THREAD:
1/14
OPEN TWEET TO @SteveSchmidtSES , @WilliamKristol , @JoeNBC , @NormOrnstein , @SenJohnMcCain , @JeffFlake , @JohnKasich , @MichaelSteele , @nytdavidbrooks & other Republicans horrified by “new GOP” & who may now leave:
First: Welcome to the fight for America’s soul!
1/14
OPEN TWEET TO @SteveSchmidtSES , @WilliamKristol , @JoeNBC , @NormOrnstein , @SenJohnMcCain , @JeffFlake , @JohnKasich , @MichaelSteele , @nytdavidbrooks & other Republicans horrified by “new GOP” & who may now leave:
First: Welcome to the fight for America’s soul!
2/14
It’s always hard to determine when a historical event was triggered. Was seed of Civil War planted w Lincoln’s election in 1860? Buchanan’s 4 years neglecting the growing rift? Compromise of 1850, giving free states Senate majority but nationalizing fugitive slave law?
It’s always hard to determine when a historical event was triggered. Was seed of Civil War planted w Lincoln’s election in 1860? Buchanan’s 4 years neglecting the growing rift? Compromise of 1850, giving free states Senate majority but nationalizing fugitive slave law?
3/14
Missouri Compromise of 1820 which maintained Senate balance but allowed the politics of the slavery issue to fester? Or the Three-Fifths Compromise with the Devil in 1787 that codified slavery into our Constitution and empowered it through the forthcoming decades?
Missouri Compromise of 1820 which maintained Senate balance but allowed the politics of the slavery issue to fester? Or the Three-Fifths Compromise with the Devil in 1787 that codified slavery into our Constitution and empowered it through the forthcoming decades?
4/14
Or any of a dozen other events that could & have been mentioned by historians?
When Hitler came to power in 1993, many Germans expressed shock. Historians have wondered how such an “Enlightenment-enlightened” culture could sink into such a cesspool of hate & murder.
Or any of a dozen other events that could & have been mentioned by historians?
When Hitler came to power in 1993, many Germans expressed shock. Historians have wondered how such an “Enlightenment-enlightened” culture could sink into such a cesspool of hate & murder.
5/14
In his 1996 book Hitler’s Willing Executioners, Daniel Goldhagen explored origins of “eliminationist antisemitism”, from Martin Luther thru Richard Wagner’s “volkisch antisemitism”, & pointed out that every German political party after 1889 included an antisemitic plank.
In his 1996 book Hitler’s Willing Executioners, Daniel Goldhagen explored origins of “eliminationist antisemitism”, from Martin Luther thru Richard Wagner’s “volkisch antisemitism”, & pointed out that every German political party after 1889 included an antisemitic plank.
6/14
One can argue with some of Goldhagen’s thesis regarding the seeds of Nazism – but for current & future historians studying the rise of Trumpism, I cannot imagine a model better suited to the task than Goldhagen’s anthropological one.
Two questions regarding both topics:
One can argue with some of Goldhagen’s thesis regarding the seeds of Nazism – but for current & future historians studying the rise of Trumpism, I cannot imagine a model better suited to the task than Goldhagen’s anthropological one.
Two questions regarding both topics:
7/14
1) Why did rise of both demagogues come as surprise to SO many?
2) Why did so many act as tho’ rise of the despot was some magical manifestation, rather than a logical conclusion to decades of increasing hatred, winked at & even encouraged by Machiavellian political allies?
1) Why did rise of both demagogues come as surprise to SO many?
2) Why did so many act as tho’ rise of the despot was some magical manifestation, rather than a logical conclusion to decades of increasing hatred, winked at & even encouraged by Machiavellian political allies?
8/14
Contrition & atonement are redemptive, but dependent on clear-eyed realization of causality. It’s impossible to understand, condemn & surmount Trump phenomenon w/o recognizing the links to:
1. 1964 Civil Rights Act opposition by rising Goldwater/Buckley wing of GOP.
