There’s an interesting story at CNN.com about Ron DeSantis getting heat from “conservatives” about his policies in Florida. I find it interesting because I have difficulty finding the conservatives in the piece. The center-right divide is just too nuanced for too much of the press. It is very much like when the media confuses mainline Christianity and mainstream Christianity. The former consists of the dying churches of the upper-income white establishment, and the latter consists of Southern Baptists, charismatics, and evangelicals.
The press talking about the "Right" and "Conservatives" is like the average person talking about a legal case. They don't have actual legal knowledge, they Google, read some articles, but don't really have the ability to understand the nuances.
Lots of great comments today. For those who may think Erick is too tentative about CNN, he is trying, I'm sure, to maintain a relationship with those he knows that work there. I believe he was just recently invited on to speak. That is good! Any jolt of truth into their collective liberal group-think could turn hearts and minds. To them, all conservatives are crazy.
But, I'll once again beat on my dead horse I often bring up when I take time to attempt input. With all the smart, influential people reading and commenting on Erick's substack, can we not brainstorm to find ways to encourage the media to once again become impartial and skewer both sides? Glenn Greenwald, no conservative, once said that the press used to be a work-a-day job, like an electrician, or a welder, just pounding the pavement and putting in the hours. But over the years that changed. Now very many in the press have houses in the Hamptons next to those they need to report on. They still want to be invited to all the parties. The separation our country needs has been blurred to the extreme. I think this is fairly accurate of what Mr. Greenwald stated. That's why I also read the FreePress substack. But, guys/gals, might you mighty thinkers begin to brainstorm ways to bring back objectivity to a free, un-aligned press our country very much needs?
Then ask yourself... in your communities and churches how many actual white Christian nationalists you know?
I know none. There are certainly some... but few. However, based on your search results, THIS IS THE PRIMARY THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!
I don't think the GOP nor conservatives get it. They don't get that the entire media - both traditional and tech - is a Democrat-led, Uniparty controlled, Wall Street funded, WEF supported propaganda enterprise, that after decades of putting an economic jackboot on the necks of the American working class, is engaged in the final steps of slaughter.
The right plays little league while the left plays major league. The right invites the slaughter with their amateur play, their refusal to fight and objection to supporting those that do.
We whine and complain about the unfairness of it all... we point at the lies and blatant hypocrisy as if doing so is going to make or opposition behave better having being ratted out.
They don't care.
This is war folks. It is maybe an info war, but it is a political war. Until and unless Republicans pulls their collective heads out of their collective rears and stop ripping each other apart... so they can get back to winning elections... none of this matters. Reporting "CNN don't get it" about the nuanced positions of conservatives might be a good story if CNN cared. It does not. It is just part of that hive of propaganda that must be eradicated. Thankfully there are signs that is exactly the trajectory of that sad and sorry organization.
Baby steps, Erick. Your point is valid, yet at least CNN isn't outright making up stories like they were. Yes, they miss the nuance, but it's because they previously were given free rein to make bogeymen out of anyone to the right of liberal hard-left. I am hopeful that CNN rehabilitates itself and can become a respected news agency once again. That will take time, but this, to me, is progress.
I see a simple linear political spectrum where the end on left left side is complete authoritarian collectivism (the good of the collective trumps individual rights… moral filters of human fairness and harm dominate), and at the extreme right it is complete anarchy (impulses supporting individual freedom and liberty dominate). Democrats and the left have drifted toward a love of authoritarian collectivism. We saw this during the pandemic. We still see it. Conservatives though still come to the table with a much more nuanced set of moral filters. So conservatives have more conflicts among themselves on this spectrum. It is healthy as long as the conflict is civil and leads to some compromise in political platform. However, the left exploits it to create sharper divisions that end up harming the political advantage that conservatives should otherwise have.
What the GOP needs is a revival to get behind a winning formula where we can take back the country and then debate the nuance on the political spectrum. But the party needs to chop out the organizations that are destructive to the party only to get their way. In other words, no activists need to apply. Learn to get along. Learn to collaborate. Learn to be good Christians again.
Kind of what I have been saying for a while. Trump was an easy target because he had many unforced errors that caused a lot of headaches. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who is the president or who is the nominee. The left will slander, demonize, and put them all in a bad light to make them look like the antichrist and there is a willing media who strongly wants to enable that view.
Your kidding yourself if you think Ron is automatic win if he decides to run and wins the nomination. Plenty of left partisans to enact whatever sch-emery to keep themselves in the Oval office. Remember GW bush was that poster guy who was the savior of the GOP. similar to Ron and at the end of his tenure he was labelled and called everything in the book.
