I was the product of a mixed marriage. My mother was a Republican and my father a Democrat–although they did hammer out their differences before most election days, in order to avoid, as my mother put it, “cancelling each other out.”
My mother’s identification with the GOP was based almost entirely on her fiscal conservatism, and she frequently expressed concern about what was then the “crazy fringe” of the party, which she accurately saw as racist and anti-Semitic. She worried about what would happen if the fringe became more powerful, more a part of the party’s mainstream.
She was right to worry.
The party with which my mother and I once identified is long gone, subsumed into that angry and hate-filled fringe. And now, as the saying goes, the chickens are coming home to roost. Republicans who still retain the ability to understand that blatant bigotry isn’t a good look are reacting to the public anti-Semitism of some of the MAGA movement’s most prominent members.
As Charlie Sykes put it, the MAGA Right sowed dragon’s teeth for years, and is now horrified to discover they have grown an actual dragon.
Sykes was addressing what has been termed a MAGA “civil war” over the increasingly open and vicious right-wing antisemitism of the Trumpian Right. That warfare increased when Kevin Roberts, the current president of the Heritage Foundation, announced that the Foundation was standing by Tucker Carlson, who had just platformed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.
As some of us warned a decade ago, the problem of Donald Trump was not merely Trump himself, but the mouth-breathers he was bringing with him — the winking permissions he granted to the movement we once called the Alt-Right. For ten years, he’s brought them into the mainstream; applauded them, encouraged them, dined with and defended them. He shattered the guardrails; dismissed the gatekeepers; and opened the sluices of bigotry.
That reality is what frightened my mother so many years ago, and it’s what makes so much contemporary political debate irrelevant. That irrelevance is especially notable in the constant hand-wringing over whether the Democratic Party should be “centrist” or “progressive.” What that debate ignores is the nature of the center in today’s political world.
A perceptive essay from Lincoln Square honed in on that question.
Where, though, is the center between right-wing authoritarianism and freedom and democracy? As the “Republicans” careen ever farther off the pavement, across the right shoulder, through the guardrail, into the ditch off the right side of the road, the “center,” if that is taken to mean the midpoint, is pulled from the middle of the road ever farther to the extreme right. Should Democrats, then, seek to be in the center by offering “Fascism Lite” as an alternative to full-blown fascism?
The essay quoted Yeats’ famous poem, asserting that “the “rough beast” Yeats envisioned has already been born. “It could not be clearer that “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.” “Where is the center in such a time?”
Where is the center between the First Amendment and a government that seeks to control speech, assembly, and the media and is filled with Christian nationalists who want to establish a state church? Between the rule of law and a president who asserts, “I have the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States”? Between protecting the right of all citizens to vote and seeking to repeal the Voting Rights Act and gerrymander to an absurd degree? Between consumer protection, environmental protection, scientific and medical research, and countless other government functions and maintaining the social safety net created in the 1930s, 1960s, and since and striving to “Take America Back” to the 1920s, the first Gilded Age in the late nineteenth century, or even farther? Between a president ordering the prosecution of anyone he does not like and equal application of the law? Between corruption on a previously unimaginable level and honest government? Between a fact-based examination of our history and making up a past to suit the ruler? Between government of the people, by the people, and for the people and government of the people, by an unchecked leader, and for the billionaires?
As the essay concluded, the center is not always in the middle. The GOP fringe has been planning the current takeover since the 1970s. And as it has moved the party farther and farther to the right, the center— the midpoint between two ends — moved in the same direction.
Today, to be “progressive” is to be “woke” to that reality–and to refuse to move to that far-right midpoint.
I think when the right was praising Vladimir Putin, talking about how they wish they had someone like him, well now they do! When someone tells you what they truly are, why wouldn’t you believe them? Go along to get along? The last possibility to change the trajectory, was before this current inauguration. I say current inauguration because it’s still going on.
The January 6th fiasco should have been the flashing red light. Unfortunately, The wound was left to fester and become gangerness to the body politic. Now, we can see the level of terminality. It’s truly dying. However this ends, will not be good. It might even seem good for a moment, but it absolutely is waiting for the final show. The series of events? Who can really tell. But the trajectory is obvious. There will be a blowback. Could it be a military one? Could it be a wave of presumed victories that seemingly could take down a king and change trajectory? Just like beachcombers, those seeking to root out what has been terminally allowed, will unleash a search and destroy which will undoubtedly end individual worldwide societies before you know it. Like a cancer, you can see how the MAGA template is being used in other countries, and is still spreading. The counter to that is going to be massive.