Contrition & atonement are redemptive, but dependent on clear-eyed realization of causality. It’s impossible to understand, condemn & surmount Trump phenomenon w/o recognizing the links to:
1. 1964 Civil Rights Act opposition by rising Goldwater/Buckley wing of GOP.
9/14
2. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”.
3. Reagan’s first speech after his 1980 GOP nomination, in Philadelphia, MS (famed ONLY for murdering civil rights workers!), assuring Southern segregationists that “I believe in states’ rights” to win over George Wallace-inclined voters.
2. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”.
3. Reagan’s first speech after his 1980 GOP nomination, in Philadelphia, MS (famed ONLY for murdering civil rights workers!), assuring Southern segregationists that “I believe in states’ rights” to win over George Wallace-inclined voters.
10/14
4. Reagan’s dog-whistling of the “Welfare Queen” trope at campaign rallies.
5. Lee Atwater’s use of the Willie Horton image in the 1988 Presidential campaign.
6. Pat Buchanan’s proto-fascism (how jealous he must be of Trump!).
And so on, and so on.
4. Reagan’s dog-whistling of the “Welfare Queen” trope at campaign rallies.
5. Lee Atwater’s use of the Willie Horton image in the 1988 Presidential campaign.
6. Pat Buchanan’s proto-fascism (how jealous he must be of Trump!).
And so on, and so on.
11/14
Anyone doubting GOP politics has increasingly used racial identity politics can check:
1. GOP opposition to Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007;
2. Any of its platforms on affirmative action;
3. Voter suppression by GOP legislatures in minority-populated areas;
Anyone doubting GOP politics has increasingly used racial identity politics can check:
1. GOP opposition to Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007;
2. Any of its platforms on affirmative action;
3. Voter suppression by GOP legislatures in minority-populated areas;
12/14
4. Striking of 1965 Voting Rights Act by GOP-nominated SCOTUS Justices in 2013’s Shelby County v. Holder; or
5. Vote for GOP in former slave/segregation states.
Yes, one can be shocked, SHOCKED that a half century of increasingly racist GOP has brought us to Trump.
4. Striking of 1965 Voting Rights Act by GOP-nominated SCOTUS Justices in 2013’s Shelby County v. Holder; or
5. Vote for GOP in former slave/segregation states.
Yes, one can be shocked, SHOCKED that a half century of increasingly racist GOP has brought us to Trump.
13/14
44 years of accepting racism led not just to Hitler - & it’s not just Trump! At this point, the names of Himmler & Sessions & Heydrich & Nielsen & Goebbels & Miller &, yes, Mulvaney, Ryan & McConnell can all be thrown into the same barrel, marked "Machiavellian Conmen"!
44 years of accepting racism led not just to Hitler - & it’s not just Trump! At this point, the names of Himmler & Sessions & Heydrich & Nielsen & Goebbels & Miller &, yes, Mulvaney, Ryan & McConnell can all be thrown into the same barrel, marked "Machiavellian Conmen"!
14/14
While ALL history may not repeat, nor rhyme, “magical history” certainly can! We MUST recognize & analyze GOP deception & misdirection, Goldwater thru Reagan, Atwater & Buchanan, that has led to this evil, racist prestige in the manifestation of Trump & his Gestapo.
While ALL history may not repeat, nor rhyme, “magical history” certainly can! We MUST recognize & analyze GOP deception & misdirection, Goldwater thru Reagan, Atwater & Buchanan, that has led to this evil, racist prestige in the manifestation of Trump & his Gestapo.
Typo, of course: "1993" should be "1933". But I don't think I fooled anyone. 🙄
RTing this to direct it to other Republicans now abandoning GOP in era of Trump. Again, I welcome you! Just want to know: do you feel GOP's direction changed drastically, or did you shut your eyes to the trend for decades? Pls RT to other ex-Republicans.
@davidfrum @smerconish
@davidfrum @smerconish
