Matthew Sheffield

🟦 National correspondent, The Young Turks
🟦 Publisher, Flux
🟦 Host, Theory of Change podcast
🟦 Front-end developer
🟦 Mastodon and open source advocate
🟦 Creator of #JohnMastodon meme

Posts about politics, religion, media, and technology with occasional memes

Signal: 202-215-9123

Public Key

npub1q8ncj6m4utxz750500zal6qn5lg48xjlm49anafmd7pmv2rlztfsg49e3t

NIP-05 Address

mattsheffield_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsqreufdd679np02868h3wlaqf6052nnf0a6j7e75aklqak9pl395cpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qytgu0r

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub1q8ncj6m4utxz750500zal6qn5lg48xjlm49anafmd7pmv2rlztfsg49e3t

Show more details

Last Notes

2024-09-20 17:32:20

New study confirms previous research that people with right-wing opinions have larger amygdalae (the brain's primitive fear center) than other people https://studyfinds.org/conservatives-liberals-brains/

2024-09-19 16:57:41

The evangelical-dominated Christian right is being replaced by a Catholic right that is much wealthier, better organized, and much more extreme.
Must read 👇https://archive.is/azCAq

2024-09-18 00:38:52

- reply

Besides refusing to fact check things on his own, Vance refuses to release the names of any of the people who supposedly told him the pet rumors. Thus, the media cannot fact check them either. (If they even exist at all.}

2024-09-18 00:00:40

JD Vance when asked if he has a responsibility to fact-check things his constituents tell him:
"The media has the responsibility to fact-check the residents of Springfield."
In other words, Republicans have zero obligation to speak truth. They can lie or promote any rumor they want.
Their total disregard for truth is what makes Republican elites so dangerous. And they were this way before Trump.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/155/608/995/099/814/original/2bdf691f02db0da0.mp4

2024-09-17 14:17:45

My latest: Donald Trump's racist rhetoric is getting worse, and his deportation schemes are remarkably detailed and violent.
Win or lose, he is going to create a lot more violence https://www.thebulwark.com/p/violence-trump-political-rhetoric

2024-09-16 23:12:56

Brittany Mahomes showing showing once again that many conservative-inclined people can only see injustice when is perpetuated against someone close to them.
Trump's countless crimes and degradations of others were irrelevant until he insulted Taylor Swift https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13856311/brittany-mahomes-donald-trump-questioning-support-taylor-swift.html

2024-09-15 16:31:25

🧵 #JDVance is even more dishonest than Donald Trump. The old guy lies constantly, but often he can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality. He regularly thinks he's in some other state.
Vance is a calculating deceiver who has twice admitted that he lied for political advantage.
Speaking to CNN today, Vance said that he and Trump "create stories" which are untrue, like the lies about Haitians in Springfield.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/142/519/117/647/498/original/5d1e30f21b8b1235.mp4

2024-09-13 01:53:01

The myth of a secretly rational Republican Party is probably the most dangerous belief on the center-left.
While there are Republican voters who aren't aware of the party's extreme agenda, the people who control the party want what Trump wants. There's no "rescuing" them.
This was one of our centerpiece topics in the latest "Theory of Change" featuring OG blogger Driftglass: https://plus.flux.community/p/despite-the-rights-complaints-there
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/127/743/296/514/764/original/d5e97f5cc97c7882.mp4

2024-09-11 04:13:12

From start to finish, Kamala Harris dominated Donald Trump.
At the beginning, she pointed out how he worsened the pandemic and destroyed the economy.
After pointing out his 1/6 treason, she then pointed out that Trump would lie constantly during the discussion. He proved her point.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/116/969/170/002/560/original/37c20577e37620a9.mp4

2024-09-10 21:07:26

Moms for Liberty, the insane religious hate group that Donald Trump spoke at, featured a woman claiming onstage that homosexuality is a "demonic spiritual attack."
The Republican party elites never changed what they believed about #lgbtqia, despite what their lying representatives like Scott Jennings say.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/115/289/908/158/941/original/ea59f72f80b8be0d.mp4

2024-09-01 14:59:26

The term "reactionary centrist" is a poor way of saying "conservative."
There's no ideology of centrism and never has been.

