Share this page!

Don Moynihan Profile picture
Twitter logo
20 Mar, 12 tweets, 4 min read
Striking when US liberals look abroad for models they look at redistributive systems (hence the sort of odd obsession with Denmark) whereas conservatives seem increasingly enamored with the feats of non-democratic leaders (Putin, most obviously)
Like, what the hell is this? I understand some people like the glitter of the UK royals, or admire the Queen, but they are organizing to defend the system of government that the US overthrew
Trump brought praising authoritarians to ridiculous levels. But there are other examples: the fetishization of Pinochet by Proud Boys & Three Percenters, celebration of Orban by the intellectual wing theintercept.com/2021/02/04/pin…
vox.com/2020/5/21/2125…
Liberals & conservatives have different personality traits. Liberals score higher on openness and agreeableness. Conservatives score higher on conscientiousness. Maybe there is also some underlying difference in preference for authority and control over dissent.
One common theme in these examples of praising is the authoritarian stands at odds with causes or figures the US conservative media: e.g. praising China or Russia as unwilling to put up with cancel culture, Orban defending white, Christian culture from modernism & immigrants and
The UK royals is the oddest example. Sure, they stand for colonial power but their new defenders on the right are responding to a familial spat with a POC family member, bizarrely remade to fit a conservative US political narrative centered on cancel culture.
Someone who has studied this stuff should chime in, but my perspective is that this makes us vulnerable in a couple of ways. For one thing, there are lots of easy marks who are gullible to Russian ploys and claims. (Think Rudy).
For another, the celebration of authoritarians on the right comes at the same time that we see an embrace of a suite of anti-democratic actions, most clearly in the form of voter suppression as a core GOP tactic
The US conservative admiration of authoritarian may therefore represent a sort of mirror for the types of value it itself wishes to embody. Based on an analysis of campaign manifestos, the Republican Party is a far right party. nytimes.com/interactive/20…
Being far-right does not necessarily mean being authoritarian, but on measures of commitment to democracy, the Republican Party is looking more like those foreign figures that its media celebrates (via @_cingraham) washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…
Inspiration for this thread was seeing US conservative TV not take a sidewards glance at new evidence that Russia had, again, interfered in US elections, with the help of their community. Instead they just keep celebrating Russian leadership.
Last word to Sideshow Bob

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Don Moynihan

Don Moynihan Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @donmoyn

Don Moynihan Profile picture
21 Mar
"A deputy county prosecutor who criticized the law, saying it essentially criminalizes poverty, was fired for his remarks."
This Arkansas law does not just criminalize poverty, it targets the most vulnerable groups: "62% of cases in 2012 were filed against Black women (who make up about 20% of the city’s population)."
arknews.org/index.php/2021…
15 of 35 Arkansas Senators are landlords. Not only does the legislature criminalize non-payment of rent, it has blocked any laws that require homes to be habitable. Image
Read 4 tweets
Don Moynihan Profile picture
21 Mar
Florida became the pandemic poster child for unemployment systems that were not providing benefits because they were designed to fail. DeSantis promised to fix it. But instead he has pushed anti-fraud measures that are blocking eligible claimants from receiving benefits. (Thread) ImageImage
DeSantis gained some credibility when he said that the UI system designed by Rick Scott had "pointless roadblocks" that he promised to fix. But he did not follow through with any investigation. 2/ palmbeachpost.com/story/news/pol…
Governor DeSantis doubled down on stopping fraud rather than helping people as the primary goal of the unemployment system.
See this report from @lmower3
sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl… ImageImage
Read 7 tweets
Don Moynihan Profile picture
19 Mar
The US keeps asking its tax agency to oversee stuff it is not designed, funded or wants to do, like welfare (EITC) or health (ACA). We do this b/c of an unhealthy desire to hide the welfare state in tax expenditures instead of building the admin infrastructure necessary..
One cool thing about the history of Social Security is that when it was set up it had very few employees and no offices and had to enroll 26M people in a very short space of time. So they used the Post Office to do so - trusted brand, physical locations everywhere.
There may be technical issues I don't understand here in terms of the advantages of IRS data, but if Biden wants a child tax credit to become a permanent children's allowance, he should be transitioning it to SSA, which has the closest equivalent task and skills.
Read 4 tweets
Don Moynihan Profile picture
16 Mar
Old WI reputation: pragmatic, progressive, good government.
New WI reputation: pass up free federal money because of incompetence/desire to hurt poor people. I
This is not even the first time during COVID the state government has taken a pass on millions of federal support for no discernible reason.
Wisconsin has had a terrible track record in getting COVID unemployment payments out. Republicans have blamed the Dem Governor but those delays arose in no small part because of burdens that were baked into the system by the GOP. (thread)
Read 5 tweets
Don Moynihan Profile picture
16 Mar
How the WI GOP refused to honor Black History Month but chose to honor Rush Limbaugh instead
This tweet is getting a lot of RTs, so follow the great @MollyBeck y'all.
Of course, Rush Limbaugh has a deep history with Wisconsin. When he had no other job offers he declined to take job in the state, even though it meant moving back in with his parents. This is the guy WI legislators chose to honor instead of Black History month.
Read 4 tweets
Don Moynihan Profile picture
16 Mar
The ways the Biden child tax credit provides benefits with minimal administrative burdens: automatic enrollment for 9 out of 10, no middleman, no audits
(via @TheProspect h/t @ShawnFremstad)
prospect.org/economy/bidens…
One concern about the child tax credit is that a) people will not know about it, and b) even if they get it, they might not identify it as a distinct program they support (thread).
Kuttner argues that civil society will step in to help people sign up for the child tax credit, boosting already high take up. prospect.org/economy/bidens…
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @donmoyn has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @donmoyn!

Read all threads by @donmoyn