Thread by @msbellows

Rove: $ security makes voters Republican, but education makes even the wealthy vote Democrat.

Which... is accurate. I've long asserted "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" did as much harm as Reaganism: Wealth as religion. Wealth as ethics. 1 Tim. 6:10: biblegateway.com/passage/?searc…
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Have you ever wondered why Trump adores One America News Network? And why OANN loves Trump? And what the hell OANN even IS, anyway? That Rove quote explains it.
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https://twitter.com/williamlegate/status/1328750442977914881

OANN is owned by Robert Herring, the 79-year-old son of Louisiana sharecroppers, who dropped out of high school, opened a chain of pet shops, and ultimately made millions printing circuit boards at the start of the tech revolution.
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Which: he's literally a self-made millionaire. And good for him! But also? He's uneducated. Remember Rove's comment about wealth without education being what makes Republicans.
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How'd Herring get into political broadcasting, you ask?

By starting "Wealth TV" after he became rich -- basically, an entire network of "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous," plus boxing (cf. Trump's love of wrestling).

Tells you something about what drives Herring, doesn't it?
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Wealth TV started airing Herring's personal political diatribes (he offered Terri Schiavo's husband $1 million not to take her off life support), + eventually he peeled off OANN so he could pontificate full time.

BUT IT'S ALL STILL "WEALTH TV": ...
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OANN REMAINS "Wealth TV": a gimmick selling an aspirational feeling of superiority (cf. racism) as a drug to people who care more about financing a new ski boat that makes them appear superior than they do about paying for their kids' college...

... ie, Trumpers.
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"Wealth TV" (including OANN and Trump himself) appeals to people whose faith lies in big trucks and motorboats and a false sense of superiority, not in education or science or neighbor or community (or, in any serious terms, God).

Just like Trump + his gold toilets.
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Basically, both Trump and OANN have weaponized Rove's "[aspirational] wealth without education."

(Oh, and also? Herring has a Russian third wife. Ah, yes, Russia: where decades of godless communism succeeded in creating a culture of godless plutocracy.)

(OANN LOVES Russia.)
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I'm not going anywhere w/ this except to suggest that Rove's "$ without education" is a helpful heuristic in understanding why the economically non-anxious support fascism. Why does the GOP underfund education? Why do middle-class GOPers support tax cuts for the 1%?
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Remember Obama, in those leaked 2008 remarks about "clinging to guns and religion," expressing sincere empathy with those who are being left behind, and a desire to help them actually succeed?

Ha! What a dummy! What a loser!
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Trump (+ Rove, + Herring) get it: they grok that many folks don't want empathy, or low tuition, or SBA loans; they want to FANTASIZE about WEALTH (ie, privilege).

They'd rather buy a lottery ticket than invest in a 401(k).

They'd rather sniff a steak than eat a hamburger.
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It's foolish to try and sell MAGA/OANN viewers substance. They don't WANT substance!

They want Wealth TV.

OANN literally is Wealth TV. And Trump is Wealth TV. No wonder Trump's having a torrid affair with OANN while Fox sits alone at home wondering why he won't call.
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And their viewers/Trump voters? This is the key to Trumpism and OANN and all other Wealth TV:

Just like @JerryFalwellJr and the other "cucks" they love to demean, they don't want the actual success that Dems offer; they're happy just to watch.
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@JerryFalwellJr P S.: ^@BryanDawsonUSA for sharing the original Rove quote, and "champagne wishes and caviar dreams" to @capeannsky and @HGTomato for passing it along.