2024-08-31 16:29:22

- reply

@npub1k4q…4nh2 About 38% of American adults. PT Barnum was right about how common suckers are.

2024-08-31 16:13:01

After lying that he'd be "great for women and their reproductive rights” and pretending to favor free IVF, Donald Trump says he won't vote to overturn Florida's extreme 6 week abortion ban.
This is why you can't trust his Project 2025 denials. He'll say anything to win. No denial or promise he makes can be believed.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/057/514/219/560/469/original/b208f48b1a2083a6.mp4

2024-08-31 04:06:27

Just like Donald Trump, Elon Musk trusts mail-in voting for his own ballots, while also promoting lies about its security to the general public. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/rcna168854

2024-08-29 02:48:03

- reply

@npub1vqm…ccpx She really has no idea how normal people feel about this guy. I hope her viewpoint is shared within the Trump campaign.

2024-08-29 01:54:55

Wow, the right-wing delusion in this post is off the charts https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2024/08/28/i-lurves-me-a-happy-warrior-n3793782

2024-08-28 17:38:38

Twitter is being flooded with fake MAGA beauty influencer accounts created by unknown people with stolen photos of real European women.
And of course they're "verified" under Elon's fake system. They're selling a fantasy to desperate MAGA men https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/28/europe/fake-maga-accounts-x-european-influencers-intl-cmd/index.html

2024-08-28 15:36:12

The $DJT stock has become a stunk. After being pumped up artificially by a merger, Donald Trump's Untruth Social has lost almost all of its bubble value.
With no profits and declining users, everyone but gullible MAGA simps could see this coming.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/040/376/812/132/689/original/6bcab9538b0a75b9.png

2024-08-23 21:35:33

Democrats featured many different former Republicans at their convention this week. Fox News Channel refused to carry any of their speeches.
Yet another reason why Fox is not news. Keep this in mind for next time you hear a MAGA acolyte whine about "censorship" or "cancel culture" https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/disaffected-republicans-and-former-trump-officials-spoke-dnc-fox-news-didnt-air-second-any

2024-08-20 07:03:07

- reply

Here's #RaphaelWarnock's speech. It is similarly excellent, and a very good one to show to a Trump voter who is Christian.
#DNC2024
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/993/065/711/740/424/original/bd2535aa17cffd64.mp4

2024-08-20 05:14:33

- reply

In case you missed it, Jasmine Crockett's speech was absolute fire tonight at the #DNC2024
Here it is in full. She laid out the case against Trump perfectly and why Kamala Harris must defeat him.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/992/640/039/321/191/original/a9951e5f106968a9.mp4

2024-08-20 04:13:19

Fox News censored every single Black speaker at the Democratic National Convention tonight except for Kamala Harris's brief welcome speech.
What a disgusting display of racism!
Fox censored:
-Karen Bass
-Laphonza Butler
-James Clyburn
-Jasmine Crockett
-Raphael Warnock
#DNC2024

2024-08-20 02:34:05

We're going to see a lot more of Jasmine Crockett in the years ahead.
Great line, delivered with her characteristic humor and verve: "Kamala Harris has been living the American dream while Donald Trump has been America's nightmare."
#DNC2024
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/992/006/753/810/695/original/4d14b1da270eabbe.png

2024-08-17 00:29:58

Elon Musk welcoming fascists and nazis back onto Twitter and telling advertisers to "go f*ck yourself" has cost Xitter hundreds of millions of dollars, so much so that Musk is likely going to be compelled to sell off billions in Tesla stock to bail it out.
https://fortune.com/2024/08/15/elon-musk-tesla-stock-sale-twitter-x-advertiser-boycott-finances-bradford-ferguson/
#elonmusk #twitter #tesla

2024-08-15 20:16:34

As a full member of the misogynistic and religious extremist online right, JD Vance's past interviews with disturbing podcasts keep surfacing.
Here he is being interviewed by a podcaster who said that feminists need to be r*ped: https://www.mediaite.com/news/jd-vance-interview-with-rape-advocating-anti-immigrant-writer-resurfaces/

