“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (Views expressed are my own.) former @mmfa analyst
Jun 14, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
I was doubtful and cynical about this before, but Trump's third run may irreversibly split the GOP.
Our modern politics was altered by the "Reagan Revolution" and the larger rise of the New Right. The coalition that welcomed deregulation, unwarranted tax breaks for the rich, and oversimplified social conservatism was built out of old New Dealers voting Republican.
Jun 13, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Trumpism hollowed out intellectuals within the Republican party that were conservatives but had convictions about the way bigotry (and, for some, populism) were being infused into Conservatism Inc. (1/4)
This is one of the well-documented and more discussed features of authoritarian takeovers - to attack the brain. (2/4)
Jun 12, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Always referencing Reagan's optimism is not a way of deflecting or arguing back against the epistemological data and reality that the "Reagan Revolution" was a degeneration of what had built the middle class and multicultural democracy in the mid 20th century.
Ronald Reagan is still used as a frame for MAGA Republicans because Reagan courted racists and misogynists to crystallize a national voting coalition (predominantly white and male) that had been developing since the Civil Rights Movement was nationalized.
Jun 12, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Converting bigots is, again, a good thing. Weakening right coalition is valuable. But I don't think it should be the central goal of left community or organizing. 1/3
Often, resources, time, and energy are better spent on providing resources and solidarity to those targeted for violence, or on educating and strengthening the left commitments of those already on your side. 2/3
Jun 12, 2023 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
If people inhabit a less economically viable, less educated, and less popular portion of the nation, then they likely feel the need to be right about nebulous topics like politics and government even if they don't do the proper research.
They want to feel like they know the country better than anyone. Since the misinformed populace is disproportionately older they also want to exercise a sense of longevity to young people telling them they are outdated. 2/
Apr 3, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
The argument about why the GOP gets the lion’s share of blame for modern plutocratic catastrophes that encapsulated most of the political class is because they controlled the most powerful voting coalition for the last 40 years. (1/8)
Most White voters have patronized the Republican party in the modern era, no matter if those policies economically benefit all of the voters. The party has power over a large, culturally dominant group through mere signaling on some trails. (2/8)
@atrupar “Never Trump conservative Tom Nichols, for example, posted a lengthy, popular Twitter thread in which he declared, “If you really want to understand the roots of rage in the red states, think about how much time people in those states spending think about cities and blue states.”
@atrupar “Nichols reiterated tired tropes about coastal cosmopolitans vs. vengeful Bible-thumping yokels. What he didn’t do was mention the fact that Black people exist, live in red states, and are under constant, brutal, terrifying assault by their state governments.”
Feb 21, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Marjorie Taylor Greene is the Republican Party and it’s been that party since Reagan & Nixon. She believes “reverse racism” towards White Americans is the most pressing problem and she implicitly shows she thinks Black people are lazy in her interviews. This always was the party.
A lot of Reaganites will defend him with foreign policy or media events when Reagan had to play nice (despite other audio to suggest regressive views) but his contribution to domestic policy destruction and post-Civil Rights racism can’t be ignored by them.
Feb 21, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
There needs to be a podcast with a lot of good faith members of the entire political spectrum discussing the pros and cons of Ronald Reagan and what his legacy looks like in 2023. I grew up with this myth of Reaganism that my academic curiosity is geared to understand and debunk.
I see @RadioFreeTom discussing this on Twitter with folks. It would be really nice and comforting to have an honest conversation (with others who lived through this era) about this period and what the honest blind spots and honest successes were during the “Reagan Revolution.”
Feb 21, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
In my living memory, America was not as overtly political as in the early-mid-20th century. We have not talked about people's internal hate, class systems with racial undertones, economic elites trampling on middle America, and cultural excesses that lead to desensitization. 1/8
However, history may be bringing that cycle of politicization back. It is revealing so much about people and their organizations. I believe the worst hit has been to the Republican Party, which has a two-faced coalitional strategy that promises many things to many people. 2/8
Feb 19, 2023 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
Fox News is a source of discord, anger, and civic unreality. It is a terrible feature of American cable television that only serves a narrow political objective (support Republicans), pollute the news cycle, and divide the nation further to drive revenue. 1/7
Fox News is part of larger gaslighting operation in America that legitimizes itself by making broad claims about the entire media industry (a wide array of interests) and then stating it is the one and only truth in the larger corrupt machine. 2/7 open.substack.com/pub/stewardbec…
Dec 23, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
From his lack of transparency around disclosing his taxes to his willed attempt to subvert democracy (especially when there were other things to do: like mitigate a pandemic), Trump was extraordinarily unfit for the presidency and America paid the price. (1/4) #January6thReport
Our chain of peaceful power transfers is broken and a rabidly anti-democratic movement coalesces around a stab in the back myth rooted in Trump intentionally lying. The harm this era did to Americans, our country, and our democratic institutions can't go understated. (2/4)
Dec 20, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The #January6thCommittee was not politicized. (1/4) thehill.com/homenews/senat…
Though they are slightly more vocal about January 6th and the role of the former commander-in-chief in the insurrection, the Senate GOP still needs to stop calling the committee politicized. (2/4)
Feb 27, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
George Stephanopoulos: "I simply don't understand why can't you condemn his praise of Vladimir Putin."
On the panel at the end of the show, Sarah Isgur defends Tom Cotton as "showing differences that he had with Trump in terms of policy."
She also says McConnell and Pence broke with Trump at a "higher level."
Us lower people get the cruel hypocrisy.
Feb 27, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Leo Terrell on Fox is just abhorrent to me, he blames African American leaders for crime in cities which can be done and be a topic of discussion if he wanted to actually have it. I grew up in Baltimore and knew people from all walks of the city’s life.
He doesn’t discuss how a long history of sending people away to be dehumanized for petty offenses and never come back the same. Does he care to discuss the Central Park Nine? If he wants to increase incarcerations and heighten bails then does Leo 2.0 have a solution for rehab?
Feb 25, 2022 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Fox News just not mentioning the Supreme Court nomination yet like the piece of shit anti-American trash it is.
Unbelievable, I shouldn’t be watching this trash today but @DanaPerino says they don’t want to talk about politics right now (while ignoring the SCOTUS nomination) but talks to @lh_carter about bad Biden poll numbers. It’s such spiteful trash with no self-reflection.
Feb 25, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
President Joseph Biden selects Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be his nominee for the Supreme Court.
I am happy to have an administration that sees people like me and my sister as human beings with an equally important history in this country that deserves representation.
Now I wait for the disgusting Republican attacks on how this is racism by Black people (essentially what they are saying) and how they hate doing things outside of their purview like helping people vote and have health care.
Feb 25, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Most of my life White conservatives have talked to me about politics and public problems as if I’m biologically predetermined to act a certain way or think a certain way. It’s very obvious and hurtful and makes sense why their discussions of race today are so demeaning.
Certainly not all, but most.
Dec 27, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
The narrative needs to be clear throughout this entire process. Democrats worked to create stimulus for a pandemic that was widely known to last for at least just over a year and Republicans in the House and Senate ignored the bill and waited for this current relief to expire.
Then they used Fox News and right wing talk radio to spread disinformation and blame Democrats for "not negotiating" even though McConnell barely did press coverage outside of the Fox hole.
