Desperation is the right word.
A lot of the @GOP's rationalizations and justifications for this rank fuckery is Machiavellian. But a large and growing contingent in power and in the electorate have perceptions so skewed that they sincerely believe it.
That's truly terrifying. https://twitter.com/Aelkus/status/1201567744946266115 …
Yea. If you have all the moves and the interpreters are desperate for some comprehensible explanation that conforms to what they want to see, they'll find one.