2024-08-13 17:04:15

If you've ever wondered what goes on inside the brain of a white collar, educated Trump supporter, I recommend reading David Strom, a blogger at the aptly named "Hot Air" website.
He's completely radicalized and reading him, you can see the broken thought processes very well.
Here's a very emblematic one, filled with completely incorrect statements. And unlike Trump's lies, Strom thinks they're true: https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/08/12/the-establishment-are-fighting-like-cornered-rats-n3793013

2024-08-11 18:44:46

JD Vance straight-up lied when he claimed that "of course Donald Trump has criticized" Nazi activist Nick Fuentes,
In fact, Trump has never said anything negative publicly about Fuentes, before or after he had dinner with him.
Trump's refusal to disavow Fuentes is why he and his "groyper" acolytes have declared war on Trump's aides rather than on the candidate himself.
More on Trump's refusal to condemn Fuentes here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/story-trumps-explosive-dinner-ye-nick-fuentes-rcna59010

2024-08-11 00:03:47

Among the many #Project2025 training materials for Republicans revealed by ProPublica is this video instructing how to evade public records and transparency laws through meetings rather than emails.
They need secrecy for their extreme agenda. https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-project-2025-secret-training-videos-trump-election
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/940/457/147/478/482/original/cfa34ee94e8a85f8.mp4

2024-08-09 18:20:15

#JDVance is an anti-American freak who hates everyone. This is why he can't answer a simple question about what makes him happy.
MAGA is nothing but impotent rage now that Trump has entered the Fat Elvis stage.
More on the broader picture: https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2021/02/why-do-republican-elites-keep-talking-about-dying-jesus/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/933/442/973/807/769/original/ea87f953a7267fc6.mp4

2024-08-07 22:17:46

🧵 It's really stunning how many people who claimed Democrats should "reach out to rural people" really just meant "be Paul Ryan."
#TimWalz is everything these pundits 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 to want. What they 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 wanted was a conservative Democratic party.
If you'd like the article version of this thread, please click here: https://plus.flux.community/p/kamala-harris-and-tim-walz-are-returning
Otherwise, let's continue...

2024-08-06 21:21:28

The excitement for the Harris-Walz ticket is looking very 2008. To demonstrate, here is a video captured by NBC reporter Nnamdi Egwuonwu of the line to get into today's first rally in Philadelphia.
Thousands of people standing in the rain for hours to show support.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/917/165/512/742/617/original/503970123edbd50f.mp4

2024-08-06 15:33:38

Donald #Trump is a pampered plutocrat who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. JD #Vance was created in a lab by vampiric oligarchs.
By contrast, Tim #Walz comes from and actually respects the rural people who Republicans have tricked into voting for them.
Walz knows how to talk to people outside the Acela Corridor and loves doing it. Trump and Vance are going to have big problems.

2024-08-05 14:35:23

This is a wild story that says a lot about right-wing evangelicalism:
1) Matt Bevin, the Republican former Kentucky governor, adopted a boy from Ethiopia for PR purposes
2) Bevin and his wife decided they don't like the boy so they ship him off to an abusive "troubled teen" facility in Jamaica
3) Jamaican government shuts down the horrible group
4) Bevin family abandoned the boy in Jamaica after the facility was closed
https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/08/04/former-ky-gov-matt-bevins-adopted-son-reportedly-removed-from-abusive-facility-in-jamaica/

2024-08-03 21:35:17

- reply

In an interview with his acolyte Maria Bartiromo, Trump explicitly stated that he wanted to cut unspecified "waste" from the government and that his proposal to exempt Social Security benefits from taxation was designed to force cuts to social programs that people depend on.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/900/237/505/248/453/original/feb7a876de90f8d3.mp4

2024-08-03 21:34:48

- reply

Donald Trump is not a populist. He's a vulgarian.
There's a huge difference between the two. A populist policy about Social Security would raise the tax threshold and fund the program for decades. Instead, Trump is trying to make it insolvent to force benefit cuts.

