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.
As a 66-year-old lifelong Democrat voter and activist, I've come to the opposite conclusion.
I find the neo-racism and (especially) neo-miscogyny of today's Democrats so far beyond the pale that I simply cannot support them any more.
Accordingly, I voted straight Republican in the California open primary in June, and will do so again in November. (I refuse to cast meaningless third-party votes.)
My litmus tests are opposition to the Equality Act, which would allow unlimited at-will instaneous legal sex changes (allowing, for example, any man to enter any women's space place event or organization at will), and support of Tom Cotton's Empower Parents to Protect Their Kids Act, which requires schools to obtain parental consent before facilitating a child's gender transition.
Things seem to be coming down to rule by either christianist fascists or woke totalitarians. And given that binary choice, I will take the christianist fascists any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
Mark, I do not completely disagree with you on these positions re: trans issues. I am the local chapter director of FAIR https://www.fairforall.org/ because of my concern regarding how issues of race and transgender people are being discussed in our schools.
However, we can legislate the things you noted through elections. If Trump and his allies at the state level gain control via Secretary of State and Governor positions, they will simply do what Trump asked many decent republicans governors and Secretaries of State DID NOT in 2020, and dismiss as many votes as they need to rig elections. Once that happens, they can then do whatever the hell they want, because there will be no way of removing them and their allies from office. These people may support what you want now, but there’s nothing then stopping them from doing anything they want after that, including legislation you oppose, or simply taking over federal and local law enforcement to do as they wish and silent dissent.
We should always vote to secure democracy and the checks and balances that allow us to switch parties and ideologies when we want. Even if that means voting for someone whose positions we may not agree with over someone whose positions we do, but have indicated they’re prepared to try and use their office to rig elections or eliminate dissent.
I disagree that a vote for the Democrats is a vote to "secure democracy".
Their "trans" ideology is highly unpopular, but they will force it down our throats anyway, as they will Kendian "anti racism". (As a director of FAIR, I assume you're familiar with Kendi's fascist "anti racist constitutional amendment"; if not, google it!).
Ask any sex-based women's rights organization (eg the Women's Liberation Front) about how their speech is being ruthlessly suppressed by Democrat-backed Big Tech (e.g., WoLF is banned from fund raisng by GoFundMe as a "hate" group).
Yes, the Republicans will try to rig elections, and may well succeed.
But I'm beyond caring about "democracy" in the abstract, because I don't believe that either party genuinely cares about it.
The Democrats were happy to let the un-democratic courts secure policies they favored (abortion rights, same-sex marriage), and stuanchly opposed putting these issues up for votes by the people (back in the days when they would lose).
So today I am in the fight against woke totalitarianism, full force. And that (sadly!) means allying with and supporting Republicans, even the christianist fascist ones, even the trumpistas.
War isn't pretty, and this is most definitely a war, one in which the stakes are very real and high.
Right now the Democrat-backed "trans" activists are mutilating and sterilizing children. This will one day be viewed incredulously as the unmitigated barbarism that it actually is.
And I know you will just dismiss me as a "transphobe", but FWIW I will add that I fully support the Bostock decision and its protections against employment discrimination, and believe that Congress should codify them into law.
This is a VERY different kettle of fish than the odious Equality Act.
>The following are selected examples of material harms to women and girls that have already been caused or exacerbated by existing “gender identity” laws and policies. These examples are taken from various U.S. states and several countries outside the U.S. Under H.R. 5 (the “Equality Act”), none of the following examples would have required fraudulent intent – in fact the concept of fraudulent intent is irrelevant under H.R.5. This is because H.R. 5 explicitly defines “gender identity” as being determined by any person’s self-declared claims about their subjective and changeable “gender identity.”
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.
Hasn't looked as if Vance is doing as well as was once predicted. But whatever happens, I suspect he'll play the part of a bad penny and keep coming back.
Lake Cumberland is a nice area. Was there a number of times in my younger days. Folks where I grew up always referred to it as Cumberland Lake. Guess "Lake Cumberland" sounded a little too 'highfalutin'. ;-)
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.
As a 66-year-old lifelong Democrat voter and activist, I've come to the opposite conclusion.
I find the neo-racism and (especially) neo-miscogyny of today's Democrats so far beyond the pale that I simply cannot support them any more.
Accordingly, I voted straight Republican in the California open primary in June, and will do so again in November. (I refuse to cast meaningless third-party votes.)
