When I poked my head out of my center left bubble, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Bulwark. Now it is my morning go-to and thank you so much for Charles Krauthammer's warning. Scary stuff. It is important to remember that everything old is new again while pushing back at. the same time.
Hi Charlie, Great read, as always. Thanks. Also, I just listened to the Joe Trippi pod "That Trippi Show" on the races in Ohio. He had a couple of great guests, David Pepper who you have had on your pod before but also a fellow named Chris Gibbs, an Ohio farmer and former Republican like your good self. I think he'd be a great guest (unless I've missed it and you've had him on before). Anyhooo, he is running a group called, (I think), called 'The Welcome Pac' which is encouraging Ohioans to vote for Tim Ryan and honouring people's (possible) nascent feeling to maybe split their tickets - he is a really interesting guy, and seems like what I have always imagined to be the quintessential American farmer. Thanks for your work. Thanks for your humour. Until I heard you and Mike Murphy and I never knew Republicans had a sense of humour! (Though, come to think of it, my friend Mark from Chicago is super funny and he is a lovely Republican.) Warm regards, Tina
Reading the twitter thread accompanying the Christian Walker tweet, I was struck by the messages from those still supporting Herschel Walker. A good number of them simply attacked Christian Walker without bothering to defend his father. So apparently if Christian Walker is motivated by hatred of his father (I don’t know if that is true, but that seems like a reasonable conclusion), then anything he says must be discounted without any critical thinking. But the others that did attempt to defend Herschel Walker were all of the type that “he’s not a bad guy”, “he seems to want to do the right thing”, “aren’t people allowed to change”, etc. (this doesn’t count the few who basically said that no matter how bad Walker is, he’s better than Warnock). But these folks seem to be missing the bigger picture. We’re not talking about whether Herschel Walker should go to prison or should be ostracized from polite society. We’re talking about whether he is qualified to be a United States Senator. That should be a pretty high bar. I looked it up. In the history of this country something like 1600 people have been senators. Does anyone really think that Herschel Walker belongs in that group? Have you heard him speak? He makes Trump sound Lincolnesque!
That said, Walker strikes me as less of a danger than people like J.D. Vance (and really any number of the current GOP caucus like Cruz, Hawley, Johnson, Rubio, Kennedy, or Paul). Walker seems more cut from the Tuberville mold. I can’t see Walker leading an insurrection (although he’d fall in line if someone else led it). We’ve already seen what those other guys are capable of.
If Trump were only Buchanan (bad enough), he'd never have won the nomination. Another Trump before Trump was Ross Perot. I'm from Detroit, and I remember the working-class guys at the stamping plant where I had an office job when I was in college, praising Perot for 1, being a businessman who would shake things up in Washington; 2, *not* being a politician (I think it's a American pathology to believe that electing candidates who campaign on a contempt for politics is going to result in good governance); 3 imagining that entrepreneurial talent is somehow the master talent (it's not: throwing a football is the master talent) that comprises all other talents, incl. a talent for governance.
It's hard to respect anyone (I've heard this from small businessmen [my tailor, e.g.], but also from a Duke MBA!) that believes that Trump has a talent for business, but I heard it from someone in Sarah Longwell's focus group a few days ago. SMH, I guess?
So, put that together with the white grievance politics, and you've got a winning combination.
Mona, thanks for the inclusion of the info on how different the flute is, making it harder for a modern flautist to play. I loved the music but didn't know anything about the mechanics.
I don't understand the constant hypocrisy of media voices on the right.
If 'Coco Chow' (WTF does it mean?!) is a nickname, then Lizzo behaved with professionalism.
We may have no expectations for The Annoying Orange while POTUS, but we are clutching pearls over a pop star performance? If she had grabbed her pussy with it, would they have standing then?
A good tell for how fascy someone is has always been to see their stands on South Africa or Rhodesia… all the way from the Crippled Eagles to Buchanan to Tucker
I was particularly interested in the piece on Charles Krauthammer’s warning about Pat Buchanan. Pat Buchanan is the reason I became a Democrat. Prior to the presidential election of 1992 I was a registered Independent. In Maine that means you’re a “U” for an “undesignated voter”, which means you don’t get to vote in any primaries or attend any Maine caucus.
I had become a big Paul Tsongas fan, so I went to City Hall & reregistered as a Democrat so that I could caucus Paul Tsongas at our Democratic caucus in the winter of ‘92. Afterwards I intended to reregister as an Independent. However, after watching the Republican Convention that August & listening to Pat Buchanan’s horrible, racist “Culture War” speech, I decided I was very comfortable staying a Democrat.