2024-08-03 21:34:24

🧵 Donald Trump pretends to be populist, but his top economic adviser just said he wants to block senior citizens from retirement.
Stephen Moore, his buffoonish oligarch-fluffer, just said this: "Getting older people to stay in the workforce longer is a high national priority."
https://www.semafor.com/article/08/02/2024/trumps-social-security-tax-cut-plan-would-jeopardize-entitlements #socialsecurity
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/900/230/543/075/108/original/cc5df04665c37e63.png

2024-08-01 23:52:57

MAGA podcaster: People are calling us weird because demons are telling them to.
I can't envision a more perfect way of proving that you're normal!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/889/451/089/036/461/original/7d75a3bb21421253.mp4

2024-07-31 03:34:06

The right wing is totally flailing about how to attack #KamalaHarris. After the stunning success of various demographic fundraising calls for her, Fox host Jesse Watters issued a completely moronic warning to men: Voting for a woman will make you turn into a woman!
And also, men should vote Republican because Donald Trump's party is all about "virtue."
They are so desperate. Watch below.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/878/998/252/151/108/original/fde6fec827ec0df7.mp4

2024-07-30 02:05:10

- reply

@npub1lrv…tth9 Tom Friedman is a conservative and always has been.
Fascism requires the permission of conservatives in order to succeed. Friedman is almost always happy to oblige.

2024-07-28 20:37:05

This is a great essay on how most of software development is a waste of time.
Most things don't need to scale to millions of users. HTML and Javascript alone are much faster and better to maintain than the zillion frameworks that have been pushed out.
Development got overcomplicated with almost no benefit whatsoever https://tailscale.com/blog/new-internet #webdev #cloud #linux #freebsd
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/866/034/180/532/758/original/dfb5596a4972058b.png

2024-07-28 19:01:22

In the latest episode of my Theory of Change podcast, I spoke with author Samuel Spitale about his book "How to Win the War on Truth" about countering propaganda.
One of the biggest things to realize is that business and political propagandists are always trying to hijack legitimate causes, like when tobacco companies said smoking was liberating for women.
Much, much more here: https://plus.flux.community/p/disinformation-is-everywhere-but
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/865/645/103/870/439/original/682e75815940bb3a.mp4

2024-07-28 05:52:52

The authoritarian liar who owns Xitter is so desperate to propagandize for Trump that he's violated his own stated rules for manipulated media by reposting an AI modified derogatory version of Kamala Harris's first ad.
They're terrified of her and of normal people standing up. It's why they need to lie . https://dnyuz.com/2024/07/27/elon-musk-shares-manipulated-harris-video-in-seeming-violation-of-xs-policies/

2024-07-25 19:01:28

JD Vance's white nationalist connections just keep getting exposed. In addition to endorsing a book by the guy running Project 2025, he wrote a blurb for Jack Posobiec, a racist antisemite who was one of the biggest promoters of the Pizzagate hoax https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/07/jd-vance-unhumans-book-jack-posobiec-alt-right-january-6/

2024-07-24 21:48:53

Rupert Murdoch, the king of right-wing disinformation, is suing his own children to forcibly control what they can do with his media empire after his death.
He is so committed to reactionary bullshit that he's trying to run his companies from beyond the grave.
If only people on the center-left were this passionate about media and democracy!
Alt link for NYT story: https://dnyuz.com/2024/07/24/the-secret-battle-for-the-future-of-the-murdoch-empire/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/843/665/711/159/166/original/fb8386b655759c01.png

2024-07-24 04:26:16

House Republican leaders are getting upset at their caucus members because they can't help but be racist toward Kamala Harris, now that she is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
In their desperation, Republicans have also introduced impeachment resolutions against Harris which will go nowhere: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/23/gop-race-comments-harris-00170735

2024-07-22 20:10:51

The biggest reason why you know Joe Biden handing the baton to Kamala Harris was the right one is that it has absolutely enraged right-wing elites.
Stephen Miller had an absolute meltdown that is just delightful to see.
They had spent years and billions of dollars pushing a dead-simple message against Biden. It's all gone now.
Sour grapes never tasted sweeter.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/831/957/734/808/446/original/cec57af336054cf1.mp4

2024-07-22 01:29:33

Nikki Haley is wrong about almost everything. But this past January, she said one thing that will likely be proven very, very correct:
“The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate is going to be the one who wins this election.”
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/827/547/830/005/750/original/f160deb8c2893d27.mp4

2024-07-21 16:43:55

Elon Musk, the fascist oligarch who owns Twitter, just promoted an AI generated video of Donald Trump killing Joe Biden in the style of "The Matrix."
The original poster of the clip captioned it "He is the one."
Musk quote posted it and said: "Best AI video to date!"
Don't ever let these people get away with pretending to care about violent rhetoric.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/825/460/093/466/706/original/c592f9126bdca888.png

