Culture Warriors category archive
Chaos Agents, a Notion of Immigrants Dept. 0
E. J. Montini points out the obvious. Donald Trump and his dupes, symps, and fellow travelers exacerbate problems, not solve them (emphasis added).
A bipartisan deal to address the border problem is the best thing for the country.
But it is the worst thing for Donald Trump . . . .
They want the chaos. They need the chaos. And Speaker Johnson goes along. These are Republicans putting Trump over party, and then putting party over country.
Follow the link for the evidence.
“The Godfather” 0
Chauncey de Vega argues that Donald Trump is analogous to the boss of a crime organization whose followers are loyal to him and him only. Here’s just a tiny little from his essay.
Furthermore, there is large base of support for authoritarian and fascist politics in the United States. Many Americans are strongly attracted to political strongmen autocrats willing to “bend the rules” in order to “get things done” for “people like them.”
Negative and affective partisanship — meaning a situation when a political party or movement becomes someone’s primary identity, creating an us-versus-them worldview in which the other side is not just wrong but evil — along with asymmetrical polarization, white identity politics and racism, misogyny, and hostility toward sexual or gender minorities also contribute greatly to Trump’s persistent levels of support.
The whole thing is a relatively long read, but it is worth it.
Republican Family Values 0
Dick Polman identifies an inconsistency.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
LZ Granderson tries to understand the appeal of Texas Governor Abbott’s pursuit mean for the sake of mean to the Texas electorate which keeps him in office.
The short answer is: most Texas voters, because he’s been in office since 2015. The economy is strong, and the cost of living is relatively low. Most important, the same traits that make him notorious across blue America keep him in power here in the Lone Star State.
Now, if “racism” popped in your head, you’re not all wrong.
But it’s not the full story. And that’s where progressives tend to go wrong.
Follow the link for Granderson’s take on the “full story.”
The Lake Effect 0
The Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini dissects Kari Lake’s embrace of establishmentarians. Here’s a tiny bit, where he quotes a right-wing evangelical he-calls-himself-a Christian pastor who supports Lake:
Afterthought:
What if a town has more than one local church? Do they fight out in the Colosseum or cast spells on each other?
A Notion of Immigrants 0
Methinks Atrios makes an excellent point or two.
Courting Disaster 0
A Notion of Immigrants 0
The Majority Report crew points out that refugees fleeing for their lives and safety are not “invaders” and call out Texas’s attempt to secede, if not de jure, at least de facto to violate the Constitution.
Republican Thought Police, Reprise 0
Left to their own devices, the Republican Thought Police would ban Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra and Maugham’s Of Human Bondage (one of my favorite books, by the way), not to mention First Samuel.
We are a society of stupid striving to become a society of ignorant.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Michael in Norfolk minces no words.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
Yet more mean for the sake of mean.
Scapegoating Scholarship 0
Sam and Emma talk with professor Nick Kraus about the neoliberal campaign against (small-l) liberal education.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
No surprises here:
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump repeatedly referred to Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, as “Nimbra.” Haley, the former South Carolina governor, was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, as Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She has always gone by her middle name, “Nikki.” She took the surname “Haley” upon her marriage in 1996.
Trump, himself the son, grandson and twice the husband of immigrants, called Haley “Nimbra” three times in the post and said she “doesn’t have what it takes.”
Much more at the link.
Afterthought:
Ii seems relevant to note that, when Donald Trump’s ancestors arrived in the U. S., the family’s name was “Drumpf.”
Suffer the Children 0
We are again reminded that that is not a quotation from scripture. This is a Republican Family Value.
Today’s Republican Party has become the party of mean for the sake of mean.