It seems to me that repug legislators have discovered that they can

[Pobeka]

7. I think it's something else entirely. They really don't care about abortion, guns or god.

Not really. Sure they use those issues to stir up a fringe minority in the populace, but they really could care less. It is a means to an end.

It's still the money and power they are after. (Power only to guarantee the money)

I have come to the conclusion they are playing the long game, once again.

I believe, they are deathly afraid of changing demographics, which will completely erode their power in many states.

Those demographics:

. Trend towards less religion in younger voters.
. Younger voters in general starting to really wake up to climate change.
. Voters of any skin color other than white.
. As boomers retire in California, even a small exodus out of California to any one state could dramatically shift the electorate. California is friggin HUGE, and when the boomers retire, their real estate can fund a lot of movement to other states with lower costs of living, and give the people a nice nest egg to boot. I would guess many densely populated blue areas like NYC are similar

If you are a small-er population state under GOP control (think, ID, AZ, WY, KS, MS, MT), how do you combat that eventual outcome?

I believe, one sure answer, while you still have GOP control, is to pass the most insane, inhumane legislation possible, that only the reddest of red voters would like, and the more middle of the road red voters will at least tolerate.

Blue voters in state, over the long run, will tend to leave. Blue voters in other states, especially California, NYC etc, will find these laws so repellent they will tend to stay put, or move to other blue states. The voters who are going to willingly move to your insane state are going to be red voters -- by a very large percentage.

It's like socialogical gerrymandering. Instead of moving lines around different populations, they are moving the populations between those lines.

I believe that is what they are doing.