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24 Jan, 4 tweets, 1 min read
Politico interviewed a bunch of people who knew Josh Hawley in college and they all basically say the same thing: I knew that guy, he was smart & conscientious, I respected him, and I truly, truly can't believe what an asshole he's become. .politico.com/news/magazine/…
It really could not be more clear that Hawley is a smart, self-aware guy who has consciously decided the best way to become president is to become the champion of America's white nationalist movement. Even with Cruz I think there's some self-bullshitting, but Hawley 100% knows.
And, because I am me, a dismal prediction: all the shit Hawley is currently taking -- being cut off by donors & corporations, his colleagues scolding him, that picture of him saluting insurrectionists circulating everywhere -- is going to help him in the long run.
A final note: the Politico story highlights how *unlike* Trump Hawley is. He's extremely smart & diligent, grew up within & around elites, can speak their language. The question is whether he can do through insider calculation what outsider Trump did through moronic belligerence.

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More from @drvolts

David Roberts Profile picture
24 Jan
This episode of @yourewrongabout is typically good, but what most fascinated/horrified me, what I can't stop thinking about, is the description of the Citadel itself. It's a "military college" in South Carolina -- with no actual ties to the military. podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6L…
Meaning, in other words, it's a military *cosplay* college. Does it teach military skills & discipline? No. It appears to exist purely to replicate the Southern "honor culture" -- an authoritarian culture based on dominance & toxic masculinity.
This was especially true back in the 70s/80s, before some mild reforms were forced on it. There was a scandal a while back when it was revealed that freshmen were beaten & humiliated, often sexually, as part of "hazing."
Read 11 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
24 Jan
My kid is forcing us to watch football, which means watching live TV, which means watching ads. I almost never see ads any more, so I haven't been desensitized, and holy crap are they just awful.
I think the reason I hate TV ads so much is that the industry has the biggest, most sophisticated audience-research apparatus in the world. Every character & trope in every ad = what worked in audience testing & focus groups. It all reflects what appeals to Americans, which ...
... is not great, given the ads. The example that keeps jumping out at me: America apparently really loves non-threatening black women dressed like bougie suburbanites, with "fun" bouncy hair (but never an afro or anything too, y'know, black).
Read 8 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
24 Jan
Happy "the media hasn't learned a goddamn thing" day!
Look at this bullshit. Look how instinctively media outlets center the perspective of the Trumpians.
Look at this bullshit. ABC brought this loathsome turd on to repeat his lies. Then, because the host makes futile after-the-fact efforts to push back, he ALSO gets to pretend he's the victim of "liberal bias." All 100% foreseeable.
Read 4 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
23 Jan
British Columbia's health minister, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has a slogan--be kind, be calm, be safe--that is plastered all over t-shirts, mugs, & embroideries across the province. She's performed better than just about any other health official in the world. nytimes.com/2020/06/05/wor…
I'm trying to imagine a US conservative, in any agency, at any level of government, in any context, saying "be kind, be calm, be safe."
All right, all I wanted to do what comment on how nice "be kind, be calm, be safe" is as a slogan & now I've stepped in all sorts of debates about Henry & BC & Covid. I haven't looked into any of it! I take it all back! Except the slogan -- I like the slogan.
Read 4 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
21 Jan
This question makes me want to vomit. Or faint. Or commit violence. The WH press corps is such a f'ing embarrassment.
The Republican Party launched a violent armed assault on the nation's capitol that resulted in multiple deaths ... LAST WEEK. And already these pathetic simps are treating GOP calls for unity like they're real, or meaningful. It is beyond parody.
The answer from the administration to this & all related questions should be: "we will reach out the hand of cooperation once Republicans leaders have publicly acknowledged that Biden won the election fair & square."
Read 7 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
21 Jan
My wife is forcing us to watch this inauguration stuff & has forbid us to make snarky comments & it is KILLING us.
So I've come to Twitter to make my coments. WTF is Demi Lovato singing in? And why is it so weird and awkward?
If I had to Zoom sing to Joe Biden I would probably die.
Read 5 tweets

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