Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have been a failure. He has failed in the presidency in every way imaginable. He has wholeheartedly embraced a right-wing authoritarian approach to governance that has led to false imprisonment, death, economic failure and international disaster. But most importantly, Trump is a failure of conservatism.
Modern Conservativism is a cover/fig leaf for middle class/rural white people to advance grievances & express their bigotry & for rich folks(mostly white) to make a lot of $$ thru tax cuts deregulation & removal of oversight/watchdog government functions especially at SEC IRS EPA etc. GOP FRIENDLY BILLIONAIRES created powerful media platforms like Fox news RW 📻 to control the information space. Non fox media now regularly eschews ''journalism'' in favor of ratings, their social media tie ins etc.
Why do you so studiously avoid using the correct term- fascism?
The GOP has been trafficking in fascist attitudes and policies since before you were born, and it is the unifying worldview of the rank and file GOP voter.
The failure to recognize the reality what we are facing has, in all likelihood, already cost us our pluralistic democracy.
The GOP media apparatus is too powerful now there's no near liberal equivalent & rich liberals aren't knocking themselves out to create media for people who will be extremely critical of any wealthy person even if that person is supposedly ''A LIBERAL''. case in point MARK CUBAN, why would a liberal billionaire or someone like him who seems to favor pluralistic democracy over FASCISM spend $$ on ''media'' even if he gets it platformed which is a big if, to promote people who essentially want billionaires to be no more? See what I'm saying? RWers are ok with THEIR BILLIONAIRES like RUPERT MURDOCH KOCH BROS MERCERS ELON MUSK because they're engaged in 24/7 OWNING THE LIBS & that's basically all they want. GOP culture wars will beat out good policy every time. GOP CULTURE wars are
I'm notta doomer but the existential problems we find ourselves in isn't going away. Republican billionaires created a media ASTROTURFING apparatus which currently is way too influential & has been for 30/40 yrs. The American right played THE LONG GAME from NIXON thru the infamous POWELL MEMO of 1971 thru anti abortion crusades of the 80s/90s thru LIMBAUGH & HIS 1000S of 📻 clones thru GINGRICH, then fox came in 1996 supporting whatever ascending GOP persona/platforms they pushed. Trump came along & weaponized the tea baggers birthers using his social media accounts. Liberals have no answers. You don't see rich liberals other than perhaps SOROS (😂😂) trying to create media because they'res no payoff down the road. Why would rich liberals want to create left media that would target their wealth? ALL BILLIONAIRES love their $$. JD PRITZKER gov of Illinois is a BILLIONAIRE, what media does he create? None. Mark cuban is nominally pro democracy, He spends most of his time running his sports teams & virtue signaling on social media. There's no payoff in creating liberal/left media. W/O effective media counters to the toxicity of FOX RW 📻 ROGAN & MUSK/X we are slipping into the neo feudalism that the Koch bros & their orgs have wanted for so long.
Liberals need to stop “thinking“. By which I mean, they need to stop wimping out and qualifying their statements rather than just saying outright what is true.
“We’re heading toward…“, “It seems they are…“, “I think this is…“ and all the rest. We’re THERE, they ARE, and it IS.
This mindset that hesitates to call them out forcefully on their shit, to phrase things so it seems it’s just a matter of opinion instead of a statement of reality, has got to GO. We have to stop being timid, being unwilling to stand up for what is right and decent forcefully without apology.
Where Are rich liberals spending their $$ on creating media? AnS nowhere. The entire success or so it seems of he American right has been in creating powerful media platforms that create a symbiosis between RW MESSAGING electoral success & controlling the information environment. Musk bought twitter for 44Billion $$ then weaponized it against Dems liberals & democracy itself. even before CITIZENS UNITED American right saw how weaponizing media was an excellent way to get Republicans elected so they can do their dirty work, in addition sorry to say culture wars will top better policies almost every time.
I see people like Superbowl champion Philadelphia Eagles star RB SAQUAN BARKLEY sucking up to trump. IM sure everyone knows SB is an African American, a famous & successful athlete but apparently DGAF about marginalized people of any race or color or ethnicity because a photo op with trump was more important, then goes on social media to tell us why we're all wrong for opposing the fat POS & why he should not be criticized. We live in dim times.
I'm in full agreement. Just posted something, on a never-Trump Substack I follow, that basically said what you are saying. Trump is the outgrowth - perhaps culmination is a better word - of every RW administration. And, until Biden moved us a little forward - and got destroyed by the ultra-powerful RW media ecosystem - there has been little push back. Elected Republicans are complicit. The RW minority coup started in earnest with Rush and Newt after Reagan set the table. And Trump simply accelerated it.
