismiss those as paranoid delusions, and move on to the “real reason” Republicans restrict the franchise, which is to secure a structural advantage in a society that would tend to vote for the non-Republican candidates, if only they could do so if given the chance.
Where’s the role for doubt? Oh, Paxton suffers from paranoid delusions, so we should allow him to remain in power, uncriticized?
People who genuinely extend the benefit of the doubt are admitting they don’t know everything and don’t want their fallible imaginations to fill in the details (or are kind of afraid of their imaginations filling in the details.)
Fine, you lack the knowledge to understand Ken Paxton as a genuinely evil man. But surely there is enough evidence to suggest that he’s a political opportunist and a cynic?
