If not protecting us means our government isn’t valid, then it hasn’t been valid for decades.

For instance take the medical marijuana situation. It was known to be medically useful for decades, and quite safe as well when compared to legal substances like opioids, etc. This has been known since well before even the first States gave the Feds the middle finger, like decades before that. To this day though, the Federal government still says the plant has no medical use and will imprison people for trying to protect their own or others’ health and we’ll being with the harmless plant. And that hasn’t been only Republicans at the Federal level. The corrupt (or stupid but probably corrupt) have included Obama, Biden, Hillary, Bill, Gore... basically almost all of them in DC with rare exceptions. That’s changing a little now... but it’s been decades of this psychopathic bullshit.... while people suffer. That’s just one example of many.

I think stuff like that, the common corruption and evil from our Federal government many have come to basically assume and expect, is why a lot of the stuff Trump does that puts our democracy at risk basically is just water off the camels back for a lot Republicans. Basically people don’t give a shit any more. They think essentially everyone in DC is looking out for themselves and their rich lobbies, and they don’t really give a shit about everyday Americans’ health, safety, or well being. So they basically vote on party lines according to whatever political tradition they were raised in... and hen bend over.