2024-07-20 17:52:49

Pete Buttigieg is very rare among Democrats in that he isn't afraid of exposing the corrupt motives of right-wing elites.
Having formerly worked w/them, I learned that it's always about money or religious insanity.
Everything that oligarchs like Elon Musk or David Sacks say about Ukraine, "wokeness," etc. is a cover for their true motive: They have a psychotic addiction to money and they will destroy anything to get more.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/820/085/323/606/577/original/172d18e8100fa925.mp4

2024-07-19 20:12:42

One of the dumbest right wing talking points is that Joe Biden caused inflation.
Believing that requires you not to know, or pretend not to know, that in their 1st year, presidents operate under their predecessor's budget.
Almost all inflation growth in Biden's term was based on Trump's spending.
Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/814/971/559/975/346/original/74742d4bb78f6341.png

2024-07-18 21:17:33

One of the most prominent nazis in America boasting that his fellow travelers are in JD Vance's social circles. He's absolutely correct.
Vance’s veep nomination makes it obvious that what was once called the “alt-right” has taken over the Republican party.
This group of reactionaries is far more intelligent and far more extreme than any previous Republican influx group like the Tea Party.
We're in dangerous times.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/809/560/916/698/580/original/c2cf7c59068b5467.png

2024-07-18 01:16:34

My latest @npub1hek…de3s
JD Vance's vice presidential nomination makes it clear that the Republican party moved from being the party of manufacturing magnates to neofeudalist oligarchs like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel: https://plus.flux.community/p/jd-vance-and-the-new-republican-oligarchs

2024-07-17 21:00:52

Seizing federal courts & funneling reactionary policymaking into them has been the cornerstone strategy of the radical right.
They never have to run on their unpopular ideas because the judges will do it for them. Re-upping this 2021 piece: https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2021/06/senate-filibuster-hasnt-just-stopped-liberal-legislation-its-also/

2024-07-16 21:00:33

#JDVance is a complete lunatic extremist who praises Alex Jones, the conspiracy radio host who has repeatedly called for the executions of Democrats, and played a leading role in organizing January 6th.
In a secret speech to the Christianist group, Vance praised Jones and talked at length about his laughable belief in Satan https://www.propublica.org/article/jd-vance-alex-jones-leonard-leo-teneo-maddow-video

2024-07-15 19:58:37

#JDVance is a soulless, conniving liar who will say anything to get power. This is ultimately why Trump has named him to be his vice presidential pick.
Vance was once worried that Trump could be "America's Hitler," but now he desperately wants that to happen.

2024-07-15 15:44:43

🧵 #AileenCannon's pro-Trump ruling to dismiss his document theft case highlights one of the biggest mistakes made by the American left: They thought that the legal system was inherently favorable to them, not realizing that judicial rulings are just legislating by other means.
Not realizing how political #law is, they utterly failed to stop Republicans from stacking the courts with automatons.

2024-07-14 17:43:00

A political party that celebrates shooters like Kyle Rittenhouse and whose leaders frequently post self-portraits with semi-automatic weapons suddenly has thoughts against political violence.
Republicans created this climate and promoted the gun that was used. They don't get to blame others, especially when the alleged shooter was a member of their party.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/786/075/565/076/602/original/ad58c6788677db73.png

2024-07-14 00:00:17

Trump's protection of assault weapons has redounded against him
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/781/887/778/054/908/original/2701004264e1769e.png

2024-07-11 00:42:08

Senior Project 2025 executive says presidents should override the law and withhold spending on anything they don't like.
It might seem boring, but this is exactly how the far right plans to defund social welfare and states that won't go along w/Trumpism https://www.mediamatters.org/project-2025/project-2025-partner-lays-foundation-trump-ignore-congressional-spending-major-power

2024-07-10 20:23:36

Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse call for special counsel to investigate "millions of dollars" in undisclosed gifts that Clarence Thomas received from oligarchs https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/09/justice-clarence-thomas-senate-special-counsel-probe-sought.html

2024-07-01 21:56:33

David Barton, a member of the Republican National Committee's platform group says the party is enacting the Bible as the platform:
-Ban #abortion
-Ban #LGBTQ rights
-Unlimited support for Israeli massacres
Republicans want religious dictatorship. Believe them when they say it.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/713/455/963/797/998/original/a2b35977994fa6ce.mp4

2024-07-01 18:25:04

The Supreme Court Republicans once again proving that "lawful evil" will always side with "chaotic evil" when it really matters. Impeach them all!

