Maybe it’s too simplistic, but in my friends who deserted sanity to board the trumptrain, I see a lot of what you describe. They sounded the warning bells for a couple years that Trump was a democratic in sheep’s clothing. Now they embrace his “democrat” stance on anything and everything. While I agree this didn’t happen all at once I think Trump has had a major influence in this shift. It’s a storm I doubt our Republic can weather.
Jan 26, 2022·edited Jan 26, 2022Liked by David Thornton
I've also been paying close attention to this political realignment with great interest, and seeing where the existing political figures and players will fall under. While I do lament the fact that it leaves many of us limited government conservatives politically homeless, it feels good not to feel obliged to kowtow to narratives and beliefs that are rooted in shallow partisanship(as opposed to policy and philosophy).
I agree that the things espoused by Tucker Carlson in the past few years are in many respects, hard to distinguish from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the Squad. I also tend to believe that Tucker himself is playing this populist "anti-elitist" image for television, much to the delight of many of his viewers. But his lifestyle and private life, generally speaking, is about as far removed from the raging populist he plays on television. I may be wrong, but I don't think Tucker believes anything more than a small portion of what he says publicly on his show. He clearly views his audience as a bunch of chumps he can monetize off of. The fact that he peddles numerous fact free narratives, is indicative of the respect(a lack thereof) he has for his viewers, and then he laughs his way to the bank.
A big difference between Tucker and the progressive leftists you mentioned shares many beliefs with, is that at least the latter have not engaged in peddling dangerous Covid-19 and vaccine mistruths. I may vehemently oppose just about everything that AOC, Sanders, and Omar believe in, but at least they don't spew lies about the vaccines. Just recently before I typed this comment here, he had notorious anti-vaxxer Alex Berenson on his show, who peddled his usual lies about the Covid-19 vaccines. The simple fact is that Tucker is vaxxed, as Fox News has a very strict mandatory vaccination policy. And many other public figures who are anti-vax publicly, are most likely vaxxed. But like Tucker, they know that a sizeable portion of the GOP base are gullible and/or lean anti-vax to varying extents. And they nonetheless monetize off of their vulnerabilities, all while many thousands of them have needlessly died, and continue to do so by the day. Needless to say, this monetizing has come at a great human cost to life.
I believe that Tucker, Berenson, and many others of their ilk bear a lot of moral responsibility for a good amount of these otherwise preventable Covid deaths.
Maybe it’s too simplistic, but in my friends who deserted sanity to board the trumptrain, I see a lot of what you describe. They sounded the warning bells for a couple years that Trump was a democratic in sheep’s clothing. Now they embrace his “democrat” stance on anything and everything. While I agree this didn’t happen all at once I think Trump has had a major influence in this shift. It’s a storm I doubt our Republic can weather.
I've also been paying close attention to this political realignment with great interest, and seeing where the existing political figures and players will fall under. While I do lament the fact that it leaves many of us limited government conservatives politically homeless, it feels good not to feel obliged to kowtow to narratives and beliefs that are rooted in shallow partisanship(as opposed to policy and philosophy).
I agree that the things espoused by Tucker Carlson in the past few years are in many respects, hard to distinguish from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the Squad. I also tend to believe that Tucker himself is playing this populist "anti-elitist" image for television, much to the delight of many of his viewers. But his lifestyle and private life, generally speaking, is about as far removed from the raging populist he plays on television. I may be wrong, but I don't think Tucker believes anything more than a small portion of what he says publicly on his show. He clearly views his audience as a bunch of chumps he can monetize off of. The fact that he peddles numerous fact free narratives, is indicative of the respect(a lack thereof) he has for his viewers, and then he laughs his way to the bank.
A big difference between Tucker and the progressive leftists you mentioned shares many beliefs with, is that at least the latter have not engaged in peddling dangerous Covid-19 and vaccine mistruths. I may vehemently oppose just about everything that AOC, Sanders, and Omar believe in, but at least they don't spew lies about the vaccines. Just recently before I typed this comment here, he had notorious anti-vaxxer Alex Berenson on his show, who peddled his usual lies about the Covid-19 vaccines. The simple fact is that Tucker is vaxxed, as Fox News has a very strict mandatory vaccination policy. And many other public figures who are anti-vax publicly, are most likely vaxxed. But like Tucker, they know that a sizeable portion of the GOP base are gullible and/or lean anti-vax to varying extents. And they nonetheless monetize off of their vulnerabilities, all while many thousands of them have needlessly died, and continue to do so by the day. Needless to say, this monetizing has come at a great human cost to life.
I believe that Tucker, Berenson, and many others of their ilk bear a lot of moral responsibility for a good amount of these otherwise preventable Covid deaths.