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Jan 6 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
A reminder, as we are entering Day 4 of this mess: The new @USDemocracyPod is out, with a deep dive into the Republican chaos in the House - the background, the historical context, the implications for the GOP and the country going forward. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9-c…
We must now go back to the 1830s to 1850s to find precedent for the number of failed votes. As I said on the pod, this doesn’t mean the situation is *just like* right before the Civil War, as there is no such thing as “just like” in history. But things certainly aren’t great.
We recorded in-between failed vote 3 and 4 - but I believe everything we say very much holds up: How to explain it, what the fault lines are, why it’s misleading to present the #McCarthy camp as “moderates” and only the rebels as “extremists.”
There is lots of other good stuff too: We look at the case of Elise Stefanik and reflect on the lure of Trumpism, the relationship between opportunism and ideology, and the personal dynamics of a radicalization that is shifting the GOP ever further to the right.
Finally, our review of what happened last year, and our expectations for what is to come next: There is a striking sense of optimism among commentators from the left all the way to the center-right who mostly agree that 2022 was a good year for democracy. We are more skeptical.
And please don’t forget to send us your questions for the upcoming Q+A (details below):

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More from @tzimmer_history

Thomas Zimmer Profile picture
Jan 6
On the second anniversary of an unprecedented, violent assault on democratic self-government, America doesn’t have much time for commemoration or reflection, because the same anti-democratic, anti-government forces are usurping the House from within. It’s terrifying. #January6th
Let it serve as a reminder that the problem is not just Trump, not even primarily Trump: It’s the party that elevated him in the first place, the party that embraces and elevates far-right extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz.
The problem is the party that has been completely taken over by the far-right “populist” energies that conservative elites have been fueling for decades, always believing they could harness and control them in their quest to entrench traditional hierarchies, but never succeeding.
Read 17 tweets
Thomas Zimmer Profile picture
Jan 6
Please read the piece and tell me: Who is arguing “You must never criticize, must always defer to progressive activists”? I am sure there are some people on the internet who say such things. But anyone of consequence? Anyone named in the piece? This is so disingenuous.
As a reminder, I am among a group of “left-wing commentators” who Chait attacks in the piece because our “ideology” is supposedly “organized around preventing thought.” You know, typical leftwing “cancel culture,” what else.
Where is the actual evidence for such maximalist claims of quasi-totalitarian “thought-prevention” and illiberal suppression of investigation and critical inquiry? Where is the empirical basis for such devastating accusations? Because it’s certainly not in the piece.
Read 13 tweets
Thomas Zimmer Profile picture
Jan 5
Faces of Extremism.

Always remember: There is no law of nature that says democracy can’t be brought down by a bunch of clowns and grifters with enough support from people, parties, and institutions who enable them. It’s just a farce - until these goons and buffoons are in power.
I wrote this long piece back in April, about why, unfortunately, we can’t simply ignore these people – because their extremism is increasingly that of the Republican Party itself. And the Republican assault on democracy and government only keeps escalating.
There certainly is a calculating quality to such stunts – people like Gaetz and Greene clearly enjoy the attention. And if what’s on display here were just the extremist polemics of fringe figures, it would indeed be best to simply ignore them. But it’s actually much worse.
Read 13 tweets
Thomas Zimmer Profile picture
Jan 5
🚨 New episode of @USDemocracyPod just dropped a day early: Chaos in the House!
 
Also: How can we explain the radicalization of formerly “moderate” Republicans? And finally: What we expect for democracy in 2023. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9-c…
We are witnessing a historic spectacle in the House. Join us for a deep dive into the Republican inability to elect a speaker: How to explain it, what the fault lines are, why it’s misleading to present the #McCarthy camp as “moderates” and only the rebels as “extremists.”
Also: Whatever happened to “moderate” Republicans? We look at the case of Elise Stefanik and reflect on the lure of Trumpism, the relationship between opportunism and ideology, and the personal dynamics of a radicalization that is shifting the GOP ever further to the right.
Read 7 tweets
Thomas Zimmer Profile picture
Jan 4
I am criticized in this piece - alongside other “left-wing commentators” - as someone “whose ideology is organized around preventing thought.” Because, obviously, everything has to be presented as part of leftwing cancel culture. What else could possibly be going on.
You should really listen to the discussion about (reactionary) centrism we had on @USDemocracyPod – Chait quotes it briefly, but, interestingly, doesn’t name the podcast and provides no link (a direct quote without a link: hm, that seems… not ok). Here it is:
By the way, the other thought-preventing “left-wing commentators” who are mentioned in this piece are @aaronhuertas, @RottenInDenmark, and @HeerJeet. Pretty decent company, if you ask me – especially compared to the crowd Chait claims we are so unfairly trying to silence.
Read 12 tweets
Thomas Zimmer Profile picture
Jan 2
This “Democracy didn’t end on Nov. 8 - which proves there never was any threat to democracy to begin with” stuff is so asinine and dangerous. Hamid is one of the most consistently misleading/misled pundits in America. This is actively undermining the democratic defense. 1/
Remember John Roberts’ logic for gutting the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, which Ruth Bader Ginsburg compared to “throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet”? This is very much like that. 2/
Many people in blue and purple states were convinced that American democracy was acutely threatened, made its defense their overriding concern in the 2022 midterms – and it was *just* enough to fight off the assault on the political system and democratic self-government. 3/
Read 37 tweets

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