QAnon is not different in kind, but only in degree for the GOP. It has long been a conspiracy hothouse, from climate to "voter fraud" to econ policy to everything else.

I've been writing about it for a while now, and we need to talk honestly about it. https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/11/10/the-conspiracy-theories-a-republican-must-believe-today/

Yes, QAnon is a next step up in terms of craziness and dangerousness. But it's not all that different, frankly. It's not a big leap from "Millions of Democrats are conspiring to manufacture votes" to "they're conspiring to harvest adrenochrome." https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020/05/23/we-need-to-speak-honestly-about-the-gops-evolution-into-a-conspiracy-cult/

It's not a huge leap from "Tens of thousands of scientists are lying to you about climate change and evolution to take your money and indoctrinate your kids" to "they're lying to you about masks and vaccines to keep you enslaved."

It's really not that different. /3

Even "tax cuts pay for themselves" is a level of reality-denying religious doctrine that requires a nearly cult-like level epistemic closure to maintain, and has disastrous policy consequences.

You can't tell obvious lies for decades without succumbing to wilder conspiracies. /4