You can already see the United Nations becoming more involved in fighting against that particular movement. And they do have the authority, the United Nations that is, to interject lethality into all body politics, sort of an unforgiving chemo which destroys everything.
This type of chemo destroys an infection, but it also destroys the body. So individual societies are not going to function like people think, it will be unified in rooting out the infectious invader. The blowback has become worse than the infection. Why? Because that’s human nature! So be prepared, this is not going to end well for anyone!
The idea that the center is not always the middle also accounts for the divisions in the Democrat Party where establishment leaders see socialist policy platforms as extreme when those policies are really just the extension of the old fashioned FDR New Deal. The best example of that was this past week’s election in New York City.
“Today, to be “progressive” is to be “woke” to that reality–and to refuse to move to that far-right midpoint.”
The above quote brought back some memories of my childhood that explained I must have been “woke” long before the term meant what it does today. It made for a miserable childhood where I didn’t feel I belonged with the majority of my family or anywhere else; believing I was the one who was out of step with my world and didn’t know why. Like being left-handed in a right-handed world; it was like a physical difference that couldn’t be changed by trying to understand the difference. I was and I remain unable, to use John Sorg’s term, to “Go along to get along.”
This leaves me where I am today; in the middle of a Trump infested neighborhood with my “For the love of God, anyone but Trump” yard sign still standing. I did replace the “2020” sign with my “2024” current sign and as Linda Ellerbee used to say, “And so it goes!”
MY MOTHER WAS WRONG!
One thing is sure: Donald Trump is no Vladimir Putin. LOL
There is no medium in an oligarchy. As we’ve seen this past year, the oligarchy has thrown its weight behind Sleepy Don. One reason is that the Democrats at least show some signs of oversight and regulation of the oligarchy. Trump immediately got rid of all those people. Monopolies have increased in the past 10 months, and so have profits.
Economic populism is where the focus must be in an oligarchy. That was the mandate given to Mamdani and other reps elected last Tuesday. They’ve been tasked with addressing “affordability” by their constituents because, while Trump promised to do so, he has done nothing. His primary focus was groceries (a word he invented), but prices have gone up. When Mike Johnson was asked why the Republicans haven’t succeeded in bringing down food prices, he said, “Well, the long-term pattern of food costs is that they always go up.” And, of course, MAGA idiots accepted this when they were hammering Biden/Harris for an entire year about the price of eggs.
All the social issues that comprise a manufactured “political spectrum” must take a back seat to economic issues because reversing oligarchic rule will help all the social problems, as the oligarchy is now in a Fascist stage. Very little freedom from fascists and Nazis.
p.s. Musk’s social platform is using his algorithm to manipulate fascist voices on the right into people’s feeds, which is why many users have moved to Bluesky or Telegram. As for Nick Fuentes, he recently said that MAGA will be known in history books as the biggest con in politics. Candace Owens would say the same, and now Tucker Carlson is pointing out Israel’s control over the decision-making in the White House. And what about MTG? She’s causing serious damage to Trump and MAGA.
the tucker/fuentes conversation was good,it still shows how the right wing walks and talks.now comes the fallout,from the hypocrites who spent 40+ years professing bigotry thru slaming the worker and poverty they installed. those tax cuts and the inability of Americans to see thru the fog of a bullshit media and social gathering via apps. those cheap words used and timed to generate the best results for one side of America. now comes AI. if we can use it to pass a test,sing a song or make pies, then we can distroy democracy. fact and stats be damn,whos saying fake? now the court sides with starving off people we kicked under the bus for profits on wallstreet. look at those numbers. follow the money. whos getting what,and whos now deciding,who lives and die$.i remember that echo from congress about the ACA,and its death squads from those elected rightwing goons. now they stand in line laughing at the working class while the people who built this countries industries watch the rich get richer by design..better get a bite on the next move by them,its called mid-term elections. im sure vegas and the UK are betting it wont happen,and the court will back it up.AI,yea, save the f_____ world..
im laughing, forgot to add. my license plate on my jacked up 4X4 ford tonner,
ALTLEFT shows theres one progressive voice in NoDak..some trumper asked my what it ment? i put my arm around his neck and hugged him and said,
im that F—– Bernie progressive bud..
Those sleeping bigots of yesteryear have been given license to awaken from their uneasy slumber and emerge in howls of rage at those they consider below them in any way. The entitled and outraged who are so prominent in that resurgence of hate, want everything handed to them as their just due for being born white, male, and indoctrinated as “Christian” with all that extra entitlement throw in.
