"My instinct was it was wrong. And as I think about it, I think it's right, but I think that it's right for possibly a different reason...."
Mulls Ezra Klein, in the new episode of his podcast, "MAHA Is a Bad Answer to a Good Question." I'm jumping you to a spot about half an hour into the discussion:
"I think there's a sense that that politics failed... particularly after 2024... You look around at the way... communal shaming worked. You look at the way people look back on the pandemic. You look at the backlash now to what gets called wokeness, Me Too. And whatever you believe about the underlying arguments being made that the effort to shame your way to a better world was a political failure — not a small political failure, but a political failure that has empowered the absolute worst people, the people you feared the most, like a Murderers' Row of who you did not want to have power.... And the move — I'm not sure if I would call it towards individualism — but away from this heavily enforced solidarity of both action and language — very, very aggressive on speech and info hazards — that that was part of what went wrong.... [T]he left became extremely comfortable with the deployment of state power on behalf of institutions and so on in a way that really radicalized the other side. And the other side didn't become libertarian — in a strange way, they became authoritarian...."
Klein seems to be blaming the left for making the right authoritarian, but isn't he also accusing the left of authoritarianism? What is "heavily enforced solidarity" that's "very, very aggressive on speech and info hazards" — what is it to be "extremely comfortable with the deployment of state power" — if not authoritarianism?
By the way, what is a Murderers' Row? The term goes back to at least 1850, when it referred to a row of prison cells in New York City's Tombs. But most Americans probably think of it in as referring to baseball— especially the 1927 New York Yankees, which had a very intimidating batting lineup. If that's your reference point, Klein sounds like he's expressing awe and admiration for the left's adversaries. Trump is the Babe Ruth of politics.
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Trump is so powerful he can make his enemies become assholes.
'not a small political failure, but a political failure that has empowered the absolute worst people, the people you feared the most, like a Murderers' Row of who you did not want have power.... '
tl;dr: let's double down on the shaming, beats self examination.
Nah, Trump just pantses them, they were already assholes.
90+ years after Roosevelt and his band of socialists started using “rugged individualism” as a pejorative, Democrats STILL don’t understand why so many want nothing to do with their endless social tinkering
Leftists fear the good life and embrace Communism and lies.
How pathetic.
In grade school my calc teacher had this talent where he could spin his bent arm and draw perfect circles on the chalkboard. Klein can draw perfect circles with his bent logic…
There is a joke about Star Wars, when it was good, that you could substitute the words "the plot" for "the force" and the movies made perfect sense, and there is a similar hack for "authoritarian," whoever opposes the globalists, the WEF's vision for the world, domestic or foreign, is an 'authoritarian.' Basically "authoritarian" means "in opposition to the ruling cabal in the West." Try it, it works everywhere.
Not so much assholes. More like deranged morons.
But yes, Virginia, it's all projection.
The left still feels a righteous justification for bulldozing people. We don’t ever want to see them in power again. I suppose that makes Klein feel like a victim..
The left love and excuse:
Massive fentanyl killing our kids
Massive crime - destroying our cities.
Mass illegal immigration
Men beating women - in sports
Media lying in lockstep, on behalf of one political party
Speech Codes and Crimes
Hamas - and Iran's funding of Hamas
Nancy Pelosi's dad was a lawyer for Murder Incorporated, which is maybe the allusion he wanted, but there is the fact that it might bring Pelosi's mobbed up Congressman dad into the discussion.
It’s a tough task to continue to try and sell dangerous policies to people who have already rejected them…
The left has moved to identity politics and away from individuality. All that matters is which group you belong to and where that group fell in the oppressed vs oppressor spectrum. White males are in the bottom and have no voice or rights in their hierarchy. This is far from Dr. King’s vision of judging people based on the content of their character and not on their skin. The left needs to heed Dr. Kings advice and treat everyone as an individual equally.
I'm now a populist. I would prefer an insurrection, which January 6th wasn't, over a soft coup, which 2017-2020 was.
Look at England now, which has chosen to remain on Klein's preferred course. The two tier justice is undeniable. Flying the English flag in England is a sign of protest!
Everybody is wrong about something; I'd rather find my misinformation on the Internet than have the government cram it down my throat.
