Thread by @RoseCityAntifa

We will be further unpacking aspects of conspiracy theory via thematic threads as CTs are an extremely potent weapon in the right’s arsenal. This thread will discuss the tactical development of CTs specifically to attack and demonize moderate Dems.

This thread is not meant as a debate on the merits of Dems. It is to trace how CT in right ideology has evolved & been crafted in hopes of improving our general ability to oppose this. CT in modern times was seeded specifically to tarnish a moderate president, Clinton.

This topic is significant as Biden has the stated goal of trying to walk Republicans off the fascist ledge to unite the country. But the very appeal of Biden to moderates--and this potential threat to Repub power--may increase the pitch & fury of CTs to oppose him.

We will further discuss the psycho-social mechanisms that make CTs hard to fight elsewhere, but here it is important to note that they are self-reinforcing and exponential. The more CTs someone believes the more easily they accept new ones.

Structurally & ideologically as CTs age & grow there is greater infrastructure in place & stronger loyalty among adherents, increasing the speed they are dispensed & accepted. Some have said we are post-CT in that “theory” is no longer needed just “conspiracy”.

This can be seen in how “Stop the Steal” spread via existing networks e.g. Re-open & QAnon. If we dig down in right-wing CT today we will see this terrible pearl has formed around the initial seed of Clinton hate. This was built upon with racist Birtherism, an anti-Obama CT.

This may seem odd as Clinton was the most conservative Dem pres in memory. But this is exactly why Repubs had to go with a tactic outside of simple policy argumentation. They chose outright demonization, smear campaigns, & fantastic plots.

Clinton took a sharp right turn after losing Congress. He gutted welfare, deregulated trade, and sparked mass incarceration. He called himself “a different kind of Democrat” and by that he meant he was skimming the right boundary of the party on many issues.

Republicans seeking power yet unable to distinguish themselves on policy, went with a scorched-earth Holy War. The focus was on Clinton and Democrats as a moral threat to America. While not new ideas, the Gingrich era was the template for the modern culture war.

Gingrich has profoundly shaped political discourse in ways that continue to be massively damaging. He still lends a lively hand in promotion of anti-Semitic conspiracy & racist tropes, ofc heartily endorsing the overthrow of the election/democracy. He coined "alternative facts".

As we mentioned in a previous thread on red-baiting in CTs, common themes for the right are 1. Accusing the left of doing something so they can do it. 2. Depicting leftists as literally evil.

https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa/status/1311727251990421505

Making Democrats/Leftists evil justifies all tactics to squash the threat. This was a Repub strategy & a focus of 90s Far Right activism ie: evangelicals, Militia Mvmt, & white nationalists. Right media evolved in this time period w/ the birth of the internet and Fox

If you repeat something many times, it starts to gain credence, even if repeatedly debunked. Many scandals were hurled at Clinton. As we know, it came out he had an affair. The flurry of accusation was validated by this (& his lies about it) & cemented the other CTs about him.

There is an idea that Clintons have a “body count” as in they actually are assassinating a bunch of people in secret. Elaborate mythology metastasized which essentially is revived ancient anti-Semitism fused to a Democratic Cabal.

Hillary Clinton was an even more compelling villain in the imagination of Far Right misogynists. This spawned Pizzagate, the source of many of the characters and themes to later be picked up by QAnon. Pizzagate is medieval blood libel retrofitted to pizza parlors.

Obama’s election very clearly caused an existential crisis among white nationalists & paleo-conservatives. There was a huge spike in Far Right activity, spawning the Tea Party, reviving Nativism, birthing the Alt Right & many ugly, racist CTs e.g. Birtherism.

The degree to which one is left does not necessarily correlate with the degree to which the right will attack. The motive is material power. Sometimes this means a bare-knuckle turf war for the center. This tactic is about nurturing blind obedience.

Republicans who disagreed with Trump conveniently have been installed as corrupt, devious elites in QAnon rubric along with Soros, Clintons, and Obamas. Conservative cancel culture made Repub presidents & former candidates pariahs in the Trump age.

A study found 50% of Repub rank & file believe in QAnon. QAnon is an explicitly anti-Semitic CT whose direct ideological ancestor is the Jewish conspiracy Hitler used to catalyze the rise of the Third Reich. This is a v serious problem.
independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…

Antifa must vigorously oppose CTs politically, socially, & psychologically. In the Clinton age the power to disseminate these narratives was rudimentary & new. Nevertheless the Oklahoma City Bombing resulted from anti-govt, White Supremacist ideology of the 90s militia movmnt.

How many McVeighs are there now in an age when CTs on the “deep state”, 2nd civil war, anti-BLM, globalists, Soros & QAnon has reached so many? Add to this the psychological pressure cooker of a pandemic & cynical inflammation of these ideas by Republicans to take power.

From a contested space perspective we consider issues of how recruitment happens, what populations are targeted, & why. Antifa have a sizeable task at hand & we must continue to apply ourselves in a strategic, thoughtful, long-term manner to this struggle.