And you can bet that although Republicans haven't complained about Trump increasing the national debt by about 3 trillion dollars (with over two years to go in his term), the mainstream/legacy media will find (i.e. invent) plenty of 'fiscal conservatives' as soon as there's a Democratic president trying to pass legislation for the common good.
All you need to know about Todd Blanche is that he bragged at a CPAC event in late March that he and Kash Patel had run off DOJ and FBI employees who had anything to do with investigating Trump. As for Rubio, he was the ultimate political windsock even before becoming a Trump flunky. He'll say anything at any time if it suits his purposes. What's especially ludicrous about Little Marco is that he built his career on assaulting a Communist regime that persecutes citizens and tramples on human rights and now is a major part of a far-right regime that persecutes citizens and tramples on human rights. Little Marco has more in common with the Castros than he would ever care to admit.
Your headline cracked me up because it describes so perfectly what the MSM/corporate media are up to. Once upon a time in America (unless I'm hallucinating, which is definitely possible), conservatives and liberals were mostly committed to the "democratic process," e.g., free and fair elections. Somewhere in between the conservatives and the liberals were the moderates. They often split their tickets, a Democrat here, a Republican there, and you rarely saw them holding signs at the polls.
At some point -- I believe it started with the civil rights advances of the mid-1960s -- the spectrum started drifting rightward. The Democrats, especially the white ones, started looking like moderates. On their left flank emerged what were called progressives, who looked a bit like New Dealers but with people of color included this time. Since ours is a two-party system, they were Democrats for sure -- but they made (and continue to make) those moderate Democrats very, very nervous.
With the rightward drift, more and more Republicans have fallen off the edge, into a place that isn't democratic at all. What to do when "we the people" no longer support your agenda? That's a no-brainer: Discourage them from voting, and work it so that their votes don't count. Hence gerrymandering, and packing the Supreme Court with justices deeply suspicious of democracy -- remember that Citizens United came down six years before Trump was elected the first time. Etc.
And so, as I keep saying (so often that even my dog tells me to STFU), here we are.
I don't do perfect. Across the Substacks I follow, many commenters seem to think this all started with Trump. USians are notorious for not knowing our history. This is a big reason we're in this mess -- it's neck and neck with racism (to which it's definitely related).
Watergate gave us the same comfort myth. Haldeman was "disciplined." Kleindienst was "a lawyer's lawyer." They weren't checking Nixon — they were enabling him while wearing respectable suits. The difference between them and the true believers was style; we ignored the substance until the criminal charges were filed..
Rubio may be 2026's Erlichment/Haldeman. My conservative friends cling to Rubio because he speaks in coherent sentences. But he's backed illegal military action, Greenland pressure campaigns, and food aid cuts. Coherence isn't restraint. The "adult in the room" has always been the room.
Thank you for saying all of this. The New York Times has been promoting "moderate Nazis": since 1935 and they have never stopped. I still have a digital subscription. It's the paper of record. But I have withdrawn my respect and I'll never ever ever look at it the same. Ditto for the rest of the legacy media.
Thank you. This is what I keep saying. Why would we want a centrist when the right are fascists? We want fascist lite to peel off some of those MAGA voters? I’m sick of the Dems sidelining the so-called progressives for being too far left. Too far left in the US is a normal person in other Democratic countries.
Moderate Nazi; Mild Nazi? Moderate MAGAt. Mild MAGAt? No such thing. Good points. Dachau was established to detain people Hitler did not like. It was the first and became the model SS konzentrationslager. Alligator Alcatraz was established to detain people Trump does not like. People are dying in American concentration camps. Keep an eye out for crematoriums which come last when they wonder what to do with the bodies. The reality show is American Fascism and Steven Miller seems to have assumed the role of Heinrich Himmler [suicide by cyanide capsule May 23, 1945]. We are in trouble. Thanks for the info and the opportunity to comment.
Excellent - and I too am frustrated by the mediocrity of the media muddying stark reality with understated safer explanations.
Yes,Rubio has in my opinion ruined any possibility of honor.
Excerpt
“Rubio soon showed what a mistake that was. As Politico put it, Rubio “deftly earned the president’s trust” by abandoning his past positions and doing Trump’s dirty work. Rubio has been “qualified” to support an illegal war with Iran, seize control of Venezuela’s oil, pressure Denmark to surrender Greenland, and deny food aid to impoverished people abroad.”
And you can bet that although Republicans haven't complained about Trump increasing the national debt by about 3 trillion dollars (with over two years to go in his term), the mainstream/legacy media will find (i.e. invent) plenty of 'fiscal conservatives' as soon as there's a Democratic president trying to pass legislation for the common good.