We face an enemy that is hell bent on destroying this country. Once we realize its not down to one man ( trump ) who is holding us down, then we can focus on the wider problem.
Keep in mind that anyone a teensy-weensy to the right of MSM authors is considered a "conservative". The broad brushstroke begins where their particular echo chamber ends.
Yep, spot on. It's past time to retire using the word "conservative" as synonymous with right-wing or Republican politics. It's better to assume that if someone is voting for the current parade of Republicans they are not a conservative
I know I am way off in the weeds here but, thinking back to my software development days, I want to describe this problem with the logic statement (IF NOT "them" Then "crazy"). And this statement is generic enough that it can keep shape shifting as needed.
There is no liberal/conservative demarcation, only an imaginary line in our brains that say anyone not like me is crazy.
I think of the DNC like Geppetto, working behind the scenes to train the low information voters. Training them to label the crazies and vote for the current lib choice. The nuances of the argument will keep shifting but the answer needs to always be "crazy".
We need a bugger bully pulpit, and pols have to frequently call out the interviewer as a hack.
But mostly, we need to keep growing the Hispanic Christian voting bloc and keep converting the Black conservative voting bloc.
I wish I thought it was just a misunderstanding but I tend to lean that it is a deliberate choice of stoking division and misinformation on their ideological inferiors.
I would submit, Wise Sir, that the petulant will always do what they want. You stated in part, "There is more nuance than the press understands about the divisions..." As you know, It's less about understanding nuances than it is about their pressing into their very overt agenda. The petulant media doesn't have the "want to" when it comes to presenting a balanced assessment of anything having to do with members of the Republican Party, whatever their shade of red.
Our society does have a difficult time agreeing on most anything these days. However, as said long ago, "All are strange but me and thee, and sometimes I'm not so sure about thee."
Hogan isn’t a fan of DeSantis because he knows DeSantis will destroy him in the primary. I like what Ron DeSantis is doing in Florida, and I’m a “live and let live” conservative. DeSantis is standing up for the basic human rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for all and not just some. He does it unapologetically, and it ticks off all the Dems and moderate milquetoast Rs.
The press talking about the "Right" and "Conservatives" is like the average person talking about a legal case. They don't have actual legal knowledge, they Google, read some articles, but don't really have the ability to understand the nuances.
Lots of great comments today. For those who may think Erick is too tentative about CNN, he is trying, I'm sure, to maintain a relationship with those he knows that work there. I believe he was just recently invited on to speak. That is good! Any jolt of truth into their collective liberal group-think could turn hearts and minds. To them, all conservatives are crazy.
But, I'll once again beat on my dead horse I often bring up when I take time to attempt input. With all the smart, influential people reading and commenting on Erick's substack, can we not brainstorm to find ways to encourage the media to once again become impartial and skewer both sides? Glenn Greenwald, no conservative, once said that the press used to be a work-a-day job, like an electrician, or a welder, just pounding the pavement and putting in the hours. But over the years that changed. Now very many in the press have houses in the Hamptons next to those they need to report on. They still want to be invited to all the parties. The separation our country needs has been blurred to the extreme. I think this is fairly accurate of what Mr. Greenwald stated. That's why I also read the FreePress substack. But, guys/gals, might you mighty thinkers begin to brainstorm ways to bring back objectivity to a free, un-aligned press our country very much needs?
Go to Google and type in "white Christian Nationalism". Read the list. See this Brookings Institute study: https://www.brookings.edu/events/understanding-the-threat-of-white-christian-nationalism-to-american-democracy-today/
Then ask yourself... in your communities and churches how many actual white Christian nationalists you know?
I know none. There are certainly some... but few. However, based on your search results, THIS IS THE PRIMARY THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!
I don't think the GOP nor conservatives get it. They don't get that the entire media - both traditional and tech - is a Democrat-led, Uniparty controlled, Wall Street funded, WEF supported propaganda enterprise, that after decades of putting an economic jackboot on the necks of the American working class, is engaged in the final steps of slaughter.
The right plays little league while the left plays major league. The right invites the slaughter with their amateur play, their refusal to fight and objection to supporting those that do.
We whine and complain about the unfairness of it all... we point at the lies and blatant hypocrisy as if doing so is going to make or opposition behave better having being ratted out.
They don't care.