My litmus tests are opposition to the Equality Act, which would allow unlimited at-will instaneous legal sex changes (allowing, for example, any man to enter any women's space place event or organization at will), and support of Tom Cotton's Empower Parents to Protect Their Kids Act, which requires schools to obtain parental consent before facilitating a child's gender transition.
Things seem to be coming down to rule by either christianist fascists or woke totalitarians. And given that binary choice, I will take the christianist fascists any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
Mark, I do not completely disagree with you on these positions re: trans issues. I am the local chapter director of FAIR https://www.fairforall.org/ because of my concern regarding how issues of race and transgender people are being discussed in our schools.
However, we can legislate the things you noted through elections. If Trump and his allies at the state level gain control via Secretary of State and Governor positions, they will simply do what Trump asked many decent republicans governors and Secretaries of State DID NOT in 2020, and dismiss as many votes as they need to rig elections. Once that happens, they can then do whatever the hell they want, because there will be no way of removing them and their allies from office. These people may support what you want now, but there’s nothing then stopping them from doing anything they want after that, including legislation you oppose, or simply taking over federal and local law enforcement to do as they wish and silent dissent.
We should always vote to secure democracy and the checks and balances that allow us to switch parties and ideologies when we want. Even if that means voting for someone whose positions we may not agree with over someone whose positions we do, but have indicated they’re prepared to try and use their office to rig elections or eliminate dissent.
I disagree that a vote for the Democrats is a vote to "secure democracy".
Their "trans" ideology is highly unpopular, but they will force it down our throats anyway, as they will Kendian "anti racism". (As a director of FAIR, I assume you're familiar with Kendi's fascist "anti racist constitutional amendment"; if not, google it!).
Ask any sex-based women's rights organization (eg the Women's Liberation Front) about how their speech is being ruthlessly suppressed by Democrat-backed Big Tech (e.g., WoLF is banned from fund raisng by GoFundMe as a "hate" group).
Yes, the Republicans will try to rig elections, and may well succeed.
But I'm beyond caring about "democracy" in the abstract, because I don't believe that either party genuinely cares about it.
The Democrats were happy to let the un-democratic courts secure policies they favored (abortion rights, same-sex marriage), and stuanchly opposed putting these issues up for votes by the people (back in the days when they would lose).
So today I am in the fight against woke totalitarianism, full force. And that (sadly!) means allying with and supporting Republicans, even the christianist fascist ones, even the trumpistas.
War isn't pretty, and this is most definitely a war, one in which the stakes are very real and high.
Right now the Democrat-backed "trans" activists are mutilating and sterilizing children. This will one day be viewed incredulously as the unmitigated barbarism that it actually is.
And I know you will just dismiss me as a "transphobe", but FWIW I will add that I fully support the Bostock decision and its protections against employment discrimination, and believe that Congress should codify them into law.
This is a VERY different kettle of fish than the odious Equality Act.
Delusional
Stop buying into propaganda and attempt looking at reality for a change.
The “trans” are coming for you?
Not for me, but for women and girls in general.
Women's Liberation Front:
>The following are selected examples of material harms to women and girls that have already been caused or exacerbated by existing “gender identity” laws and policies. These examples are taken from various U.S. states and several countries outside the U.S. Under H.R. 5 (the “Equality Act”), none of the following examples would have required fraudulent intent – in fact the concept of fraudulent intent is irrelevant under H.R.5. This is because H.R. 5 explicitly defines “gender identity” as being determined by any person’s self-declared claims about their subjective and changeable “gender identity.”
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f232ea74d8342386a7ebc52/t/5f2b1421d210ff042aedb41a/1596658721184/Selected-examples-of-harm-from-GI-policies_April-30-2019.pdf
https://womensliberationfront.org
Or if you want a book-length treatment, see Kara Dansky's The Abolition of Sex: How the "Transgender" Agenda Harms Women and Girls
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/59589019-the-abolition-of-sex
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.
Lake Cumberland here...agreed, Vance will be beholden to his master for the duration. Hopefully Ryan will prevail.
Hasn't looked as if Vance is doing as well as was once predicted. But whatever happens, I suspect he'll play the part of a bad penny and keep coming back.
Lake Cumberland is a nice area. Was there a number of times in my younger days. Folks where I grew up always referred to it as Cumberland Lake. Guess "Lake Cumberland" sounded a little too 'highfalutin'. ;-)
Thank you for the wake-up. I didn't realize that Massie had changed so much.