I hadn't thought far ahead but I'd bet good money you're right.
No one but you and Marc Elias get it right; compromise is impossible.
All you need to know about Todd Blanche is that he bragged at a CPAC event in late March that he and Kash Patel had run off DOJ and FBI employees who had anything to do with investigating Trump. As for Rubio, he was the ultimate political windsock even before becoming a Trump flunky. He'll say anything at any time if it suits his purposes. What's especially ludicrous about Little Marco is that he built his career on assaulting a Communist regime that persecutes citizens and tramples on human rights and now is a major part of a far-right regime that persecutes citizens and tramples on human rights. Little Marco has more in common with the Castros than he would ever care to admit.
Well said. Rubio often cons major news media while he promotes authoritarianism.
Your headline cracked me up because it describes so perfectly what the MSM/corporate media are up to. Once upon a time in America (unless I'm hallucinating, which is definitely possible), conservatives and liberals were mostly committed to the "democratic process," e.g., free and fair elections. Somewhere in between the conservatives and the liberals were the moderates. They often split their tickets, a Democrat here, a Republican there, and you rarely saw them holding signs at the polls.
At some point -- I believe it started with the civil rights advances of the mid-1960s -- the spectrum started drifting rightward. The Democrats, especially the white ones, started looking like moderates. On their left flank emerged what were called progressives, who looked a bit like New Dealers but with people of color included this time. Since ours is a two-party system, they were Democrats for sure -- but they made (and continue to make) those moderate Democrats very, very nervous.
With the rightward drift, more and more Republicans have fallen off the edge, into a place that isn't democratic at all. What to do when "we the people" no longer support your agenda? That's a no-brainer: Discourage them from voting, and work it so that their votes don't count. Hence gerrymandering, and packing the Supreme Court with justices deeply suspicious of democracy -- remember that Citizens United came down six years before Trump was elected the first time. Etc.
And so, as I keep saying (so often that even my dog tells me to STFU), here we are.
Longer than perfect but a good analysis.
I don't do perfect. Across the Substacks I follow, many commenters seem to think this all started with Trump. USians are notorious for not knowing our history. This is a big reason we're in this mess -- it's neck and neck with racism (to which it's definitely related).
Watergate gave us the same comfort myth. Haldeman was "disciplined." Kleindienst was "a lawyer's lawyer." They weren't checking Nixon — they were enabling him while wearing respectable suits. The difference between them and the true believers was style; we ignored the substance until the criminal charges were filed..
Rubio may be 2026's Erlichment/Haldeman. My conservative friends cling to Rubio because he speaks in coherent sentences. But he's backed illegal military action, Greenland pressure campaigns, and food aid cuts. Coherence isn't restraint. The "adult in the room" has always been the room.
Thank you for saying all of this. The New York Times has been promoting "moderate Nazis": since 1935 and they have never stopped. I still have a digital subscription. It's the paper of record. But I have withdrawn my respect and I'll never ever ever look at it the same. Ditto for the rest of the legacy media.
Thank you. This is what I keep saying. Why would we want a centrist when the right are fascists? We want fascist lite to peel off some of those MAGA voters? I’m sick of the Dems sidelining the so-called progressives for being too far left. Too far left in the US is a normal person in other Democratic countries.
Exactly.
Moderate Nazi; Mild Nazi? Moderate MAGAt. Mild MAGAt? No such thing. Good points. Dachau was established to detain people Hitler did not like. It was the first and became the model SS konzentrationslager. Alligator Alcatraz was established to detain people Trump does not like. People are dying in American concentration camps. Keep an eye out for crematoriums which come last when they wonder what to do with the bodies. The reality show is American Fascism and Steven Miller seems to have assumed the role of Heinrich Himmler [suicide by cyanide capsule May 23, 1945]. We are in trouble. Thanks for the info and the opportunity to comment.
Great piece; great points. Thanks!
great, accurate, truthful article!
Excellent - and I too am frustrated by the mediocrity of the media muddying stark reality with understated safer explanations.
Yes,Rubio has in my opinion ruined any possibility of honor.
Excerpt
“Rubio soon showed what a mistake that was. As Politico put it, Rubio “deftly earned the president’s trust” by abandoning his past positions and doing Trump’s dirty work. Rubio has been “qualified” to support an illegal war with Iran, seize control of Venezuela’s oil, pressure Denmark to surrender Greenland, and deny food aid to impoverished people abroad.”
Thank you for the great work done on this article. I only watched the election returns. I hope and wish for a democratic victory in November.
Democrat in Name Only https://share.google/rg8R0VSd5ehOsuvdq