I'd rather look at Sydney Sweeny than... well, just about anybody.
The wisdom of the people is greater than the wisdom of the machine.
Mr Klein worrying about his phony baloney job?
And he should know that mulling is for wine.
Politico published a list of buzzwords and ideological cant that it recommended the left drop because the terms are offensive to the electorate; “ Among the blacklisted terms: privilege … violence (as in “environmental violence”) … dialoguing … triggering … othering … microaggression … holding space … body shaming … subverting norms … systems of oppression … cultural appropriation … Overton window … existential threat to [the climate, democracy, economy] … radical transparency … stakeholders … the unhoused … food insecurity … housing insecurity … person who immigrated … birthing person … cisgender … deadnaming … heteronormative … patriarchy … LGBTQIA+ … BIPOC … allyship … incarcerated people … involuntary confinement.” Politico is a far left, progressive site. The progressive stranglehold on the language is dying. The progressive era is just about over.
I deklein to submit to any JuiceBox Journolism.
The Pritzker Family funds "The Third Way." - (one of) The radical left group that is organizing the madness - and the speech codes and crimes. Hilariously - they are now speech policing themselves. (see the list)
The left are seriously into gaslighting, speech codes and crimes and feeding non-stop fear and lies into the social hopper.
the boo hoo left lost a Kennedy and Tulsi.
Real people/ good people, walk away from the nightmare that is the corruptocratic party.
the absolute worst people, the people you feared the most, like a Murderers' Row of who you did not want have power
I don't understand why the people who demanded and carried out the "heavily enforced solidarity of both action and language" aren't "the absolute worst people, the people you feared the most, like a Murderers' Row of who you did not want have power."
Shorter Klein: We did all this crazy radical stuff - and it "radicalized" the other side.
It didn't radicalize normal people - normal people are pissed off. You leftists aided your corrupt party in destroying everything.
I agree with the chick. Wokeness was about enforced orthodoxy, not solidarity.
Soros and Pritzker family money - the big authoritarian mob money that pays the radical Maddow left.
"Klein sounds like he's expressing awe and admiration for the left's adversaries"
I disagree. To me it sounds he views Trump and his cabinet as very dangerous, very bad. Perhaps this can include feelings of awe in the traditional sense that also includes feelings of fear, but I'm not getting feelings of respect, reverence, or admiration. For what's it's worth I was not aware of Murder's Row referring to the Baseball line-up and always just thought of that term as referring to a collection of people who were the worst of the worst, not in ability but in intention.
“ I think there's a sense that that politics failed... particularly after 2024...”
Typical lib reaction. If they aren’t in charge, then our political system failed.
Grow up. Your side lost for very good reasons.
Klein seems to be blaming the left for making the right authoritarian, but isn't he also accusing the left of authoritarianism? What is "heavily enforced solidarity" that's "very, very aggressive on speech and info hazards" — what is it to be "extremely comfortable with the deployment of state power" — if not authoritarianism?
Bingo! Excellent analysis, Althouse.
Klein would do a lot better by starting off with a simpler question: “Are we the baddies?”
Trump is the Babe Ruth of politics.
I’m going to disagree, Professor. There is no evidence that Babe Ruth ever got his opposing pitchers to make bad pitches the way the Left’s reflexive opposition to anything and everything proposed by Trump, and he easily maneuvers them to take the 20% side of every 80/20 issue. That’s except for crime in Washington, DC, where they’re on the 5% side of a 95/5 issue.
One last thought. I look at Starmer in Britain and reflect back on the actions of Walz in Minnesota and other Democrat governors during the pandemic, and I see that the left has no trouble descending into authoritarianism. But if Trump and the right were as authoritarian as Klein (and others) try to claim then he’d never have the personal courage to stick his head up and say so.
"Wince said...
I agree with the chick. Wokeness was about enforced orthodoxy, not solidarity."
Yeah I think the bulk of the pushback of against the Left is because of their tactics. Most folks aren't too bothered with someone saying, "Hey I think what you said or did was inappropriate." But, they deeply resent someone who takes that to the level of trying to get a person fired or their career tanked.
"Down with the male and pale, the future is female!"
