#1473 How the GOP Became a Radicalized Strongman Cult
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2022
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 3/2/2022
Today we take a look at the not-so-slow transformation of Republicans from a Bush/McCain/Romney party to a Trump/DeSantis/Putin party complete with cultish devotion and a dependence on a near-total dismissal of truth replaced by propaganda.
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SHOW NOTES
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history at NYU and author of "Strongmen," talks about right-wing assault on democracy in the United States and familiar patterns between the Trump movement and other authoritarian movements around the world an in history.
Ch. 2: Legitimate Political Discourse - Political Gabfest - Air Date 2-10-22
The GOP embrace of Jan. 6 rioters
Explaining the seeming anomaly of Trump in the line of Republican presidential nominees
Ch. 4: Republicans in complete disarray - The Bradcast w/ Brad Friedman - Air Date 2-7-22
Trump's Republican National Committee labeled the violent, deadly Capitol Insurrection 'legitimate political discourse, and censured conservative Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger for participating in the bipartisan House Jan. 6 Select Committee.
Ch. 5: Rick Scott: The Man With The Plan? - The Mehdi Hasan Show - Air Date 2-23-22
What does the Republican Party really stand for — besides attacking liberals? One Republican senator is giving a masterclass in his plan to save America. David Jolly joins to discuss.
Ch. 6: How Vladimir Putin won Republicans' approval - Vox - Air Date 1-13-17
He's an authoritarian strongman, and he's never been more popular with GOP voters.
Alex Wagner: “The shocking thing is when these Republicans look at Russia—its repression and flouting of democratic norms and restriction of essential freedom—when they look at all that they may not see a cautionary tale, but an aspirational one.”
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 8: How Jan 6th Changed Extremism - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 1-5-22
Brandy Zadrozny talks about the landscape of extremism since January 6th and her new investigation that finds some militia and white supremacist groups have shifted tactics, going from protesting to putting energy into local politics and school boards.
Ch. 9: The America We Deserve - In The Thick - Air Date 2-8-22
They get into the latest on the January 6th insurrection, and the connection between voter suppression and anti-Black racism.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments on sheep-dogging, coalition governments and power dynamics
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left Podcast in which we shall |
| 0:07.1 | take a look at the not-so-slow transformation of Republicans from a bush McCain Romney |
| 0:12.5 | sort of party to a Trump-de-Santis Putin sort of party, complete with cultist devotion and |
| 0:19.9 | depends on near-total dismissal of truth replaced by propaganda. |
| 0:24.8 | Clips today are from the Rachel Matosho, the slate political gabfest, the Al Franken |
| 0:30.1 | podcast, the Bradcast, the Medihissan show, Vox and all-in with Chris Hayes, and with additional |
| 0:37.6 | members and the clips from the Brian Leroy Show and in The Thick. |
| 0:41.5 | What I ask you about this issue that you write about in your book and other historians |
| 0:52.8 | talk about, and that is that there is something about American exceptionalism, about the strength |
| 0:58.7 | of belief that Americans have in themselves, which is a little bit different from Patriots |
| 1:02.8 | and other countries, that doesn't allow us to see fundamental fall of flaws or faults |
| 1:08.4 | like the one that you described. |
| 1:10.0 | There's something that doesn't want us to believe that what we saw a year ago was actually |
| 1:14.9 | an attack on democracy. |
| 1:17.0 | Yeah, Americans have always been very invested in the idea of America as a beacon of freedom |
| 1:23.8 | and it has been for so many immigrants who have come here, but there's a whole other side |
| 1:29.3 | to American engagement with democracy, such as all the coups during the Cold War, the |
| 1:35.0 | Huntas, that the United States, you know, propped up and helped to happen. |
| 1:40.4 | It's taken away democracy from countries. |
| 1:43.6 | And what's so poignant about that is right now we're living through a very serious assault |
| 1:49.9 | on democracy and some of the people involved in that Trump and Roger Stone and Ban and |
| 1:56.1 | Paul Manafort. |
... |
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