When I was a little girl, a neighbor friend came to me one day, telling me her mom had forbidden her to play with me anymore.

She'd learned, you see, that I had She-Ra dolls and, as the girl told me, "She-Ra uses magic."

They were conservative Evangelical Christians, as were we, and I went to my mom, sad and confused about what had happened.

"When someone is insecure in what they believe," my mom explained, "then sometimes they want to stay away from other beliefs completely. They're worried they might not be able to resist the different idea."

I can't help thinking about that recently, learning that the GOP announced their presidential candidates will have to sign a promise not to debate Democrats in any events held by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan group.

There's something deep about Republicans refusing to even debate Democrats anymore.

One particular complaint the GOP had with the current system was that moderators have, in real time, fact-checked politicians like Mitt Romney and Donald Trump. It's not fair, apparently, to have your lies called out on national TV.

It's just the latest move in the conservative retreat to safe spaces.

Republican senators have successfully wooed "Democratic" Sen. Joe Manchin and "Democratic" Sen. Kyrsten Sinema into keeping alive the filibuster, a Senate rule that requires a supermajority vote to pass most legislation. The threat of a filibuster means no law can pass without a Republican's agreement.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who previously had no problem with changing Senate rules when he was the one doing the alteration, touts the filibuster as the character of the Senate, which is, I guess, technically true as it exists solely to protect corrupt politicians who want to kill popular legislation if it goes against their naked self-interest.

Sinema recently said that, though she supported the voting rights bill Democrats were trying to pass, she couldn't support something that would cause political divisions.

One wonders if, upon seeing someone breaking into her house, Sinema would call 911 to report the crime, a divisive move if I ever heard of one.

Then there are the anti-critical race theory laws popping up like weeds in every red state in the nation — laws intended to prevent teachers from teaching anything that might make a conservative uncomfortable, sad or angry. Even Nazis can't be maligned anymore, according to one Indiana lawmaker who later walked back his strange comments alleging Nazism and fascism shouldn't be judged right or wrong by teachers.

How does someone allege they're against "cancel culture" but are fine with the cancellation of a teacher who says slavery is wrong?

Conservatives now must like every question from the press, must support every law that's passed, must agree with every word that's ever spoken to their child. Quite a turnaround for a political party that once held sacred the idea that feelings aren't facts, life is tough and that sometimes you should stop complaining, suck it up and play the hand you're dealt.

Today's Republican politicians cannot have their voters be exposed to opposing viewpoints, hear a foul word spoken against their political party or even learn the history of those who share their race, their gender or their religion.

Maybe they're worried they'll wilt in the glare of criticism.

More likely, though, they're like the mom of that friend I used to have, worried that the other ideas out there are more persuasive than their own. They fear the weakness of their arguments.

For there's no one who hollers as loudly, who bangs the drum more fiercely, who attacks with more violence, than someone who's worried they might be wrong.

To learn more about Georgia Garvey, visit GeorgiaGarvey.com.

Photo credit: Ray_Shrewsberry at Pixabay