It's pretty funny that Disney can't figure out why young men aren't flocking to their movies to be insulted and denigrated while their dates laugh along with the power elite who dictated the content of the movies.
They just cannot realize that they are the authoritarian fascists. Paraphrasing.. I was so hopeful during Covid that we would fundamentally change to socialism. They are so dangerous.
Wait a minute, is it 'un-selfawareness', or 'self-unawareness'?
If you want to find the authoritarians, look to the group that formed a network of shared power that worked to censor individuals and silence their online commentary without them being aware of it. And worked very hard to create that network in stealth, give it governmental powers, extend its reach internationally, without oversight, and keep it a secret.
If you want to find the people that are against authoritarianism, look at who is rolling all this tyranny back.
The left's religion is state controlled everything. But it has to be the correct gods. Any deviation from this is heretical and swift punishment up to and including death, symbolic, as in their recent list of words and phrase to be shunned, or concrete, as in the attempts on President Trump's life, is required. The left is evil.
"Dude1394 said...
They just cannot realize that they are the authoritarian fascists."
The Left's superpower is using rhetoric, neologisms, and marketing jargon, to emotionally persuade themselves that it's different when they do it.
I believe it was Instapundit that was promoting the "choose the form of your destructor" narrative.
Trump is Lou Gehrig, Biden is Wally Pipp.
Most folks aren't too bothered with someone saying, "Hey I think what you said or did was inappropriate." But, they deeply resent someone who takes that to the level of trying to get a person fired or their career tanked.
@Vault Dweller, +1
Trump is the Babe Ruth of politics, except with Big Macs and Diet Coke instead of hot dogs and beer.
"heavily enforced solidarity" sounds like an excellent candidate for the new Democrat prohibited word list.
"I'm still mulling the point... about whether or not both parties moved in an individualistic direction and that there were these big solidaristic movements on the left that that began to to fade.... "
"My instinct was it was wrong. And as I think about it, I think it's right, but I think that it's right for possibly a different reason...."
“If you don’t think too good, don’t think too much.”
—Ted Williams
Klein seems to be blaming the left for making the right authoritarian, but isn't he also accusing the left of authoritarianism? What is "heavily enforced solidarity" that's "very, very aggressive on speech and info hazards" — what is it to be "extremely comfortable with the deployment of state power" — if not authoritarianism?
The left has always been authoritarian and it has always claimed that it was the right that was authoritarian.
Ann Althouse used to be on the same side as Ezra Klein for most of here life. What changed?
This is a multivariate answer:
1. The most important change was X. Now the town square is open and the truth has space to flourish.
2. The Republican Party under Trump is basically the 1960's Democrat Party under JFK.
3. The Democrat party is calling for open borders, defending crime, wants more war, chants from the river to the sea, wants free abortions after birth, beats up jews in the street, funds Mexican invaders who burn cars and attack police while waving Mexican Flags on our soil, openly calls for censorship, openly calls for jailing political opponents.
4. Ann didn't change. She still reads the NYT's. At some point she will realize her tribalist tendencies are keeping her from realizing that the Republicans are the party she started in.
Communal shaming didn’t work during the pandemic. It was the combined shaming during the pandemic and BLM protests that fully exposed the left for what they valued. Even today, they still try to defend their actions, for which I’m grateful, because we don’t have to remind people “not to forget”.
The Pride Flag is a lecture. (no - I'm not anti-gay)
The collective left think they can lie, lecture, rage and scold their way to power. Sadly - sometimes it works. It certainly works on weak minds.
a political failure that has empowered the absolute worst people
Take out the bits copied from the Democrat phrase book and there isn't much left. What makes the remainder interesting is its rare acknowledgement of reality. One doesn't expect that from a Democrat.
I was solidaristic till soldaristic wasn't cool.
Are we looking at the Fall of Vichy America here? as the careerists construct their explanations? "Was I too "solidaristic" for a few months in 2021? Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't quick. But you were. How I admire you for standing by Trump though he is so &$#$@# but still he was right about a few things such as, well, not Covid or the border or crime or waste fraud and abuse, but anyhow, let's agree to let bygones (like your job, career, murdered son or daughter) be bygones (meaning I keep all my gains). And, Magnanimous Me, I'll stop insulting you to your face, (you stupid rube, how we laugh about your credulity at our little parties in our big, child-free houses.)
