I continue to find examples like these fascinating. I know they are extreme examples, and not representative of conservatives in general. But that these claims and attitudes still exist, and are widely circulated, suggests to me that, in the big picture, that while humans like to think they have “evolved,” many have not, and retain tribalistic thinking. And how this is entirely understandable.
- Republican false theories abut immigrant voting;
- Musicians who’ve demanded that Trump stop using their songs;
- In an alternative world, JD Vance is popular;
- Brief items about milkshakes, not the time to talk about gun control, why women shouldn’t be in government, scandal machine Mark Robinson, accusations of “communist” and “Marxist” by people who don’t know what those words mean, Moms for Liberty, and a “terrible” film about Ronald Reagan;
- How Trump talks constantly about “the likes of which nobody has ever seen”
NY Times, Alexandra Berzon, 5 Sep 2024: Republicans Seize on False Theories About Immigrant Voting, subtitled “Activists, party lawyers and state officials are mobilizing behind a crackdown on a supposed scourge of noncitizens’ casting ballots. Voting rights advocates say the effort is spreading misinformation.”
One woman wants to scrutinize the voting rolls of people with “ethnic names.”
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LA Times, Robin Abcarian, 5 Sep 2024: Column: The incredibly long list of musicians who have demanded that Trump stop using their songs
There’s a Wikipedia article listing them!
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“In a world where…”
Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 5 Sep 2024: In the GOP alternate universe, JD Vance is charming and popular, subtitled “He ‘has not had one misstep’: Republicans praise Trump’s running mate as ‘really funny’ and ‘very impressive'”
Once again, evidence of an epistemic bubble.
Everyone in reality-based America agrees: Sen. JD Vance of Ohio is not well-liked. His national rollout after being picked as Donald Trump’s running mate is likely the worst in modern history. Vance is deeply plugged into the fascism-curious world of the extremely online right. There’s been a drumbeat of stories of him endorsing views like hunger is a “great motivation” to work, the “whole purpose of the postmenopausal female” is to provide free childcare, and that progressives are “unhumans” who deserve fascist violence. The seemingly endless number of clips of him condemning childless women as “sociopaths” and “miserable cat ladies” have drawn the most attention, likely because it’s tied to the larger GOP agenda of forcing childbirth through abortion bans.
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Briefly:
- Fox host says Tim Walz isn’t masculine because he had a milkshake with a straw, subtitled “‘Are you supposed to lap it up like a dog?'”
- So predictable: GA Rep. Mike Collins: Now Is “Not The Time” To Talk About Gun Control, We Need More Jesus In Schools. So how as the posting of those Ten Commandments working out?
- Kandiss Taylor, Who Ran for Governor, Doesn’t Want Women in Government. Never mind hypocrisy, this is tribal, even cave man, mentality.
- It’s Always Something With This Guy, subtitled “Mark Robinson is running for governor of North Carolina. He’s a scandal machine.” And a hypocrite; his fans don’t care.
- Politifact: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.”. Rating: Pants on Fire. Again, Trump and his fans have no idea what these words actually mean; they just use them as slurs.
- Moms for Liberty Changes Course, subtitled “At the group’s 2024 national meeting, trans kids, not book bans, were in the spotlight.” They’re always *very concerned* about something. Maybe they have too much time on their hands.
- Ronald Reagan Is Back On-Screen, subtitled “A new biopic has some very odd ideas about the former president’s record.” Starring Dennis Quaid, and a handful of other “C- or D-list stars” who’ve gone full reactionary: Jon Voight, Kevin Sorbo, Kevin Dillon. “Beyond its relentless abuse of the historical record, Reagan is simply a terrible film.”
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I’ll give this one more air.
The Atlantic, David A. Graham, 5 Sep 2024: An Article the Likes of Which Nobody Has Ever Seen Before, subtitled “Not one soul”
Verbal tic? Conservative hyperbole? Or that he simply doesn’t know very many words?
The use and abuse of the phrase illuminates Trump’s salesman instincts. The case is not only that Trump speaks in hyperbole, though he does. He also strives for novelty, telling people that whatever thing he’s hawking is entirely new to the human experience. This comes naturally, because he sees the world in absolutes and demonstrates very little interest in learning, so he may not actually know much about relevant comparisons.
