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There is an intellectual sickness on the American right
When free speech is treated as the highest good, it gives rise to shock-jock politics.
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qcp
Joined 2007/07/05Visited 2024/10/07
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More: Foremost among these is the fetish for free speech as the sole end of political life. Loath to actually govern, lest it encroach on donor-class prerogatives, the institutional right has long substituted procedural claims " why can't I ask questions! " for substantive ones about the good life. Free speech and inquiry are valuable. But treated as the highest good, these ideals give rise to a pure shock-jock politics.
Second, and there is no delicate way to put this, the right suffers from a talent shortage. For all the rhetoric about free inquiry, the same donor class severely disciplines the mainstream right's media and academic operators. To go beyond certain hawkish, free-market lines is verboten.
This leaves conservative institutions dominated by doctrinaire hacks who can churn predictable opinion pieces, but can't report or write at anywhere close to the level expected of left-of-centre counterparts. There are many applicants to be the next Fox or Newsmax loudmouth, but few young rightists aspire to the excellence and enterprise daily showcased by the New York Times or the New York Review (for all their shortcomings). Being a successful loudmouth is much easier: all you need is to bellow about how "they" want us to eat bugs and take poison vaccines.
The third and final cause is what might be called the young right's epistemic snap. Thoroughly alienated from the American mainstream, they feel compelled to believe that everything they've been taught is a big lie " even the relative decency of the Allied effort against the Nazis.
#1 | Posted by qcp at 2024-09-13 08:56 AM | Reply
MAGA and the "Right" have no values, including that of free speech. They are nihilists, and they want to see things burn.
#2 | Posted by Zed at 2024-09-13 09:40 AM | Reply
Burn, Baby, BURN..
If people are not Represented then representative democracy is a fraud.
I'm not MAGA, I Hate Trump and the Repukes.
They still have a point about the Echo chamber.
Two Winner Take All parties is not Democracy, it's a caricature of it.
Politically Appointed Lifetime appointment Justices "interpreting" what is "Democracy" is a travesty of it.
Our System has reached the point of internal collapse.
Money as Speech and limited proportional representation are the reasons.
The answer is a NEW CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
Rewrite the whole thing.
Create a Parliamentary system of strictly proportional representation.
That's The Ticket, Skippy!
#3 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-13 11:50 AM | Reply
#3
Putin couldn't have said it better himself. Blame both ideological sides in American politics with the intent of destroying people's faith in democracy instead of realizing one party is ready and willing to compromise while the other party openly stokes fear and loathing of any and all that don't view the world as they do, calling fellow citizens enemies while lusting for civil war.
Your answer is to tear it all down, the very thing Putin wants to happen.
#4 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-09-13 12:00 PM | Reply
#4 Not faith in Democracy itself. Faith in a stupid two Party system that does Not Allow for Proportional representation. One side wins everything. Losers get nothing, no representation based on relative levels of support. The Majority steamrolls everyone else.
Most other countries have a Parliamentary system that allows for multiple parties and strict PROPORTIONAL representation of the people in all their varied opinions.
The American system is a throwback to 18th century fears about "the Rabble".
The Rich are the only true constituency, everyone else are just Subjects Told how it is.
The Electoral College. The structure of the Senate. The way the Supreme Court is selected, all of these things are proof that OLIGARCHS alway Ran the Show in the US.
Fear of the Poor was the Reason.
I say it's BS, the 21st century needs an upgrade, if not a total replacement of, the Constitution.
You just fear the Poor too.
#5 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-13 02:11 PM | Reply
Why does it feel as though every article like this one is being written by someone who's 25 years old?
That has no perspective that there literally nothing new about any of these realizations/accusations?
Rush Limbaugh generated those exact same articles 20+ years ago. Fox News has been doing it for a long time as well.
And blind partisan republicans are still blind partisan republicans.
"openly stokes fear and loathing of any and all that don't view the world as they do, calling fellow citizens enemies while lusting for civil war."
That describes a lot of posters here but Tony thinks he's describing others.....
#6 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 02:26 PM | Reply
Is it really accurate to consider a lack of something a "sickness"?
#7 | Posted by jpw at 2024-09-13 06:18 PM | Reply
I still remember the William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal debates from '68.