Is my memory failing me? Wasn't Christian Walker the guy who hyped up Herschel in the first place? I seem to remember something about "the gay, Trump supporting son of Herschel Walker" agitating for his dad on social media. No?
Was Tim Miller referring to a different son when he said, "Walker even has celebrity progeny: A son who is—I shit you not—a gay, anti-BLM, pro-Trump, TikTok sensation."?
Well now, always had grudging affection for Buchanan (McLaughlin group aficianado-sic) but knowing your sentiments, Mr. Krauthammer's, Ms. Charen's, well, case closed. Lizzo writing smashing.
The amusing part about the Walker story is that it is part of a bigger dynamic. Democrats tend to be pro-choice but you rarely if ever hear about them paying for the abortions of their girlfriends and mistresses. Republicans are pro-life and yet when the going gets tough, they get their ladies to the clinic. And it keeps going. Democrats are the supposed "groomers" but it was a Republican Speaker of the House and a current Republican MOC who are known groomers. Margie Taylor Green supports family values but it is well known she has cheated extensively on her husband.
The violent anti semites, racists were never gone. They always played to an American audience across the country documented and exposed by The Southern Poverty Law Association. Thank you for reminding us about how vile Buchanan was - time tends to smooth things out. Hopefully Walker will self immolate in GA and Dr. Supplement in PA but I will know nothing until the vote is in and certified. I have no respect for the MAGA Thugs and can only imagine how dumb, racist and evil membership requires.
Pat Buchanan got a lot of play in the oughts through the magazine he started, The American Conservative. He was against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and as they became increasingly untenable, he was a prominent Republican voice calling out the Bush administration. He enjoyed bipartisan support for his war opposition.
When Trump won, news media of various leanings wrote about Trump and Buchanan.
Google Pat Buchanan celebrates Trump. You'll see a lot of stories from 2016 and 2017. Rod Dreher is now probably AC's biggest name.
When I poked my head out of my center left bubble, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Bulwark. Now it is my morning go-to and thank you so much for Charles Krauthammer's warning. Scary stuff. It is important to remember that everything old is new again while pushing back at. the same time.
Hi Charlie, Great read, as always. Thanks. Also, I just listened to the Joe Trippi pod "That Trippi Show" on the races in Ohio. He had a couple of great guests, David Pepper who you have had on your pod before but also a fellow named Chris Gibbs, an Ohio farmer and former Republican like your good self. I think he'd be a great guest (unless I've missed it and you've had him on before). Anyhooo, he is running a group called, (I think), called 'The Welcome Pac' which is encouraging Ohioans to vote for Tim Ryan and honouring people's (possible) nascent feeling to maybe split their tickets - he is a really interesting guy, and seems like what I have always imagined to be the quintessential American farmer. Thanks for your work. Thanks for your humour. Until I heard you and Mike Murphy and I never knew Republicans had a sense of humour! (Though, come to think of it, my friend Mark from Chicago is super funny and he is a lovely Republican.) Warm regards, Tina
Reading the twitter thread accompanying the Christian Walker tweet, I was struck by the messages from those still supporting Herschel Walker. A good number of them simply attacked Christian Walker without bothering to defend his father. So apparently if Christian Walker is motivated by hatred of his father (I don’t know if that is true, but that seems like a reasonable conclusion), then anything he says must be discounted without any critical thinking. But the others that did attempt to defend Herschel Walker were all of the type that “he’s not a bad guy”, “he seems to want to do the right thing”, “aren’t people allowed to change”, etc. (this doesn’t count the few who basically said that no matter how bad Walker is, he’s better than Warnock). But these folks seem to be missing the bigger picture. We’re not talking about whether Herschel Walker should go to prison or should be ostracized from polite society. We’re talking about whether he is qualified to be a United States Senator. That should be a pretty high bar. I looked it up. In the history of this country something like 1600 people have been senators. Does anyone really think that Herschel Walker belongs in that group? Have you heard him speak? He makes Trump sound Lincolnesque!
That said, Walker strikes me as less of a danger than people like J.D. Vance (and really any number of the current GOP caucus like Cruz, Hawley, Johnson, Rubio, Kennedy, or Paul). Walker seems more cut from the Tuberville mold. I can’t see Walker leading an insurrection (although he’d fall in line if someone else led it). We’ve already seen what those other guys are capable of.
