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Thomas Zimmer

@tzimmer_history

Jun 20

Why the Right Has a Problem with Juneteenth

Reactionaries who oppose #Juneteenth insist they have a right to define the nation’s story and identity. They are the political, ideological, and spiritual descendants of the Confederacy - and they dominate today’s Republican Party.

Many Republicans who voted for the Juneteenth bill in 2021 are all in on demonizing anything that questions a white nationalist understanding of America’s past or present, and few people who identify as conservative are in favor of teaching Juneteenth in schools. 2/

Rightwingers assume that “the Left” elevated Juneteenth to the status of a national holiday purely to humiliate America, divide the country by race, and as GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale put it, convince people “that our country is evil” in order to destroy America from within. 3/

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Thomas Zimmer

@tzimmer_history

Jun 20

Charlie Kirk is one of the silliest people on the Right - it’s a devastating indictment of the conservative movement that he’s one of its leading activists. His raging against #Juneteenth, however, is interestingly revealing - as it channels the reactionary worldview perfectly.

I wrote about this in my newsletter today:

Reactionaries who oppose Juneteenth are the political, ideological, and spiritual descendants of those who were defeated in 1865. They dominate today’s Republican Party.

Why the Right Has a Problem with #Juneteenth:

There is a direct line from those who fought for their right to enslave others in the name of “freedom” to today’s reactionaries who insist they have a right to define the national story and American identity in a way that upholds discriminatory traditional hierarchies.

Read 5 tweets

Thomas Zimmer

@tzimmer_history

Jun 18

ICYMI - Sunday reading:

How Republicans Give Themselves Permission to Embrace Trump and His Many Crimes

Rightwing politics is driven by a logic of escalation, and the loyalty to Trump is additionally fueled by a sense of having burned all bridges – a radicalizing mix:

I wrote about the permission structure that governs conservative politics: Anything is justified in defense against what the Right constantly plays up as a radically “Un-American,” extremist “Left” that has supposedly taken over the Democratic Party.

This permission structure has proven remarkably adaptable, fully capable of handling the most outlandish transgressions. And it has allowed conservatives to present their allegiance to Trump as a patriotic act in defense of “real America.”

Read 6 tweets

Thomas Zimmer

@tzimmer_history

Jun 16

How Republicans Give Themselves Permission to Embrace Trump and His Many Crimes

Rightwing politics is driven by a logic of escalation, the loyalty to Trump additionally fueled by a sense of having burned all bridges – a toxic combination that only allows for radicalization:

Devastating indictments be damned, Republicans are mostly closing ranks behind Trump. It’s worth reflecting on what that tells us – about the permission structure that governs conservative politics in general, and about the effects of the cult of personal loyalty around Trump. 2/

We have been here before. There have been many such “Why are they not taking the exit ramp?” moments since Trump came down the golden escalator – none more striking than the assault on constitutional government on January 6. 3/

Read 24 tweets

Thomas Zimmer

@tzimmer_history

Jun 16

And Trump? They have gone so far already with and for Trump, and in the process become complicit in his rise, his rule, his lawlessness, his breathtaking corruption. All the bridges have been burned…

Read 4 tweets

Thomas Zimmer

@tzimmer_history

Jun 13

Republicans are mostly closing ranks behind Trump. Are they choosing “partisanship over country”? This framing actually underestimates how deep the rift is that defines the political conflict: Rightwingers have decided that they *are* the country, everyone else is an enemy. 1/

A lot of people on the Right consider themselves the sole proponents of “real” (read: conservative white Christian patriarchal) America, and they are convinced to be waging a noble war against insidious forces that are threatening the country. 2/

Conversely, they have been painting the Democratic Party as not just a political opponent, but an “Un-American” enemy – a fundamentally illegitimate political faction captured by the radical forces of leftism, liberalism, wokeism, and multiculturalism. 3/

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