#1219 How the GOP became the most destructive force in the world (Throwback)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 September 2024
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Original Air Date: 10/16/2018
Today we take a look at the distant and recent history of conservatism in America and beyond and follow the steps that have led to their rejection of science at a moment in history when it has never been more critical to heed the warnings of scientists
Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Corey Robin on the right from Burke to Trump - Jacobin Radio (@jacobinmag) - Air Date 12-3-17
Corey Robin on the Right from Burke to Trump. While most people on the Left fear and demonize the Right, they aren't interested in its ideas. Robin, however, takes them very seriously and analyzes their ideas for us.
The state of the conservative movement and where it goes from here.
Ch. 3: Kurt Andersen: How religion turned American politics against science - Big Think - Air Date 1-18-28
In the last 30 years, religion has radicalized American politics and seriously harmed the perception of science, says journalist and author Kurt Andersen. This can be directly tied to the rise of the Christian Right in the 20th century.
Ch. 4: The fall of family values - Past/Present - Air Date 6-25-18
Explaining how we came to the end of "family values" conservatism
Take action! Click the title and/or scroll down for quick links and resources from this segment.
Yascha Mounk discusses how to cover the Trump presidency; the complicity of the Republican party; and the future of the right with proud conservative and staunch Never Trumper Jennifer Rubin.
Amy Goodman began by asking Noam Chomsky about the catastrophically destructive tendencies of the Republican Party.
Ch. 8: America: The Farewell Tour (with Guest Chris Hedges) - @Thom_Hartmann - Air Date 10-2-18
Chris Hedges on the erosion of democratic infrastructure, imperialist leanings, and the widening gap between the morbidly rich and the working class, a sign of America's farewell?
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this throwback edition of the award-winning Best of Left Podcast, |
| 0:07.2 | where we remember the past and choose to repeat it. Today's episode was |
| 0:11.2 | originally published in October 2018 back when we were still |
| 0:15.2 | coming to grips with what a destructive force the GOP had become during the Trump |
| 0:20.1 | presidency and in the years preceding it. |
| 0:23.0 | As we face another opportunity for Trump to take power, |
| 0:26.0 | we reflect on the big picture of how we got to this nightmarish place in our politics. |
| 0:32.0 | Sources today include Jacobin Radio, Diane Reem on my mind, Big Think, Past |
| 0:38.9 | Present, The Good Fight, Democracy Now, and the Tom Hartman program? |
| 0:43.6 | So, Corey, it's been a few years since we did an interview about reaction in general, but let's just review your overarching thesis about reaction and as being a reaction to the left. |
| 1:02.0 | That reactionary really means reaction, right? |
| 1:04.4 | Yeah. |
| 1:05.1 | So reactionary politics, reactionary thought |
| 1:08.4 | is always a response to emancipatory movements of the left. |
| 1:14.6 | So not just the existence of the left, |
| 1:16.8 | but a particular kind of left, a left that's moving, |
| 1:20.7 | that's aiming for acts of dispossession and those movements can change across time. |
| 1:26.6 | The French Revolution is the original one. |
| 1:30.2 | Abolition was another. |
| 1:32.4 | The labor movement was another. The Black Freedom freedom struggle the women's movement the |
| 1:35.9 | movements change and with the reactionary right always sees in those movements |
| 1:40.4 | is an attempt to dispossess men of power of that power. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jay Tomlinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jay Tomlinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.