Thread by @emeriticus

One of the reasons there are so few right-wing muckrakers is that most Republicans, whether for or against Trump, are cowards. Something I run into often is hearing about how so-and-so has receipts that show this or that Republican or conservative figure is betraying the cause 1/

But so-and-so doesn't wanna go on the record or even comment anonymously because it might come back to them. The potential consequences are never like, "I'm afraid the CIA might kill me." It's more like, "I don't want to be disinvited from galas at Mar-a-Lago or DC" 2/

So what ought to be a bomb that rightly blows the lid off a scandal becomes an impotent complaint, a frustrated muttering under one's breath that ends in a pathetic rationalization for not pulling the trigger and doing the right thing because the right thing is scary 3/

On the other hand, the people who have consistently told me what they know about corruption and malfeasance, regardless of the potential consequences, are, as I said, normal Americans who actually have a lot more to lose 4/

These people don't care about being disinvited from cocktail parties because they don't go to cocktail parties. They don’t care about upsetting Republican and conservative patronage networks in Mar-a-Lago or DC or Texas because they aren't beholden to them or benefit from them 5/

Normal Americans don't care about esoteric defenses of bad actors because they have a real stake in society. They can't float between administrations and think tanks, from Heritage to the America First Policy Institute or AEI. All they've got is what they have in front of them 6/

Helping normal Americans is the *only* meaningful thing someone can do from a position behind the lines, from the office, or with a microphone. If you can help but knowingly don't, you're a coward or a parasite or both 7/

Normal Americans are people showing up to school board meetings and getting arrested by thugs doing the dirty work of corrupt boards because they told the truth, it's Kyle Rittenhouse and Jake Gardner, and people losing their jobs because of mandates and bad immigration policy 8/

If everyone in a position of influence had just some of the courage of these people, we'd all be better off. And again, if you aren't helping how you can, from where you can, when you can, then what are you good for? 9/

I've spoken to cops and people in the military for whom speaking out could mean real consequences and they still do it knowing the risk because it's the right thing to do, whereas political types worry: "what about my appointment in the next GOP administration?!" 10/

Nothing that you do matters if you aren't engaged with the kind of courage normal Americans have to do the right thing when confronted with professional or social risk 11/