Matthew Sheffield Profile picture
Jun 28, 2021 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
1/x If you really want to see how things are in GOP politics, don't listen to talking head shows, just read the articles at Townhall written by party loyalists who want sore loser Trump to go away & then scroll down to the comments.

Let's take a look: townhall.com/tipsheet/rebec…
The article in question, by @RebeccaRoseGold, is a fairly neutral writeup for the crybaby speech the exprez delivered. It was massively triggering to the supposedly "tough" and "manly" Townhall audience.

The #1 voted comment whines that she invaded his safe space Image
"Douglas" gets some pushback but doubles down by implying that anything Trump claims is a "hoax" or a "crime" should be assumed to be so. No quotation marks allowed according to little Douglas.

Right-wing media audiences expect total devotion to the great leader Image
Others chime in as well, angry that Downs dared to quote Sen. Roy Blunt as saying it's time to move on and stop whining and crying about losing in 2020.

Of course, she's correct in this regard. Trump's sore loser response divides Republicans and alienates independents. Image
Later on in the discussion, after scores of offended, pearl-clutching remarks about neutral political coverage, one commenter claims that "real Americans" aren't afraid to state the truth. No one sees the hypocrisy Image
Further on, a Trump opponent who somehow hasn't been banned for political incorrectness gets a dig in at the failed exprez and is promptly told he's "blocked" by a baby who can't handle it Image
I won't quote all of them but the thread is filled with vituperations against someone just trying to do her job. Trumpism has become a cult whose followers demand total absolute obedience. Neutral journalism is not permitted, despite all the fake cries of "liberal media bias" ImageImageImageImage
Townhall and every other conservative site is read by people who hate it. Far-right Republicans hate their own party and have for decades. Here's a comment thread degrading Downs and also Townhall writer Guy Benson for being gay.

The abuse goes on for hundreds more comments Image
This is how the comments on all major right-wing website are.

The GOP will never be rid of Trump until it casts out the vicious reactionaries who call themselves "conservatives."

He & they will gladly take down the GOP along w/them if they cannot destroy America /end

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More from @mattsheffield

Mar 29
🧵 Christian fascists have had a prominent place among Republicans since the rise of Barry Goldwater, but Donald Trump made them the senior partner in the party.

But instead of telling this truth, MSM execs elevated fictitious Republicans like Ronna McDaniel. This must stop.
This thread is a summary of my latest @DiscoverFlux essay. You can continue here or click through for the prose version. plus.flux.community/p/ronna-mcdani…
With the exception of ex-CNN president Jeff Zucker, America's largest news organizations didn't hire the congenital liars like Kellyanne Conway as commentators.

Instead, they hired fictitious Republicans, soulless shills like Hugh Hewitt w no constituency and nothing to say.
Read 8 tweets
Mar 11
🧵 Everyone's still talking about how weird Katie Britt sounded last week. It's even more interesting once you realize that she doesn't normally talk in that breathy and melodramatic voice.

That she chose to speak that way is an interesting story...
This thread is a summary of my latest @TheoryChange episode. I left the link out in the previous post since the doofus authoritarian who owns this site downranks posts with links to external sites.

You can continue here or click through: plus.flux.community/p/katie-britt-…
From the outside, the American right seems very unified, but as a former right-wing political activist, I can tell you that it really isn't.

Among other things, there is a huge divide between the highly educated operatives who run things in DC and the rabid fundamentalist voters
Read 15 tweets
Mar 5
🧵 Talking to Trump super fans about politics is often a surreal experience. And that's because they literally do not understand what you are talking about.

Why is that? Because Trump devotees actually believe that truth derives from authority rather than reality...
This thread is a summary of my latest @DiscoverFlux piece, which you can find here. I am not including the link because a certain authoritarian billionaire deliberately downranks links in posts.

You can continue here or click through: plus.flux.community/p/trump-suppor…
People generally use the word "authoritarian" as a synonym for jerk, but it has actual philosophical and historical meaning.

Authoritarian thinking is as old as humanity itself and was manifested in ancient societies in which politics and religion were unified.
Read 21 tweets
Feb 5
🧵 Disinformation is everywhere, especially because of right-wing politicians.

But all of the tactics at use in the internet age have a history, one that begins with Big Tobacco and continues straight through to climate change.

Can learning the history provide hope?
This thread is a summary of the latest @TheoryChange episode, a discussion with Salon climate change writer @MatthewRozsa.

You can get the full episode on YouTube:

Apple Podcasts:

Spotify:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tod…
open.spotify.com/episode/06pqah…
Our story begins during the JFK administration when the new surgeon general worked w/Congress to force tobacco companies to disclose that their products caused cancer and birth defects.

Needless to say, Big Tobacco didn't like this, so they started to manufacture doubt.
Read 16 tweets
Jan 23
🧵 I know everyone is thinking about New Hampshire right now, but can I get your attention on something that's going to be key in the 2024 general election?

Republicans have given up on winning over Gen Z and Gen Alpha and so instead they've decided to gaslight them to hell...
Younger people historically don't vote in high numbers, but due to the terrible political environment created by Boomers and Silents, Generation Z and Alpha are starting to vote in self-defense.

Right wing activists have responded by flooding the web with "post left" nihilism.
"Post left," as in wanting a leftish politics that is somehow not involved in any way with the Democratic Party.

The right wing is desperate to splinter the voting power of Gen Z and misdirect it toward hopeless third-party candidates or to just give up and stay home.
Read 10 tweets
Jan 5
🧵 A lot of people have been mystified by the sudden and incredible attacks Claudine Gay faced which led to her downfall.

As a former right-wing media entrepreneur who was part of the anti-Dan Rather blogger corps, there are a few things I think you should know...
Just for reference, the clip in the previous post is from the latest @STJH_pod episode. You can get the full version of it here:

(I have to structure the thread this way given a certain anti-free speech billionaire's unwritten rules.)plus.flux.community/p/the-attacks-…
The firestorm of criticism Claudine Gay faced from reactionaries like Elise Stefanik or Christopher Rufo has nothing to do with antisemitism or plagiarism.

We know this because Stefanik herself is a plagiarist. Hypocrisy is mandatory on the right now. huffpost.com/entry/elise-st…
Read 18 tweets

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