The Grim Reaper Joins the Pro-Death Party

 

I was sitting on my porch, in what has traditionally been a working-class suburb of Detroit. I was handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, some of whom were dressed as the Grim Reaper.

I couldn’t help thinking how appropriate. How predictive of what could happen to many of their parents when the sun went down on Halloween, then dawned the next morning on the real horrors that Republicans have just inflicted on the American population.

We’ve been waiting for that population to wake up and smell the fascism for forty years at least. But as of this week, the stink is unmistakable, and the wake-up call is grim indeed.

As of this week, two simultaneous catastrophes — both man made and totally unnecessary — descend upon us, and the destruction being wrought by Republicans can no longer be shrugged off, even by Republicans.

As of this week — barring some deal that is not now in sight — SNAP payments will be suspended, dooming many millions of people to serious food insecurity. Red states will feel it worse than blue. This is a direct consequence of the government shutdown, and can theoretically be reversed by a re-opening, though it’s not clear that Republicans want the shutdown to end, ever.

At the same time, the Affordable Care Act subsidies have expired, tripling healthcare premiums and dooming many millions of people to death by insurance deprivation. This mess can only be mitigated by an intervention from Congress, which will not be forthcoming, since the House of Representatives is closed indefinitely — or until Mike Johnson can make the Epstein scandal go away. Which he can’t.

Speaking of which, it’s hard not to think that this whole shutdown thing is all about covering up the Epstein files, and that the SNAP and ACA cancellations are collateral damage. Which is not how Republicans think of it. Russell Vought and his Project 2025 ghouls have somehow convinced Trump that the entire federal government needs to be fired, that the American population needs to be thinned out and whitened, and that the shutdown gives them cover to do both. They are fully aware of the devastation they’re wreaking, and they regard it as a feature, not a bug.

Anyone who is even remotely paying attention understands that this is inexcusable by any yardstick. Unfortunately, it’s those who are not paying any attention — or even worse, whose attention is being cynically manipulated — who are the problem.

That said, we may have reached a tipping point, even with them. We may have finally arrived at a place where the overt cruelty and greed of the Republicans will dope-slap the dopes who voted for them. The GOP has long been the pro-death party, but they’ve always tried to keep that under the radar. Now they’re shedding any pretense that they’re anything but the Grim Reaper in disguise.

Someday, we might know if this was the moment that the dopes stopped voting against their own interests, and finally understood which party was wrecking their livelihoods, their families, their communities and, quite possibly, killing them. Someday, we might know if they got smart or stayed stupid.

But in the here and now, the pain is about to get up close and personal. Hunger has always been a problem we’ve swept under the rug, but now it will be out in the open for all to see. Breadlines are inevitable. Food banks — already strapped — will not be able to keep up with demand. Nor will non-profits or religious charities. Nor will most state governments. The federal government will be no help at all.

It’s hard to say whether these two catastrophes will be any worse in the long run than all the other Trumpian nightmares —the own-goal tariffs, the slapdash deportations, the evisceration of the federal bureaucracy, or the atrocity du jour. But there’s no question that this particular one-two punch — widespread food insecurity, coupled with widespread loss of healthcare — will land hard in the heartland. And the ripple effects will be broad and deep.

Children will be a major casualty, as they will surely bear the brunt of the coming privation. Millions of kids will be at risk for malnutrition, which is the starting point for stunted growth, cognitive deficits, chronic illnesses, and dozens of other health issues. Without insurance, these problems will go untreated and could follow them the rest of their lives, affecting not just their health, but their mental development, their education, and their ability to make a living. It’s worth reiterating that the pro-death party does not give a shit about this.

The economic fallout will be at least as damaging. SNAP payments are almost always spent immediately, usually on groceries, usually in the immediate community. Take away those payments and their absence ripples through that community. Grocery stores and other retailers will fail. Workers will lose their jobs. Local governments will lose revenue. Local economies all over the country will find it harder to support their populations.

And as millions of people get priced out of their health insurance, the demand for medical services will take a huge hit. All those hospitals, out-patient clinics, and urgent care centers that popped up in response to the Affordable Care Act will now be at risk, along with the jobs of the people who work in them. Once again, the pro-death party does not give a shit about this.

As of this writing, two judges in separate cases have ordered the release of emergency SNAP payments. While this might be good news, it’s hard to know. We’re in another world now, and the U.S. government — incredibly — might decide to not obey a court order. Even if it does obey, we’ve now seen enough to know they’ll slow-walk or otherwise impede the release of the payments. Which is, after all, the cruel thing to do.

There are monsters walking among us. Halloween gives us many metaphors for evil, but these monsters are anything but metaphorical. They’re real. They represent the worst of humanity. And they can’t wait for people to start dying.