Modern Conservativism is a cover/fig leaf for middle class/rural white people to advance grievances & express their bigotry & for rich folks(mostly white) to make a lot of $$ thru tax cuts deregulation & removal of oversight/watchdog government functions especially at SEC IRS EPA etc. GOP FRIENDLY BILLIONAIRES created powerful media platforms like Fox news RW 📻 to control the information space. Non fox media now regularly eschews ''journalism'' in favor of ratings, their social media tie ins etc.
Why do you so studiously avoid using the correct term- fascism?
The GOP has been trafficking in fascist attitudes and policies since before you were born, and it is the unifying worldview of the rank and file GOP voter.
The failure to recognize the reality what we are facing has, in all likelihood, already cost us our pluralistic democracy.
The GOP media apparatus is too powerful now there's no near liberal equivalent & rich liberals aren't knocking themselves out to create media for people who will be extremely critical of any wealthy person even if that person is supposedly ''A LIBERAL''. case in point MARK CUBAN, why would a liberal billionaire or someone like him who seems to favor pluralistic democracy over FASCISM spend $$ on ''media'' even if he gets it platformed which is a big if, to promote people who essentially want billionaires to be no more? See what I'm saying? RWers are ok with THEIR BILLIONAIRES like RUPERT MURDOCH KOCH BROS MERCERS ELON MUSK because they're engaged in 24/7 OWNING THE LIBS & that's basically all they want. GOP culture wars will beat out good policy every time. GOP CULTURE wars are
now working on Asians & Hispanics to some extent.
I'm notta doomer but the existential problems we find ourselves in isn't going away. Republican billionaires created a media ASTROTURFING apparatus which currently is way too influential & has been for 30/40 yrs. The American right played THE LONG GAME from NIXON thru the infamous POWELL MEMO of 1971 thru anti abortion crusades of the 80s/90s thru LIMBAUGH & HIS 1000S of 📻 clones thru GINGRICH, then fox came in 1996 supporting whatever ascending GOP persona/platforms they pushed. Trump came along & weaponized the tea baggers birthers using his social media accounts. Liberals have no answers. You don't see rich liberals other than perhaps SOROS (😂😂) trying to create media because they'res no payoff down the road. Why would rich liberals want to create left media that would target their wealth? ALL BILLIONAIRES love their $$. JD PRITZKER gov of Illinois is a BILLIONAIRE, what media does he create? None. Mark cuban is nominally pro democracy, He spends most of his time running his sports teams & virtue signaling on social media. There's no payoff in creating liberal/left media. W/O effective media counters to the toxicity of FOX RW 📻 ROGAN & MUSK/X we are slipping into the neo feudalism that the Koch bros & their orgs have wanted for so long.
“I think this is bullshit.”
Liberals need to stop “thinking“. By which I mean, they need to stop wimping out and qualifying their statements rather than just saying outright what is true.
“We’re heading toward…“, “It seems they are…“, “I think this is…“ and all the rest. We’re THERE, they ARE, and it IS.
This mindset that hesitates to call them out forcefully on their shit, to phrase things so it seems it’s just a matter of opinion instead of a statement of reality, has got to GO. We have to stop being timid, being unwilling to stand up for what is right and decent forcefully without apology.
Where Are rich liberals spending their $$ on creating media? AnS nowhere. The entire success or so it seems of he American right has been in creating powerful media platforms that create a symbiosis between RW MESSAGING electoral success & controlling the information environment. Musk bought twitter for 44Billion $$ then weaponized it against Dems liberals & democracy itself. even before CITIZENS UNITED American right saw how weaponizing media was an excellent way to get Republicans elected so they can do their dirty work, in addition sorry to say culture wars will top better policies almost every time.
I see people like Superbowl champion Philadelphia Eagles star RB SAQUAN BARKLEY sucking up to trump. IM sure everyone knows SB is an African American, a famous & successful athlete but apparently DGAF about marginalized people of any race or color or ethnicity because a photo op with trump was more important, then goes on social media to tell us why we're all wrong for opposing the fat POS & why he should not be criticized. We live in dim times.
I'm in full agreement. Just posted something, on a never-Trump Substack I follow, that basically said what you are saying. Trump is the outgrowth - perhaps culmination is a better word - of every RW administration. And, until Biden moved us a little forward - and got destroyed by the ultra-powerful RW media ecosystem - there has been little push back. Elected Republicans are complicit. The RW minority coup started in earnest with Rush and Newt after Reagan set the table. And Trump simply accelerated it.
ETTD principle is destroying the GOP. Good riddance.
The GOP isn't going anywhere. They don't push their extremists aside they incorporate them. Then they use it to push the Overton window to their side.