Post ARc98cLziFO4e8YrmS by metalpoetnl@metalhead.club
 (DIR) More posts by metalpoetnl@metalhead.club
 (DIR) Post #ARc98Aok5lkJFBnQhc by tzimmer_history@mastodon.social
       2023-01-13T14:51:16Z
       
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       New episode of Is This Democracy: Republican Extremism, MAGA Nihilism, and the Rise of Ron DeSantis Why it’s misleading to assume the Right is animated purely by nihilistic rage, and why DeSantism will not bring moderation or “normalcy.” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/10-republican-extremism-maga-nihilism-and-the-rise/id1652741954?i=1000594264018
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc98LuopW8tfDiwCW by tzimmer_history@mastodon.social
       2023-01-13T14:52:05Z
       
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       In the end, the insurrectionists finally captured the House: Our takeaways from how the speaker drama played out and what has transpired since, what it all tells us about the Republican Party, and how the rightwing fringe has moved to the center of conservative politics.
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc98Wdqww6ivms2me by tzimmer_history@mastodon.social
       2023-01-13T14:53:39Z
       
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       Also: Nihilism. Chaos agents. Burning it all down. To many observers, the speaker spectacle confirmed that’s basically all there is to the MAGA Right. We discuss why the “nihilism” interpretation fails to explain what’s happening on the Right.The problem with an explanation that puts nihilism at the center is that it risks obscuring the ideological core of the rightwing political project - and it also falls short of explaining what holds all the different factions on the Right together.
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc98bBg37XZ1qj73o by tzimmer_history@mastodon.social
       2023-01-13T14:54:09Z
       
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       Finally, Ron DeSantis. Is he a less dangerous, more “normal” alternative to Trump? We dive into his actual record as governor of Florida, which is staunchly anti-democratic and concerningly authoritarian, and discuss the political project he is pursuing.
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc98btdPghbEBIDZo by tzimmer_history@mastodon.social
       2023-01-13T14:56:01Z
       
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       We dissect the different arguments surrounding DeSantism: A return to “normal” conservatism? A more competent (and therefore more dangerous) version of Trumpism? A form of Trumpism, but without Trump’s personal pathologies (and therefore less dangerous)?
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc98cLziFO4e8YrmS by metalpoetnl@metalhead.club
       2023-01-13T22:05:13Z
       
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       @tzimmer_history I would argue that a form of Trunpism without Trump's pathologies would be MORE dangerous.A fascist who can actually get things done is worse than a fascist who can't.
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc98dIqBSSVae5rVI by tzimmer_history@mastodon.social
       2023-01-13T14:56:32Z
       
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       There is a tendency to narrow the discussion to “DeSantis vs Trump: You have to pick” – but such a framework, and a simple “Better/worse than Trump” metric, isn’t very helpful if we want to understand DeSantis and the political project he represents, the vision he is pursuing.
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc98eksmgU45uDlqq by tzimmer_history@mastodon.social
       2023-01-13T14:58:53Z
       
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       Here is @donmoyn’s analysis of what’s going on in Florida to which we refer on the pod: The best dissection of DeSantis’ assault on academic freedom and free speech, his anti-democratic record, and of DeSantism as a political project more generally you will find anywhere. https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-desantis-attack-on-campus-speech
       
 (DIR) Post #ARc9Biv3l5WFsURa5o by fcktheworld587@social.linux.pizza
       2023-01-13T22:31:26Z
       
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       @metalpoetnl @tzimmer_history agreed!  Trump, but competent, terrifies me