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Jeet Heer Profile picture
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13 May, 4 tweets, 1 min read
1. David Horowitz and Ronald Radosh met in a communist youth group in 1951. They remained friends for 70 years despite the ups-and-downs of life (6 marriages between them) & politics (the Old Left, the New Left, neo-conservatism). Then came Trump.
2. I think most people wisely ignore David Horowitz for good reason (he's a tiresome buffoon who only preaches to the choir). But that's a mistake because figures who mobilize the far right can actually reshape mainstream politics. Pat Buchanan & Sam Francis for example.
3. Horowitz both self-important (did you know he edited Ramparts and befriended the Black Panthers? Don't worry, he'll remind you) but also of some historical importance (as pioneer of Trumpian cultural grievance & mentor to Stephen Miller)
4. An investigation into David Horowitz's latest feud (this time with 2 of his oldest friends) and also the big GOP donors who share Horowitz's desire to promote the Trumpian lie about 2020 election: jeetheer.substack.com/p/david-horowi…

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More from @HeerJeet

Jeet Heer Profile picture
15 May
1. In terms of democratic regression in the United States, the example that most people think of is of course the rise of Jim Crow in late 19th century as part of counter-revolution against Reconstruction era. But there was an earlier example also pertinent for now.
2. The early 19th century, peaking with Andrew Jackson's reign, used to be portrayed as an era of the democratic revolution & mass enfranchisement (the Schlesinger/Wilentz view). But that's true for white men. Other groups lost voting rights previously held.
3. In the early Republic some women had the vote (widows who headed household), as well as some freed Black men and Native men. Most (not all) saw their voting rights curtailed with the rise of white male democracy.
Read 5 tweets
Jeet Heer Profile picture
14 May
1. Speaking of authoritarianism, yesterday's NY Times report of Trumpists (led by Betsy DeVos' brother Erik Prince) organizing a spy network to entrap FBI agents and national security advisor H.R. McMaster should be seen as part of the same governing pattern as Jan. 6 riot
2. It was the usual Trumpian clownshow (i.e. Project Veritas was involved) and more Get Smart or Austen Powers than James Bond. For that reason the usual suspects (you know who they are) will say it was no big deal. But it shows how American authoritarianism would work
3. Lewis Namier described 18th-century British politics as "aristocracy tempered by rioting." In the same spirit, Trumpism is authoritarianism tempered by clowning. But future demagogues might have a different authoritarian/clownshow ratio.
Read 4 tweets
Jeet Heer Profile picture
11 May
1. Almost exactly a year ago Joe Biden said, "With Donald Trump out of the White House—not a joke—you will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends.” But in fact GOP continues to Trumpify: Trump critics are defenestrated & party rallying behind voter suppression
2. Stepping back, it's crucial to see how unusual it is that a defeated president continue to be a dominant figure in party who sets agenda & can punish foes: was that true of (in recent memory) Ford, Carter or Bush Sr.
3. Even successful presidents normally in modern times step background, only rarely commenting on public events & exercising authority in background. That's not Trump, who continues to set GOP agenda & have pols come to kiss his ring.
Read 6 tweets
Jeet Heer Profile picture
10 May
1. How do you strangle and drown your wife but still get celebrated by the press? The simple answer is that you be one of the gang and work for a British tabloid. This is the story of John Kay and the British media.
2. In 1977, John Kay, a reporter recently elevated to an editorial post at The Sun, a leading British tabloid, strangled and drowned his wife Harue. He claimed a bout of insanity. His employer took up his cause and hired an eminent lawyer to defend Kay, who got a lesser sentence
3. The Sun didn't just pay for Kay's legal defense. They assured the court there would always be a job for Kay at the paper. After a brief stint of psychiatric care, he was back at the paper as one of their star (and highest paid) reporters.
Read 5 tweets
Jeet Heer Profile picture
7 May
1. CIA has always been (to use this misappropriated terminology) "woke": the liberal wing of the national security state because top-heavy with Ivy League grads. CIA top brass was Yalie liberals when they carried out Operation Paperclip & recruited countless Nazi war criminals.
2. "The CIA is too liberal" is one of the foundational complaints of movement conservatism, which was formed by a group of ex (or "ex") CIA agents who disliked CIA's support of non-communist left (Buckley, James Burnham, Willmoore Kendall etc).
3. One core mission of CIA from start in 1947 was winning over the non-communist left (NCL in CIA jargon) in Europe and decolonized world: hence CIA support of literary journals & cultural modernism as well as AFL-CIO assisted infiltration of unions.
Read 5 tweets
Jeet Heer Profile picture
7 May
I have a hard time seeing how you can hold these two positions. I suppose you could if you made a distinction between supporting democracy/rule of law & substantive police positions. But that's a false distinction: democracy & rule of law are also policy matter.
I think this is a usefully sophisticated way of thinking about the "moderation" issue -- going hard right on some issues allows a Republican to be more moderate on others. But I'll add that a lot of Trump's supposed moderation was in level of rhetoric.
mean to put in this link on the "usefully sophisticated way of thinking about moderation issue"
Read 4 tweets

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