That’s precisely it. The Gross Old Pedophiles jealously guard their imbecile supporters and cultivate their ignorance like a cash crop.

Yeah, I was republican until I was, um, 19? And that's because I grew up in a cult where the word liberal is a sin but my parents and grandparents themselves are cool. Like literally I went to a city council meeting in a town the cult controlled and the town engineer gave estimates. He explained that they were for the most traffic the proposed intersection would get, but they were going to call them finger quotes conservative estimates so they would think they were good estimates. And did that kind of sophistic bullshit all night.

You'd think that would have gotten me out of the cult, but see there was this woman.

It's true, and sadly most people stay in the low-level, high-control systems they are indoctrinated into. The foundations are unhealthy, to not question, not be curious and want to understand the fascinating world around them, just do the same things we always did, and repeat the unhealthy dysfunctional ways. They get job, hardly make enough to pay bills, disillusioned, have a child they think will make them feel better and needed, etc. repeat.