I learned of this piece from a Bill Kristol retweet and I’m glad I did. This is another great perspective on Vance in what is, unfortunately, becoming an increasingly more popular concern among conservatives. I have voted Democratic more than Republican, especially the past five presidential election cycles, but was once a proud conservative, voting for both Bushes. I’m genuinely scared that guys like Vance, with their authoritarian ideals, hoping to use the power of the government to smite liberal corporate enemies (weren’t conservatives against fascist states?), and crude insults of their political enemies and an entire half of the country, are not just getting a pass, but in some cases major support from conservative pundits like Dreher and others. All those nightmare scenarios republicans warned us about coming from the left - socialist dictators, crushing dissent, etc. - are now proudly shouted from the rooftops by legitimate GOP candidates across the country.
I’m as concerned about some of the cultural ideologies coming from the left regarding discussions of race, sex/gender, and general freedom to speak one’s mind, as the next person, but those concerns pale in comparison to my fear of a Trump/Vance/Hawley/Cruz/MTG/Gaetz GOP having unchecked power to control elections and use the power of the state to crush dissent from the left.
I read Vance's book not long after it came out. I was born and raised not in Appalachia but in central Kentucky on the southern edge of the Bluegrass region in an area known as the Knobs. Hill country on a smaller scale than out east, minus the coal mines. So, I thought the book might be of interest to me.
Yawn.
My first reaction was, well, there's a significant chunk of time I'll never get back. There were no surprises or anything unfamiliar or new or enlightening there for me, probably because I'd had a lot of exposure to - and personal experience with - people exactly like those Vance wrote about. There were small insular communities (and subsets of larger ones) mirroring the cultural, social and political values and behaviors that he described all over my neck of the woods. The only thing I found surprising was the popularity of the book, the media's fawning reaction to it and to its author, and the sudden widespread interest in a portion of the country that hadn't gotten so much attention since the early days of LBJ's War on Poverty.
My second reaction was that he may tread a couple of steppingstones first, but the next real step for this guy is politics.
He was the Hillbilly Whisperer not long after his book came out. Now he's the Apostle of Appalachia. What Vance really is is an empty vessel that he fills with whatever he thinks most likely to get him what he wants, capitalizing on the groundwork that his book and ensuing semi-celebrity laid for him. He's not an ideologue, nor a man of deep convictions, as evidenced by his snappy about-face vis a vie Donald Trump. An opportunist who's simpatico with right wing authoritarian types. And a well-oiled weathervane. And nothing more.
So, six years on from becoming the Hillbilly Whisperer, he's a perfect fit for his chosen party.
I learned of this piece from a Bill Kristol retweet and I’m glad I did. This is another great perspective on Vance in what is, unfortunately, becoming an increasingly more popular concern among conservatives. I have voted Democratic more than Republican, especially the past five presidential election cycles, but was once a proud conservative, voting for both Bushes. I’m genuinely scared that guys like Vance, with their authoritarian ideals, hoping to use the power of the government to smite liberal corporate enemies (weren’t conservatives against fascist states?), and crude insults of their political enemies and an entire half of the country, are not just getting a pass, but in some cases major support from conservative pundits like Dreher and others. All those nightmare scenarios republicans warned us about coming from the left - socialist dictators, crushing dissent, etc. - are now proudly shouted from the rooftops by legitimate GOP candidates across the country.
I’m as concerned about some of the cultural ideologies coming from the left regarding discussions of race, sex/gender, and general freedom to speak one’s mind, as the next person, but those concerns pale in comparison to my fear of a Trump/Vance/Hawley/Cruz/MTG/Gaetz GOP having unchecked power to control elections and use the power of the state to crush dissent from the left.
The horror of right-wing collectivism
I read Vance's book not long after it came out. I was born and raised not in Appalachia but in central Kentucky on the southern edge of the Bluegrass region in an area known as the Knobs. Hill country on a smaller scale than out east, minus the coal mines. So, I thought the book might be of interest to me.
Yawn.
My first reaction was, well, there's a significant chunk of time I'll never get back. There were no surprises or anything unfamiliar or new or enlightening there for me, probably because I'd had a lot of exposure to - and personal experience with - people exactly like those Vance wrote about. There were small insular communities (and subsets of larger ones) mirroring the cultural, social and political values and behaviors that he described all over my neck of the woods. The only thing I found surprising was the popularity of the book, the media's fawning reaction to it and to its author, and the sudden widespread interest in a portion of the country that hadn't gotten so much attention since the early days of LBJ's War on Poverty.
My second reaction was that he may tread a couple of steppingstones first, but the next real step for this guy is politics.
He was the Hillbilly Whisperer not long after his book came out. Now he's the Apostle of Appalachia. What Vance really is is an empty vessel that he fills with whatever he thinks most likely to get him what he wants, capitalizing on the groundwork that his book and ensuing semi-celebrity laid for him. He's not an ideologue, nor a man of deep convictions, as evidenced by his snappy about-face vis a vie Donald Trump. An opportunist who's simpatico with right wing authoritarian types. And a well-oiled weathervane. And nothing more.
So, six years on from becoming the Hillbilly Whisperer, he's a perfect fit for his chosen party.
Thank you for the wake-up. I didn't realize that Massie had changed so much.