2024-06-25 18:19:55

The allegedly "liberal media" completely regurgitates Donald Trump's projection effort to distract from his disturbed and demented state of mind.
Trump's constant struggles with pronunciation, grammar, recall, and coherency should be something every American knows about https://www.mediamatters.org/washington-post/top-newspapers-fixate-bidens-age
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/678/630/597/863/873/original/d5a603d29d035880.png

2024-06-25 16:57:10

In an unbelievable act of corporate vandalism, Paramount completely erased the entire archives of MTV dot com, wiping out more than 30 years and hundreds of thousands of pages https://www.showbiz411.com/2024/06/25/paramount-shuts-down-mtv-website-wipes-history-after-20-plus-years

2024-06-24 03:26:59

- reply

@npub1lrv…tth9 Trump literally just said he loves West and Stein https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffield/112667403199452587

2024-06-13 15:26:22

There are now more partisan local websites than local newspapers. A milestone has been crossed. Overwhelmingly these are right wing fake news outlets, which means that right wing media is the mainstream media. America's information ecosystem is dangerously contaminated https://www.yahoo.com/news/phony-news-portals-surpass-us-210923632.html

2024-06-11 19:58:42

- reply

The current right-wing rebrand is the "Intellectual Dark Web," which was forwarded in 2018 by Bari Weiss, a right-wing libertarian who presents herself as a centrist.
The New York Times allowed her to print a highly misleading piece about the IDW that did not include any statements from historians or political scientists about past right-wing rebranding efforts.

2024-06-11 19:56:26

- reply

Right-wing leaders must continually rebrand because each time it works and they get elected, they implement policies that result in huge problems like the Great Depression, giant foreign wars, huge deficits, or pandemic disasters.
Republicans cannot get elected if the public remembers what the previous ones did in office, or if it knows about what the current ones want to do.

2024-06-11 19:53:00

- reply

By my count, there have been quite a few right-wing rebranding efforts:
■ 1950s, William F. Buckley (sybaritic pretend intellectual)
■ 1970s, Ronald Reagan "morning in America"
■ 1980s, Bush 41 "kinder & gentler"
■ 1990s, Newt Gingrich, "contract with America"
■ 2000s, Bush 43, "compassionate conservatism"
■ 2009, Tea Party "independents"
■ 2014, the alt-right
■ 2016, Trump's fake populism
■ 2018, Intellectual Dark Web

2024-06-11 19:51:34

- reply

The U.S. right has been running on the exact same policies since the 1930s: indifference/hostility to racial justice, anger against independent women, and giving businesses unlimited freedom to exploit the public and their employees.
This is an unpopular agenda though, so instead of running on it, the authoritarians pretend to be the real liberals.

2024-06-11 19:44:55

🧵 The American right is very different from conservative parties in other countries in that it never changes or adapts its policies to the public will.
The authoritarian right must rebrand also because it has no real philosophical or intellectual credibility now that science and history have totally destroyed religious fundamentalism's claims.
The leaders must lie about what they want & who they are. They can't win otherwise.
And now for the history... https://plus.flux.community/p/the-intellectual-dark-web-has-become

2024-06-03 19:55:19

Donald Trump has decided to explicitly run as a criminal and the self-described party of law and order couldn't be happier. Some funny and necessary analysis from my friend and podcast partner Lisa Curry for @npub1hek…de3s https://plus.flux.community/p/after-his-felony-convictions-donald

2024-06-02 02:25:51

One of the best things about having no algorithm in the #fediverse is that Americans can finally see that the rest of the industrialized world regards the Republican Party as stupid and evil.
Most Americans really don't know how horribly abnormal that Republicans are.