Typical soy-boy response.
Blame and shame empowered the absolute worst people? That's ambiguous. Both parties could claim that. Democrats think Trump & Co are the worst people. Republicans think the Bidenites are.
Of course, Klein thinks that Trump & Co are the worst people and they were empowered by the failure of blame and shame. But look down Murderers' Row -- Fauci, Comey, Brennan, Buttigieg, Biden, Harris, Ginger and Mop Top (whose names I have forgotten) -- who the heck would want these people to have real power?
I’m working on a People’s Glossary For Waking From Woke. Please feel free to make your own contributions:
• Privilege: advantage; good luck
• Violence (as in “environmental violence”): harm
• Dialoguing: talking
• Triggering: Causing distress
• Othering: Social exclusion
• Microaggression: Petty insult
• Holding space: listening
• Body shaming: Appearance mocking
• Subverting norms: Breaking conventions
• Systems of oppression: perceived inequality
• Cultural appropriation: copying
• Overton window: Acceptable ideas
• Existential threat to [the climate, democracy, economy]: perceived danger
• Radical transparency: Full openness
• Stakeholders: Affected parties
• The unhoused: Homeless people
• Food insecurity: Chronic hunger
• Housing insecurity: failure to pay rent or mortgage as agreed
• Person who immigrated: Immigrant
• Birthing person: Expectant mother
• Cisgender: Non-transgender
• Deadnaming: Old name
• Heteronormative: Straight
• Patriarchy: governance that includes males
• LGBTQIA+: Sexual minorities
• BIPOC: people
• Allyship: support
• Incarcerated people: Prisoners and public school students
• Involuntary confinement: detention
• Democrat Party member: Progressive
• Progressive: Authoritarian Socialist
• Socialist: Marxist
• Marxist: Communist
Getting together non-male, non-straight, non-white college grads and telling them that intersectionally they have a common interest against the straight white men isn't "solidarity," it's collective self-promotion. When the plans backfire or are seen through, non-white non-college men begin to think that they have something in common with white non-college men, both groups being left out of the magic circle of self-promotion.
"• Democrat Party member: Progressive
• Progressive: Authoritarian Socialist
• Socialist: Marxist
• Marxist: Communist"
This progression was pretty funny.
Shouting Thomas said ...
"The progressive stranglehold on the language is dying. The progressive era is just about over."
I wish it were so. All I've seen so far is the use of creative ways to dissemble. I expect they'll invent new terms, if they haven't already, to express the same concepts. My hope is that they'll run out of new terms and neologisms, but even then the radicals aren't likely to give up.
In Colorado - If you are an illegal 15 year old who steals a car - then drives 90 miles an hour in a 35 MPH zone - and kills an unsuspecting female US citizen driver - the Democrat party in charge in Colorado - Awards the kid with NO consequences - and promises to give the illegal kid's entire illegal family - asylum.
Meade - That's just plain talk. Not allowed!
Guards - seize him!
Here's a new term:
participating: prosuming (the opposite of bad capitalist "consuming").
Who are the worst people in the world and what did they do to make Klein say that? What makes JD Vance and Marco Rubio so bad? Hegseth? Duffy?
Little Ezra is a talentless apparatchik- always has been.
"Klein seems to be blaming the left for making the right authoritarian, but isn't he also accusing the left of authoritarianism?"
Klein seems to be speaking English. Given his cognitive deficits, that's quite remarkable, and I find it churlish to delve into the specifics of whatever he's babbling about, or even to criticize his grammar.
That's the left in a nutshell. When they do it, it's solidarity, when the right does it, that's authoritarian.
"Info-hazards," that's a new one to me, which the right recognizes as censorship and deplatforming.
One movie two screens strikes again, Scott.
blah blah blah.. We love red dye #40!
1927? That was like almost a hundred years ago!
Looking at this from the POV of a guy who was all about maintaining the US life-support system (gas, electricity, food, water), for decades - the war is between US tribes, and it has not changed. One side is pro-existence, the other is pro-annihilation.