If Trump were only Buchanan (bad enough), he'd never have won the nomination. Another Trump before Trump was Ross Perot. I'm from Detroit, and I remember the working-class guys at the stamping plant where I had an office job when I was in college, praising Perot for 1, being a businessman who would shake things up in Washington; 2, *not* being a politician (I think it's a American pathology to believe that electing candidates who campaign on a contempt for politics is going to result in good governance); 3 imagining that entrepreneurial talent is somehow the master talent (it's not: throwing a football is the master talent) that comprises all other talents, incl. a talent for governance.
It's hard to respect anyone (I've heard this from small businessmen [my tailor, e.g.], but also from a Duke MBA!) that believes that Trump has a talent for business, but I heard it from someone in Sarah Longwell's focus group a few days ago. SMH, I guess?
So, put that together with the white grievance politics, and you've got a winning combination.
Mona, thanks for the inclusion of the info on how different the flute is, making it harder for a modern flautist to play. I loved the music but didn't know anything about the mechanics.
Wow! Krauthammer could write that 1992 essay right now about the MAGA coalition and not be far off the mark. It sounds like Tucker's nightly rants.
I don't understand the constant hypocrisy of media voices on the right.
If 'Coco Chow' (WTF does it mean?!) is a nickname, then Lizzo behaved with professionalism.
We may have no expectations for The Annoying Orange while POTUS, but we are clutching pearls over a pop star performance? If she had grabbed her pussy with it, would they have standing then?
A good tell for how fascy someone is has always been to see their stands on South Africa or Rhodesia… all the way from the Crippled Eagles to Buchanan to Tucker
I was particularly interested in the piece on Charles Krauthammer’s warning about Pat Buchanan. Pat Buchanan is the reason I became a Democrat. Prior to the presidential election of 1992 I was a registered Independent. In Maine that means you’re a “U” for an “undesignated voter”, which means you don’t get to vote in any primaries or attend any Maine caucus.
I had become a big Paul Tsongas fan, so I went to City Hall & reregistered as a Democrat so that I could caucus Paul Tsongas at our Democratic caucus in the winter of ‘92. Afterwards I intended to reregister as an Independent. However, after watching the Republican Convention that August & listening to Pat Buchanan’s horrible, racist “Culture War” speech, I decided I was very comfortable staying a Democrat.
Is my memory failing me? Wasn't Christian Walker the guy who hyped up Herschel in the first place? I seem to remember something about "the gay, Trump supporting son of Herschel Walker" agitating for his dad on social media. No?
Was Tim Miller referring to a different son when he said, "Walker even has celebrity progeny: A son who is—I shit you not—a gay, anti-BLM, pro-Trump, TikTok sensation."?
https://www.thebulwark.com/get-ready-for-the-herschel-walker-experience/
Well now, always had grudging affection for Buchanan (McLaughlin group aficianado-sic) but knowing your sentiments, Mr. Krauthammer's, Ms. Charen's, well, case closed. Lizzo writing smashing.
The amusing part about the Walker story is that it is part of a bigger dynamic. Democrats tend to be pro-choice but you rarely if ever hear about them paying for the abortions of their girlfriends and mistresses. Republicans are pro-life and yet when the going gets tough, they get their ladies to the clinic. And it keeps going. Democrats are the supposed "groomers" but it was a Republican Speaker of the House and a current Republican MOC who are known groomers. Margie Taylor Green supports family values but it is well known she has cheated extensively on her husband.
Reagan was Trump before Trump down to the racist campaign launch
The violent anti semites, racists were never gone. They always played to an American audience across the country documented and exposed by The Southern Poverty Law Association. Thank you for reminding us about how vile Buchanan was - time tends to smooth things out. Hopefully Walker will self immolate in GA and Dr. Supplement in PA but I will know nothing until the vote is in and certified. I have no respect for the MAGA Thugs and can only imagine how dumb, racist and evil membership requires.
Pat Buchanan got a lot of play in the oughts through the magazine he started, The American Conservative. He was against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and as they became increasingly untenable, he was a prominent Republican voice calling out the Bush administration. He enjoyed bipartisan support for his war opposition.
When Trump won, news media of various leanings wrote about Trump and Buchanan.
Google Pat Buchanan celebrates Trump. You'll see a lot of stories from 2016 and 2017. Rod Dreher is now probably AC's biggest name.
FWIW, Here’s a link to Jacob Weissberg’s 1990 article that Krauthammer referenced: https://newrepublic.com/article/69035/the-heresies-pat-buchanan