This is war folks. It is maybe an info war, but it is a political war. Until and unless Republicans pulls their collective heads out of their collective rears and stop ripping each other apart... so they can get back to winning elections... none of this matters. Reporting "CNN don't get it" about the nuanced positions of conservatives might be a good story if CNN cared. It does not. It is just part of that hive of propaganda that must be eradicated. Thankfully there are signs that is exactly the trajectory of that sad and sorry organization.
Excellent point! Generalization is the sine qua non of the lazy . . . .
Baby steps, Erick. Your point is valid, yet at least CNN isn't outright making up stories like they were. Yes, they miss the nuance, but it's because they previously were given free rein to make bogeymen out of anyone to the right of liberal hard-left. I am hopeful that CNN rehabilitates itself and can become a respected news agency once again. That will take time, but this, to me, is progress.
I don't believe the media has any concept of reality when it comes to the GOP. They just throw crap against the wall to see if anything sticks.
I see a simple linear political spectrum where the end on left left side is complete authoritarian collectivism (the good of the collective trumps individual rights… moral filters of human fairness and harm dominate), and at the extreme right it is complete anarchy (impulses supporting individual freedom and liberty dominate). Democrats and the left have drifted toward a love of authoritarian collectivism. We saw this during the pandemic. We still see it. Conservatives though still come to the table with a much more nuanced set of moral filters. So conservatives have more conflicts among themselves on this spectrum. It is healthy as long as the conflict is civil and leads to some compromise in political platform. However, the left exploits it to create sharper divisions that end up harming the political advantage that conservatives should otherwise have.
What the GOP needs is a revival to get behind a winning formula where we can take back the country and then debate the nuance on the political spectrum. But the party needs to chop out the organizations that are destructive to the party only to get their way. In other words, no activists need to apply. Learn to get along. Learn to collaborate. Learn to be good Christians again.
Kudos on clarifying what the mass Media can not see. They are blinded by their "Progressive" biases, and instead, project what they assume is truth.
Kind of what I have been saying for a while. Trump was an easy target because he had many unforced errors that caused a lot of headaches. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who is the president or who is the nominee. The left will slander, demonize, and put them all in a bad light to make them look like the antichrist and there is a willing media who strongly wants to enable that view.
Your kidding yourself if you think Ron is automatic win if he decides to run and wins the nomination. Plenty of left partisans to enact whatever sch-emery to keep themselves in the Oval office. Remember GW bush was that poster guy who was the savior of the GOP. similar to Ron and at the end of his tenure he was labelled and called everything in the book.
We face an enemy that is hell bent on destroying this country. Once we realize its not down to one man ( trump ) who is holding us down, then we can focus on the wider problem.
Keep in mind that anyone a teensy-weensy to the right of MSM authors is considered a "conservative". The broad brushstroke begins where their particular echo chamber ends.
Yep, spot on. It's past time to retire using the word "conservative" as synonymous with right-wing or Republican politics. It's better to assume that if someone is voting for the current parade of Republicans they are not a conservative
I know I am way off in the weeds here but, thinking back to my software development days, I want to describe this problem with the logic statement (IF NOT "them" Then "crazy"). And this statement is generic enough that it can keep shape shifting as needed.
There is no liberal/conservative demarcation, only an imaginary line in our brains that say anyone not like me is crazy.
I think of the DNC like Geppetto, working behind the scenes to train the low information voters. Training them to label the crazies and vote for the current lib choice. The nuances of the argument will keep shifting but the answer needs to always be "crazy".
We need a bugger bully pulpit, and pols have to frequently call out the interviewer as a hack.
But mostly, we need to keep growing the Hispanic Christian voting bloc and keep converting the Black conservative voting bloc.
I wish I thought it was just a misunderstanding but I tend to lean that it is a deliberate choice of stoking division and misinformation on their ideological inferiors.
I would submit, Wise Sir, that the petulant will always do what they want. You stated in part, "There is more nuance than the press understands about the divisions..." As you know, It's less about understanding nuances than it is about their pressing into their very overt agenda. The petulant media doesn't have the "want to" when it comes to presenting a balanced assessment of anything having to do with members of the Republican Party, whatever their shade of red.
Our society does have a difficult time agreeing on most anything these days. However, as said long ago, "All are strange but me and thee, and sometimes I'm not so sure about thee."
Hogan isn’t a fan of DeSantis because he knows DeSantis will destroy him in the primary. I like what Ron DeSantis is doing in Florida, and I’m a “live and let live” conservative. DeSantis is standing up for the basic human rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for all and not just some. He does it unapologetically, and it ticks off all the Dems and moderate milquetoast Rs.