This current situation is in part a pause after a horrible defeat of one side. Its not clear, yet, whether the winning tribe can exploit the victory.
Thankfully the winning side, for now, is that which is generally for keeping the life support system going. The other seems dedicated to destroying it, for ideological reasons. And this has nothing to do with the rhetoric of the last 20 years, but has been consistent for the 50+ years I have been following US affairs.
Klein is fundamentally pro-annihilation. He is complaining of a failure of tactics, not his Satanic purpose.
The worst people are the characters who campaigned to shut down nuclear power plants, going back to the 1970s. A rational polity would round these people up and execute them.
The second worst are the people who get in the way of a buildout of nuclear power. Granted these days these types believe or desire nothing but their encrusted sinecures. Maybe concentration camps for them.
It all comes down to matter and energy, at its most fundamental.
As the crows fly.
@hustlebitch_let’s go
“We are going to Mexico to vote in their elections and demand free healthcare while waving the American flag 🇺🇸
If they ask for our papers, we’ll riot, attack police and then sue them
You up for a road trip?”
The big reasons for the differences between the US and "peer countries" has nothing to do with health care access or medical research or even such techno-environmental things as microplastics.
It is a socio-cultural difference. Exercise and daily diet is well known. If you want to "research" this, it is cheap to do. There is nothing in public policy that would close this gap.
"Trump is the Babe Ruth of politics"
Trump the Bambino, or, hopefully, the Curse of the Bambino. Last night, I watched Game 6 of the 1986 World series. I'll watch Game 7 soon. It's bizarre to watch old World Series games. The ads feature national sports heroes Bruce Jenner and OJ Simpson and lots of women wearing big shoulder pads. Paul Simon sings the National Anthem. Public disruption is just a crazy guy parasailing onto the playing field. Everyone seems happier.
So it’s “authoritarian” to undo or reverse the authoritarianism of the other side? Just as it’s “judicial activism” to reverse the judicial activism of the other side. Got it.
Ezra Klein is on to something, but the red mist keeps him from seeing clearly. Progressives oppose everything Trump suggests, and will use any means to resist.
Inevitably, Trump will propose ideas that aren't so great. Progressives will oppose him, but it won't matter because they oppose everything. After what was done to Trump, Jan 6th attendees and prominent conservatives, nobody is going to be sympathetic about charges of retribution.
The only check on Trump, will be Trump. That's not good for anyone.
Democrats should embrace MAGA, but present their view of what 'great' means and how we get there. It's probably too late. The DNC won't get to normal before the midterms.
Dear Ezra,
Please see Pedo Pete's Dark Brandon speech.
It confounds me that the Kleins of the world seem to have zero understanding of human nature, and the vast ranges of skills, wants, and needs each of us have. They just want to put a giant tarp over all of us so they can’t see us for what we are and call it a day. The arrogance is mind-blowing.
‘The Third Way’ is also telling the Dems “woke lingo” needs to go. What nobody seems to be advising Dems is that it is the policies accompanying the woke language that really scares people.
Does left-wing authoritarianism lead to individualism/libertarianism, or to right-wing authoritarianism? DEI and wokeism went too far in the workplace--extreme examples of affirmative action, Claudine Gay, Kamala Harris, Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor going back a few years. Trans interventions have gone too far into mutilating a child's body on the child's say-so, "I will therefore I am." Allegedly a social treatment for bullying, and a psychological treatment for depression and suicidal ideation. The most complete bullshit wrapped up as science. If all the kids were mutilating themselves, would you do it? I just might. That's why we have curfew.
Yes, the experts went too far in pushing us around over Covid. They have lied about this, about climate change, about aspects of health, diet and pharmaceuticals. Of course the boomers have always believed there is no such thing as too much promiscuous sex, or too much drug use. Experts follow politics, not the other way around.
Does this mean Trumpists in their rage are going to go to the other extreme, enforce a different brand of stupidity and ignorance? Bobby K is a bad sign on the whole, but moves on immigration are so to speak science based, there should be an Act of Congress on birthright citizenship (clearing up "natural born" for presidents at the same time), there is no science of economics to say Trump is wrong about tariffs, there will probably be wins on foreign policy, crime, and other things. Ruthless actions yes. Some kind of across the board authoritarianism, I think not. Urine in John Bolton's underwear doesn't mean the loss of liberty for everyone.
