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Tom Nichols

@RadioFreeTom

29 May

@TheAtlantic

So, to amplify on a point in my @TheAtlantic piece today. There are a lot of objections to my argument that whether you loved or hated what conservatives were back 40 years ago, they believed in certain things and reflected that in policy. /1
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

I think this howling about the eternal evil of conservatives is dumb, and worse, it's myopic and misses the point about the danger of the GOP as it stands today. Conservatives are not extinct - nor will they ever be. But that's not what Trumpers are and that's not the point. /2

@SykesCharlie

People keep raising comments by @SykesCharlie or @stuartpstevens to say "see, it was all just lying nonsense," but having read both their books, I think people misunderstand something they (and I) are saying, and miss something important about conservatism back in the day. /3

Read 10 tweets

Tom Nichols

@RadioFreeTom

26 May

I'm tired of Tom Cotton getting away with the motte-and-bailey maneuver he pulled.
People citing his Fox interview are ignoring Bartiromo, who said "bioweapon," and then Cotton carefully said "well, no one knows."
This was a "you think might that, I couldn't comment" moment. /1

https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1229202139232292866?s=20

Then, Cotton went on Twitter to list "possibilities," including a bioweapon. He put it out there, let others run with it, then said "well, it's not *likely*" - because Cotton knows exactly how the Fox and right-wing info swamp works. /2

https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1229202139232292866?s=20

This is a recurring tactic on the right. Imply it, let the echo chamber run with it, then deny it, then say you were right all along. Because the goal, as always, is to plant the idea in the heads of stupid people who will not bother with later nuance or explanations. /3

Read 5 tweets

Tom Nichols

@RadioFreeTom

25 May

Liberals are being too quick to apologize for not accepting the "lab accident" theory. While I am not a liberal, I accepted the lab accident idea as totally possible back in April 2020. But I warned at the time that people like Tom Cotton were poisoning the well. /1

"Oh, Cotton never said 'bioweapon,' his defenders said, but as I pointed out at the time, this was a motte-and-bailey maneuver, where he played along with Bartiromo and implied that "We have similar labs run by the military." Cotton knew exactly what he was doing. /2

And I was concerned at the time that making off the wall accusations (and quitting WHO) would let China off the hook and complicate our ability to investigate this was a lab leak. But yet, liberals were too quick to just take the opposite of whatever Trump and Cotton said. /3

Read 5 tweets

Tom Nichols

@RadioFreeTom

15 May

So, I'm so exasperated by the lack of logic around here that I'm going to present you all with a thought exercise and limit the replies because I don't care what your responses are. When people say "well, I'm vaccinated, but I'm afraid of the people who aren't," consider this. /1

Imagine you live in Russia and vodka is free and alcoholism reaches social saturation levels, and everyone is drunk driving. You stay off the road at night and in your house. It's a pain in the ass and keeps you from doing things; you drive rarely to avoid death or injury. /2

And imagine that the U.S. government ships you a car with a system that has nearly perfect ability to sense and automatically avoid collisions. As long as that's your car, you're safe. Other cars no longer matter. The system will engage and you'll be fine. You can go back out. /3

Read 8 tweets

Tom Nichols

@RadioFreeTom

13 May

Man, I am so tired of Twitter's idiocy on this that I'm going to post this screenshot, delete it, and then say it again in a way that will make you all just as mad, but maybe with less *willful mischaracterization* of what I said. /1

1. The CDC says that unvaccinated people are not a threat to you if you are fully vaccinated.
2. If you are vaccinated but say "but I will wear a mask anyway because of unvaccinated people" then you are not accepting this basic fact
3. Not accepting facts is irrational.

/2

4. No one is saying you can't wear a mask, and some people - with medical issues - *should* wear a mask, not just for COVID, but for any number of reasons.

5. But if you are doing it, fully vaxxed, because "someone isn't vaxxed," you're not "believing in the science."

/3

Read 5 tweets

Tom Nichols

@RadioFreeTom

7 May

So we now have a landing page at Oxford U. Press, and this is my first of many pitches asking The Radio Free Tom Twitter Family to pre-order "Our Own Worst Enemy." (Pre-orders are an author's friend.) Short elevator pitch follows. /1
pages.oup.com/trade/13544734…

@USATODAY

I haven't monetized anything here on my feed, especially during the last campaign. You can read me at @USATODAY and @TheAtlantic and other places, but mostly I hang and inundate you with my terrible takes on everything - for free! I'm employed and can do that, so it works. /2

But as an author, I hope you'll appreciate a longer treatment of a lot of the stuff we talk about here regarding democracy and our civic environment. If you've enjoyed those discussions, I think you'll like the book. (If you liked Death of Expertise, you likely will.) /3

Read 5 tweets

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