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🧵 American politics is severely distorted by an extremist form of reactionary Christianity which originated in the former Confederacy.
And yet this fact is almost never mentioned by mainstream media journalists, even when they are covering the events these people host. 🧵
And yet this fact is almost never mentioned by mainstream media journalists, even when they are covering the events these people host. 🧵
This failure to tell the full truth originates in the "both sides" fallacy of MSM reporting, but how it manifests here is especially dangerous to democracy and for people who get sucked into this reactionary culture.
I'm going to use this article as an example, but I am not trying to single out the author because, alas, it's extremely common.
It's a well-written report from the recent Turning Point USA Young Women’s Leadership Summit washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023…
It's a well-written report from the recent Turning Point USA Young Women’s Leadership Summit washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023…
The first thing to understand about Turning Point USA is that it's basically an evangelical cult run w an iron fist by grifter Charlie Kirk.
@MatthewBoedy is the person to follow if you want to get very in-depth. Here's a @TheoryChange overview flux.community/matthew-sheffi…
@MatthewBoedy is the person to follow if you want to get very in-depth. Here's a @TheoryChange overview flux.community/matthew-sheffi…
The evidence that Kirk is a radical reactionary who hates the majority of Americans, believes that LGBT people are Satan's servants, and is obsessed with the rapture is overwhelming.
And yet these facts are never mentioned in reports about TPUSA's activities.
And yet these facts are never mentioned in reports about TPUSA's activities.
You cannot get a speaking slot at a TPUSA event if you don't submit to or advance Kirk's reactionary religious agenda.
MSM reporters know this is true. But they are loath to mention this because it's impolite. Instead, the use the circumlocution "culture war."
MSM reporters know this is true. But they are loath to mention this because it's impolite. Instead, the use the circumlocution "culture war."
You hear the term "culture war" incessantly in MSM reporting. But there is no culture war. Instead, what we have is a small core of ever-radicalizing Republicans who hate the overwhelming majority of people who support religious pluralism, racial justice, and LGBTQ rights.
Reporters who want to tell the truth about TPUSA events need to disclose these facts. The Young Women’s Leadership Summit was nothing but rage against modernity by totalitarian Christians.
But in the WaPo piece I linked, this is only hinted at obliquely.
But in the WaPo piece I linked, this is only hinted at obliquely.
The word "Christian" is mentioned only 3 times in this very long article. That's burying the lede.
It's the equivalent of writing about the Muslim Brotherhood and barely mentioning islam.
It's the equivalent of writing about the Muslim Brotherhood and barely mentioning islam.
TPUSA is literally telling young women to drop out of college, get married asap, abandon birth control, and start churning out babies.
That was the underlying goal of the entire conference. But if you read the article above, it only hints that this happened.
That was the underlying goal of the entire conference. But if you read the article above, it only hints that this happened.
Confederate Christians have finally realized that they cannot convince most people. They cannot recruit so they must reproduce.
The radical right is openly trying to out-breed everyone else. TPUSA is a breeding program. This event was about turning attendees into baby factories.
The radical right is openly trying to out-breed everyone else. TPUSA is a breeding program. This event was about turning attendees into baby factories.
Understanding that the Republican Party has been overrun with Confederate Christians is the real "red pill" in American politics.
@kalihollowayftw did a fantastic job detailing why it is Confederate Christianity here: thedailybeast.com/this-juneteent…
@kalihollowayftw did a fantastic job detailing why it is Confederate Christianity here: thedailybeast.com/this-juneteent…
For professional journalists who were brought up in what @jayrosen_nyu calls the "view from nowhere," accepting that the 2nd largest political party is owned by Christian fanatics goes against everything they were taught.
They're desperate to deny this.
They're desperate to deny this.
But the Republican Party cannot be saved. It must be destroyed electorally. FDR's biggest achievement was militarily crushing the Axis. A close second was how he crushed American reactionaries.
The GOP cannot be saved. Individual Republicans can be salon.com/2023/06/07/ame…
The GOP cannot be saved. Individual Republicans can be salon.com/2023/06/07/ame…
Reactionary ideologies do not believe in facts because they have an inverted epistemology. They think truth comes from "first principles" rather than observing reality.
A party operating with that assumption cannot be reasoned with. flux.community/matthew-sheffi…
A party operating with that assumption cannot be reasoned with. flux.community/matthew-sheffi…
This broken epistemology is also shared by secular libertarians, incidentally.
See this @TheoryChange episode I recorded with @willwilkinson for further details theoryofchange.flux.community/p/theory-of-ch…
See this @TheoryChange episode I recorded with @willwilkinson for further details theoryofchange.flux.community/p/theory-of-ch…
I've got to move on now but will add an essay version of this thread later today. Thanks for sharing!
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