If the Democrats ditch Woke Language, the AP Style Book 57th Edition is all basically trash.
Go Gavy, go!
https://x.com/TheKevinDalton/status/1958930982205366684?s=19
“It is a socio-cultural difference. Exercise and daily diet is well known. If you want to "research" this, it is cheap to do. There is nothing in public policy that would close this gap.”
Hopefully this will help the Euros run fast, because they just might need to.
Trump is so powerful he can make his enemies become assholes.
Become?
this template of authoritarianism, came from the Frankfurt School of Marxist ideology,
much like the supersoldier serum
Ezra is very well paid to be the fool,
"Enforced solidarity", LOL.
I used to believe that the Left's shamelessness about abusing language was a strength. But this? And the clumsy " updated vocabulary " list?
The whole exercise is once again revealed to be a thin veneer over their naked power lust.
"Progressives" start with a fundamentally flawed premise: that History is a formula, a process leading toward a utopian state. They imagine that they are a credentialed elite empowered to speed the unfolding of this process by defeating the political and cultural forces who in their ignorance are seeking to delay or thwart his process. Politics, morality and law are all viewed through this prism: as long as they are useful to advance the Progressive cause, to be cherished, but discarded the moment they become an obstacle. This circle of Progressives realize that 2020-2024 broke the political and cultural power of their narrative, but creatures of the Progressive elite cannot ever come to question their first premise: that there is a "right side of History." That is the murder Trump threatens.
Babe Ruth and Donald Trump have/had something in common.
They both had an almost innate sense that "the rules" didn't apply to them, and both had the enormous self-possession to go against the powerful, restrictive norms of their field of endeavor.
With Ruth, it was refusing to play the "small ball" strategies of the Dead-Ball Era and proceeding to swing for the fences, to purposefully try to hit homeruns. The then-establishment was very opposed to this; they considered swinging for home runs to be not only ineffective, but crude and almost vulgar, and a slap in the face to their intricate "play for one run at a time" strategies. But Ruth's achievement of previously unimaginable results on the field, plus his considerable personal magnetism resulted in great increases in attendance and public interest in the game.
except every rule except capital punishment, has been applied to him (attempted) now Ezra doesn't spell what is wrong with MAHA, which is a part of the greater MAGA coalition
For the left, "authoritarianism" means the rules the "daddy party" or "patriarchal party" makes. They don't think of the rules they make as "authoritarian" no matter how onerous and oppressive those rules are. Their own rules, no matter how petty, are considered "liberation" from he daddy party or patriarchal party.
MAHA threatens the viability of blue schemes, resolves health as our choice, and mitigates the progress of Obamacares.
The Democrats really are the party of projection.
Ezra's output is one long exercise in the use of language to fortify his tribe.
Every one of his books, essays, columns, podcasts and paragraphs should be captioned: "I'm only saying this because I think it will help my tribe to hurt the people outside my tribe."
Donald J. Trump is the George S. Patton on presidents.
Democrats, as described here, are the party of collective fear, insisting that the purpose of government and the elite superior class is to tell people what to do and what they should think. "We The People" are not able to think correctly for ourselves. ("themselves") For example, acting out of the pretext of being superior humanitarians the Democrats opened the borders to flood the country with millions of people who were extremely dependent on government assistance. The Republicans pointed out the Democrats were not acting to help the American people but they have acted primarily to benefit the Democratic Party. That's why legal immigrants, Blacks, Hispanics, etc., voted for Trump.
Trump challenged that culture of elite superiority and proclaimed that the USA is the greatest country in the world because "we the people" can think for ourselves and government must give us the freedom to do so. It's ironic but the Democratic Party is anti democratic.
This drove the Left completely crazy and they still haven't a clue how to get their mojo back. They are stuck on Trump as the boogie man.
Meade: Our democracy: rule by Democrats
Good one, Mongo.
Limited blogger said...
“Trump is Lou Gehrig, Biden is Wally Pipp.
Biden is Eddie Cicotte.
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