How far the Republicants have fallen.
#8 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-09-14 01:28 PM | Reply
The whole parliamentarian system is one of those grass is greener over there situation. It is a formula for an even less functioning government. It's instability could lead to government collapse.
Though I do wish our system allowed my vote to matter.
#9 | Posted by truthhurts at 2024-09-15 02:16 AM | Reply
#9 | Posted by truthhurts
Hopefully, sooner or later we'll have enough states enrolled in the interstate compact that the popular vote determines the president.
As it should in a democracy ...
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) ballotpedia.org
#10 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2024-09-15 03:28 AM | Reply
"Shut up, Jew." "Your Jew lies don't work anymore." "Yeah, Jew, the truth can be a bitch, huh?" "Jews lie, steal, and murder " it's their religious duty." "Less ----- is always good."
Taken from a college campus protester?
#11 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-09-15 05:50 AM | Reply
#11 | Posted by madbomber
Or a member of your military unit.
#12 | Posted by Zed at 2024-09-15 08:08 AM | Reply
The whole parliamentarian system is one of those grass is greener over there situation. It is a formula for an even less functioning government.
It's an interesting system where the party that wins the election might not get to govern. Or the party that did the worst gets to decide who wins.
#13 | Posted by REDIAL at 2024-09-15 11:41 AM | Reply
It's more fair in every way than our current system. Minority parties get to actually affect policy directly and the makeup of the ruling coalitions.
That's why almost No other countries use the American system.
The American system is designed to disenfranchise the poor.
It's built into the system itself.
#14 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-15 12:08 PM | Reply
Well we may have the right to free speech telling obvious and harmful lies should entitle one to one right in the mouth.
#15 | Posted by Tor at 2024-09-15 12:51 PM | Reply
It's more fair in every way than our current system.
It's also confusing. BC is having an election this fall. The current ruling party is the New Democrat Party (NDP) which is the left wing tree hugger party. They took over in 1996 from the conservative party that was the BC Liberal Party. For the next election, the BC Liberal Party changed their name to "BC United"... same conservative party, just didn't have "Liberal" in the name. They lost again.
After that, another conservative party formed, called the "Conservative Party of BC". In the last year or so that group has been making headway against BC United, mostly by reminding people they are just the old (conservative) BC Liberal Party with a new name. Neither conservative party was having much luck in the polls against the ruling NDP, however.
Last week, out of nowhere, the BC United party suspended their campaign and pulled out of the election altogether, in order to not split the Conservative vote. This caused quite a furor for the current BC United representatives and their supporters, as they will all be out of office after the election since they can't run anymore.
Fun times!
#16 | Posted by REDIAL at 2024-09-15 01:04 PM | Reply
But everyone got represented. Nobody was shut out and told to just get over it.
Confusing or not it's a better and more Just system, which is why more countries use it.
The American system is about keeping the "Rabble" in their place and enriching the already Rich.
Something it has succeeded spectacularly at.
#17 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-15 01:32 PM | Reply
"The American system is about keeping the "Rabble" in their place and enriching the already Rich."
Hogwash. It may be abused but that is not what the "system" is "about".
Also. Nothing is "free".
Everything affects everything.
And your speech has consequences.
The speaker is accountable for the consequences of their speech. Good or bad.
(Whether they are eventually rewarded or held accountable is another matter)
#18 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-09-15 02:34 PM | Reply
Slavery was the ultimate use of money and lack of franchise to abuse the poor.
The US system was designed to perpetuate slavery. Many of the founders were Oligarchs who OWNED human beings for their own Profit.
Of course the system was designed to keep the poor down and the rich wealthy.
The Fact that only property holders could Vote in the early Republic makes a lie of your assertion that the system was not designed to disenfranchise the poor.
Reforms were made but the basic system and it's bias toward empowering the wealthy at the expense of everyone else is still Obvious to anyone not deliberately trying to not see it.
Money is Speech? WTF?!
How is that anything but creating a system that weakens the participation of anyone not rich enough to BUY POLICY?
Pay to play?
Why does it cost Billions to get elected President if the system itself isn't designed to protect the Interests of the Oligarchy and prevent Anyone else from getting any Real Representation?
That's the Conundrum.
#19 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-15 03:32 PM | Reply
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