Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

In May, Hungary’s authoritarian far-right nationalist leader, Viktor Orbán, hosted America’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), designed to strengthen links between the radical right in the US & Europe under the banner of the “great replacement” conspiracy.

CPAC is an annual conference attended by conservative activists & elected officials from across the USA & beyond. CPAC is hosted by the oldest ongoing conservative lobbying organization in the US, the controversial American Conservative Union (ACU), founded in 1964.

CPAC itself was founded in 1974 by the American Conservative Union & Young Americans for Freedom - a conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives & libertarians on US college campuses.

YAF advocate public policies consistent with the 'Sharon Statement', a combination of traditional conservatism, libertarianism & anti-communism, & begins with the statement “foremost among the transcendent values is the individual’s use of his God-given free will."

Its 5 core principles:

Individual freedom & the right of governing originate with God
Political freedom is impossible without economic freedom
Limited govt & strict interpretation of the Constitution
The free market system is preferable to all others
Communism must be defeated,

Imho, the increasing influence of these groups, brought together every year at CPAC, represents an existential threat to women, minorities, & democracy itself, & has for five decades facilitated the transfer of wealth & power away from workers & the poor, toward the VERY rich.

Imho, these groups, funded primarily by a handful of US libertarian billionaires, & supported by a global network of similarly-funded free-market think tanks & institutions, are among the primary drivers of an ideology resulting in the surge of antidemocratic authoritarianism.

Speakers at CPAC Hungary included Viktor Orbán, Trump, Tucker Carlson, Santiago Abascal, Bolsonaro, Candace Owens & her partner George Farmer, Deputy CEO of the South African AfriForum Ernst Roets, Mark Meadows, & far-right conspiracy theorists Jack Posobiec & Zsolt Bayer.

Orbán's authoritarian & antidemocratic Hungary suffers endemic corruption, repression of sexual minorities, de facto state control of media, constitutional manipulation & an electoral system designed to give supermajorities to the ruling party whether the votes are there or not.

Hungary is a showcase for how a reactionary movement in an ostensibly free society seizes control of the state to reshape society in its own image. And the goal, for both Orbán & his right-wing admirers, is the suppression of ALL progressive ideas - what the Right calls wokeness.

The US & UK political & media Right have increasingly adopted Orbán's strategy: its focus on fuelling the culture war creates division, amplifies far-right conspiracy theories, & facilitates the growth of far-right terrorism. It also obscures & conceals profound economic shifts.

In the UK, the political & media establishment have long sucked up to Orbán - Boris Johnson could not wait to meet his "friend" shortly after becoming PM, & Andrew Neil's Spectator, & especially hard-right Old Etonian Douglass Murray, are closely linked:

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1387338254282895361

Here's a short #THREAD spelling out the common ground between the likes of Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro, Narendra Modi, Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, & many other hard/far-right politicians across the world.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1525048674090373120?s=20&t=7AnDCqma0vuyDHOBkZR0Sg

In 2020, in a story disgracefully under-reported & quickly forgotten by UK press & broadcast news media, Boris Johnson was condemned for an “appalling” Tory alliance with neo-Nazi & anti-Muslim parties across Europe, when a Conservative peer revealed how he has refused to act.

The pact sees UK @Conservatives sitting alongside the “heirs of Mussolini” in Italy & an Estonian party that celebrates its wartime collaboration with Hitler, & many other far-right groups in the 'European Conservatives Group' of the Council of Europe.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

Known as the European Democrats Group until its rebranding in 2014 as the European Conservatives Group & Democratic Alliance, the group now has 76 members from 27 European countries. For many years, Putin's United Russia party were members of the European Democrats Group.

We've been all too aware of the strong links between Putin's Russia & the UK Tories for at least a decade, since Putin instructed his UK diplomats to deepen their "co-operation" with the @Conservatives in an apparent attempt to mute criticism of Russia.

theguardian.com/politics/2012/…

Ex Tory Cabinet member Stephen Dorrell: “That the PM (Boris Johnson) should think this is acceptable is a sad reflection of modern Tory politics. To be making common cause with people whose values earlier generations of @Conservatives took up arms against to resist.”

Back to this year's CPAC in Hungary.

Orbán's opening address: “We need to take back the institutions in Washington & Brussels. We need to find friends, & we need to find allies. We need to coordinate the movement of our troops, because we have a big challenge ahead of us.”

Attendees heard from Trump, Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, & Fox News's divisive Tucker Carlson, whom Orbán singled out for praise: “His program is the most watched. What does it mean? It means programs like his should be broadcast day & night. Or as you say, 24/7.”

As Jamelle Bouis wrote in the NYT, what’s striking about the affection for Orban’s regime is how conservative populists, for all the talk of national pride, share a deep disdain for many of their nations' people, AND for the democratic political tradition.
nytimes.com/2022/05/24/opi…

This disdain is evident in how the Right talk about their political opponents. They place entire groups of citizens outside of the political community. Carlson recently said on his show that pro-choice Democrats are “totalitarians” who hope to destroy religious belief in the US.

