There's a lot of debate in progressive circles over whether or not Republicans actually believe all the crazy crap they say. It's easy to point to someone like Ginni Thomas, who was unleashing all sorts of insane conspiracy theories in private text messages with Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, as proof that Republicans really believe this stuff. But that's the wrong way to look at it. What's crucial to understand is that "believe" has nothing to do with it. The truth of a statement holds absolutely no value for increasingly authoritarian Republicans. All that matters is power and having the power to shape narratives, regardless of facts. Indeed, they view true power as being able to impose your narrative, even when it's so absurd that no one could really believe it.

-Amanda Marcotte in Salon.com