2024-06-02 00:33:05

Rudy Giuliani has been using a 9/11 victim charity to evade paying off his creditors. The guy isn't just a moron, he's also a disgusting grifter https://dnyuz.com/2024/06/01/a-9-11-charity-provides-a-financial-safety-net-to-a-giuliani-firm/

2024-05-30 22:29:04

#LockHimUp
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/532/397/239/419/299/original/3e25c53755ca5947.png

2024-05-24 14:14:31

An upcoming version of Windows finally adds support for the TAR archive format which has existed since 1979 https://liliputing.com/windows-11-24h2-release-preview-pins-copilot-to-the-taskbar-adds-7z-and-tar-support-to-file-explorer-and-includes-sudo-for-windows/

2024-05-22 01:09:33

The butter emails media is consistent in all the worst ways. Major media outlets spent more time on VP Kamala Harris using an expletive than a report that Donald Trump tried to extort oil companies for $1 billion https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/social-media-news-outlets-give-more-attention-kamala-harris-using-expletive-trumps

2024-05-17 16:32:01

Joe Biden won all of the debates he had with Trump in 2020 but somehow media people are pretending Trump is good at debating.
In reality, Trump is a crybaby narcissist who spirals into childish rage at the slightest confrontation.
He cowered from multiple debates in 2016 because he couldn't respond to tough questions. He was terrified of debating his Republican challengers in 2024. He also choked against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

2024-05-16 06:02:36

There is no such thing as the "culture war." What we're actually talking about is white evangelicals trying to cheat at politics rather than accept that Americans long ago rejected their authoritarian and superstitious viewpoints.
This is blindingly obvious on the issue of #abortion and #abortionrights https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/449/242/919/788/997/original/4e57861b5e845e3e.png

2024-05-14 23:07:15

After ending national abortion rights, the Christian fascists have been targeting birth control and pornography.
Ben Carson has signaled the next challenge: no-fault divorce.
They'll also go for extramarital and same-sex intimacy as well.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ben-carson-making-no-fault-divorce-harder-rcna152069

2024-05-13 16:35:11

Reactionary messaging is based entirely on a rotating series of tropes:
-Dirty hippy
-Ungrateful youth
-Nasty woman
-Scary non-white
-Evil degenerate
Ideally the tropes can be combined.
This is why they are so obsessed with lying about college Gaza protests, it allows the right to push dirty hippie, scary minority, and ungrateful youth all at once on an issue that has little public traction (foreign policy).
Most ppl don't care about the policy either way, so the tropes are what they see.

2023-08-08 16:18:35

- reply

These lies about trans people, which mirror lies about antifascists, racial minorities, poor people, and non-Christians are carefully crafted by Republican political elites to appeal to a paranoid fundamentalist sensibility in which extremist Christians believe they are personally battling Satan and demons on a daily basis.
This is not an exaggeration. Millions upon millions of people believe this stuff, in the United States and other countries.
Much more here: https://theoryofchange.flux.community/p/theory-of-change-023-christopher-9c2#details

2023-08-08 16:15:45

- reply

Every single day, people who watch Fox or Newsmax, or listen to talk radio are told that #trans people are demon possessed and that anyone who supports trans rights is a servant of Satan.
People who are trans know this, but it's vital that those who are not become aware of the vicious and evil smears being used against the trans community.
This is a small sample of what right wing media tells followers hundreds of times a day.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/854/885/618/348/257/original/31727b492bd2c600.mp4

2023-08-08 16:12:56

- reply

In the latest episode of my podcast Theory of Change, my guests Julie Millican and Olivia Little discuss in great detail how the very highest levels of right-wing media feed QAnon lies about demons controlling Democrats and trans people to millions of people.
Telling ignorant and superstitious people that Satan is personally controlling trans people puts lives at risk.
But Republicans are desperate for votes as their hardcore base of White Evangelicals is dying off.
https://theoryofchange.flux.community/p/theory-of-change-082-julie-millican#details

2023-08-08 16:11:06

🧵 We live in dangerous times principally because rapacious oligarchs have weaponized ignorance for political gain.
John Stuart Mill nailed it more than 150 years ago that stupidity is inherently right wing.
For decades, Republicans have leveraged this fact to gain political power through manipulation of people who are uneducated and/or ignorant.
Now, they have re-birthed the "Satanic Panic" to gain votes in a very dangerous move...
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/854/851/002/050/508/original/b5f8f1c21d76042c.png