As president, Trump routinely held out his opposition as a threat to the very integrity of the USA: “Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children,” he said in a speech on July 4, 2020.

Similar was the assertion from a writer at the Koch-funded Claremont Institute, an influential pro-Trump think tank in Southern California, that “most people living in the United States today — certainly more than half — are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term.”

The Claremont institute caused controversy by granting a fellowship in 2019 to the Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, a speaker at CPAC Hungary, where many embrace the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which treats pluralism & diversity as an existential threat.

Before getting on to Posobiec & some of the UK speakers at CPAC Hungary, more about Trump & Orban - who could not speak highly enough of each other - which will make clearer a central feature of their strategy for reaching broader goals: media control.

rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

Members of Orbán's ruling Fidesz party control almost all media in the country, making it difficult for opposition candidates to reach potential voters.

Imho, this is behind the UK Government's crude attempts to threaten, intimidate &/or privatise both @Channel4News & the @BBC.

“You can only present the stupidity of the leftist progressives if you have your media who can assist you I know the old ethos of the Western democracy that partisan politics & media should be separate from one another. But my friends, Democrats are not playing by these rules.”

A campaign-style video played at CPAC Hungary to compliment Orbán's earlier remarks: dramatic music & flag-waving, patriotic imagery underscored key lines from old Orban speeches.

“This corner of Europe will regain the colours it had before communism,” Orbán said in the video.

Before communism, Hungary was ruled for 24 years by a nationalist Govt which allied with the Nazis & was responsible for the deaths of nearly 500,000 Jews.

Orban has previously referred to the main leader of the Hungarian state during this period, as an “exceptional leader.”

Orbán made explicit reference to the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory, which claims a liberal plot to dilute the white populations of the US & European countries through immigration.

This #THREAD addresses it & the related 'White Genocide' theory:

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1525797268221206529?s=20&t=8ugNxjQBWcUHOkMkJmZbfw

Orbán has argued that the western world was “committing suicide” through immigration.

“I see the great European population exchange as a suicidal attempt to replace the lack of European, Christian children with adults from other civilizations – migrants.”

After the Buffalo mass shooting, Joe Biden said “I call on all Americans to reject the lie. I condemn those who spread the lie for power, political gain & for profit. We’ve now seen too many times the deadly & destructive violence this ideology unleashes.” theguardian.com/world/2022/may…

Turning Point USA’s Jack Posobiec, the far-right US blogger who has used antisemitic symbols and promoted the fabricated ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theory which smeared prominent Democrats as child abusers, closed the conference.

splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020…

Perhaps the most controversial speaker was notorious Hungarian racist Zsolt Bayer, who has called Jews “stinking excrement”, referred to Roma as “animals” & used racial epithets to describe Black people.

theguardian.com/world/2022/may…

More disturbingly for us in Britain, were the presence of English speakers, which included Candace Owens' husband, Parler CEO, Conservative & Reform UK party donor & Turning Point UK founder George Farmer, Nigel Farage, & the lesser known James Wharton.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1473688943879196672?s=20&t=8ugNxjQBWcUHOkMkJmZbfw

This @BylineTimes article by Sian Norris describes speakers as "a who’s who of the modern far-right in politics & in media", including Matthew Tyrmand of far-right group Project Veritas, known for its entrapment techniques of progressive organisations.

bylinetimes.com/2022/05/27/wha…

I want to finish with the lesser known Orbán fan, James Wharton, the current Chair of England’s university regulator, Office for Students, who claims he simply 'didn't know' CPAC Hungary would be crawling with far-right nationalist racists & antisemites.

theguardian.com/education/2022…

Office for Students Chair James Wharton was a Tory MP from 2010-17, when he lost his seat.

In 2019 he took a new role: Boris Johnson's leadership bid Campaign Manager.

In 2020 a peerage made him Baron Wharton of Yarm & he became the youngest male member of the House of Lords.

Why is James Wharton's attendance so concerning? Because, at just 36 years old, he was made Chair of the extremely important Office for Students - England's University regulator - without having any of the statutory qualifications for the post.

yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/…

Remember, the Govt's first choice for the role of Chair of Office for Students was Toby Young. Shadow education secretary Kate Green has called for an investigation into what is "another example of cronyism, which undermines trust in public life at a time when it is needed most."

The culture war is a manifestation of AND cover for a frightening strain of #neofascism contaminating America, Australia, India, Brazil, & much of Europe - including the UK. It's purpose is to ensure wealth & power stays concentrated in the hands of a miniscule Libertarian elite.

Anyone unconcerned by these developments really isn't paying attention. Democracy is fragile, & hard-won progressive gains, won over centuries of fighting against feudalism, colonialism, & elite cruelty & greed, are all too easily lost.🙏

#DangerousTimes

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1530473318909984769?s=20&t=GJO6mtfrCmUjH9C-SnBMdw