Restricting visas to 7500 for white South Africans by preference, while forgetting that businesses routinely bring in immigrants from all over the world to fill jobs that were previously held by American citizens, asking those same employees to stay long enough to train the new hires who will work for less. Those same businesses are generous in their “donations” (read, protection payments) so that exceptions will be made for their profit margins.
None of this is new, just out in the open now, no pretensions, no nuanced verbiage, just in-your-face defiance. See how we made you hurt? What are you going to do about it? We control you! It is our natural superiority and right to rule because of our skin color/gender. It is as old as time.
So, what DO we do about it?
RESIST in any way possible. Call it out whenever you see or hear it. Evil hates the light of day. Shine your light on it whenever you can. Yes, it is dangerous. What do we have to lose? Only everything worth having.
Poverty cannot ‘build’ because the focus is on survival, just getting by. As China shows, it’s a middle class that has and shares prosperity that builds a stable, safe, and prosperous civilization. To do that, there must be a partnership built and maintained between publicly and privately owned means of production, shared infrastructure, and means dedicated to specific items or personal services.
Illiberalism is built by those who associate sharing with a lack of character. They see the world inwardly rather than outwardly. Others support them, whereas liberals see themselves as supporting others. These worldviews develop during childhood but can become inflexible with age.
I have found that collaboration pushes us forward. Teams of experts managed to maximise interaction, not lone wolves. That’s what built this country and what is building China as a developing nation with more modern infrastructure as ours ages out.
Both countries made the same mistake: not paying for their infrastructure when they were wealthy enough to afford it. They thought the future would pay, and now it’s apparent that the future doesn’t want to pay for what already exists, much less for more progress.
Maybe I’m just hard headed, but I’ve always been a pragmatic progressive. It’s taken the right 55 years to get here. We need to start dragging the Overton Window back to the left and we need to start now! Don’t quit if it doesn’t happen immediately. It takes time to build a movement and longer for that movement to take hold of the reins of power.
My advice take what you can get, then make the rest of your objective something to run on in the next election. Shape your arguments towards the short and easy to understand. And most importantly: STAY ON MESSAGE!
To the point of JD and others, I read yesterday that Big Tech has laid off tens of thousands of workers, while simultaneously building up India with factories and data centers, resulting in tens of thousands of new hires. They’ve basically swapped out US workers for low-paid workers in India.
Don’t forget, the Tech Broligarchy bought Trump the presidency, contributed to his inauguration, military parade, and the Epstein Ballroom. Trump talks about America First; meanwhile, his donors are doing the opposite.
The oligarchy IS THE PROBLEM. The way to hurt the oligarchy is by using their language against them. #MONEY And the other power we have now is our #VOTE. We need to do both wisely.
I think we give too much credit to Trump for ripping open the doors and letting the bigots out. The locks were remove and the doors were wedged open long before him.
We forget that Reagan began his campaign in Philadelphia, MS. Kidnap and murder some civil rights workers? Just a couple of Jews and a Black man.
Then he honored the dead Nazi soldiers and Waffen SS at the Bittburg cemetery in West Germany. All remains of GIs had long been returned to the US. Only after the controversy did Reagan change plans and add a visit to Bergen-Belsen, as if that made up for it.
Before that, Nixon jumped at the change to bring the racist Dixiecrats into the Republican Party once LBJ forced through the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in 1964 and 1965 respectively.
Well meaning Republicans closed their eyes to that. At least there was some integrity among Republicans in the past, as Nixon was forced to resign.
Yes, Nixon and Reagan were racists and traitors, and here, we have a POTUS who is both! Trump broke open anything that had put a governor on the racism, and, in effect “let it rip,” gave it full permission.
The old GOP was long anti-semitic, and racist, by the way, while their fiscal conservatism may just have been a false front, just like their “Family Values,” and “Law and Order” bull. It was into those latter issues when they were of use to them. The “Grand OLD Party” was a lie from the day the phrase was created, early in its rotten life.
And sometimes there isn’t a center, a middle ground. I think we are there. One either supports the Constitution or one denies it. One either believes in the ideals on which this Nation was birthed or one does not. One either believes no one is above the law; that Government exists to lift up everyone; that when we care for the rights of all, we protect our own or one sees rights and privileges for the few.
Differences will always challenge us, they need not destroy us. Nothing is perfect, but chaos , cruelty, callousness, and total disregard for the law should not and can not be abided.
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. Hosea 8:7