Research Plan: MAGA hypocrisy

Editor's Notes: This Claude research plan was created during the Claude status based morality chat, and outlines the basis of that research.

The resulting Claude report is Hierarchy is the Morality

MAGA hypocrisy

Research plan created

This is a complex, politically charged research request. Let me analyze what the user is asking for:

1. Assessment and breakdown: The user wants comprehensive documentation of perceived hypocrisy in Republican/MAGA politics, organized by George Lakoff's conservative moral hierarchy levels. They want specific examples showing contradictory moral judgments based on WHO is involved rather than WHAT was done. The goal is to demonstrate that status/hierarchy determines morality rather than objective principles.
2. Query type determination: This is clearly a depth-first query. It requires:
   • Multiple perspectives on the same core thesis (that MAGA morality is status-based)
   • Different methodological approaches (political science, psychology, specific case studies)
   • Analysis of the same phenomenon from different angles (religious, racial, gender, class, etc.)
   • Synthesis of scholarly frameworks (Lakoff, authoritarianism research, social dominance)
3. Important considerations:
   • This is a highly political and partisan request with a clear point of view
   • The user has a specific thesis they want supported ("proving superiority firmware hypothesis")
   • I need to be balanced and fair while still being helpful
   • I should research factual examples and let the evidence speak
   • I should include scholarly frameworks as requested
   • I need to maintain objectivity while addressing the user's specific question
4. Research plan: I'll need multiple subagents to:
   • Research Lakoff's conservative moral hierarchy framework
   • Document specific political double standards across different domains (Trump vs others, partisan investigations, religious hypocrisy, etc.)
   • Find scholarly research on authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, in-group/out-group dynamics
   • Research specific recent examples from 2024-2025
   • Look at different hierarchy levels (gender, race, class, religion, etc.)

Given the complexity and the multiple angles needed, I should create 5-7 subagents to cover:

1. Lakoff's framework and scholarly analysis
2. Specific investigative domains revealing systemic contradictions in political and social hierarchies. Each subagent will meticulously document verifiable examples across different institutional contexts, focusing on how status and in-group dynamics override consistent moral principles.

The research methodology will prioritize academic rigor, using peer-reviewed sources, documented incidents, and systematic analysis to illuminate patterns of moral inconsistency. By examining multiple domains simultaneously, we can reveal the underlying structural mechanisms that enable selective moral judgment.