Rising to the defense of the targets of GOP hate speech.

October 11, 2022

          Two days ago, Ukraine attacked a military target in Crimea—a bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula to Russia. Putin responded with missile attacks against civilian targets in cities across Ukraine. Those attacks occurred during hours when civilian casualties were likely to be highest. The attacks hit “a children’s playground, a park, a German consulate, and a business center, among other non-military targets.” Putin has promised more of the same. Putin’s actions constitute terrorism and war crimes. They expose his earlier lies that (a) he did not intend to invade Ukraine and (b) that his only goal was to protect ethnic Russians (allegedly) being abused by Ukraine.

It is now plain that Putin’s goal is to kill as many Ukrainian citizens as possible to achieve regime change. More to the point, the attacks are clear retribution for Ukraine’s successful attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge, which was a personal humiliation for Putin and a significant military victory for Ukraine.

          In the early days of Putin’s bellicose rhetoric about Ukraine, Putin garnered defenders on the left and right in the US who claimed that NATO was “forcing” Russia to defend itself against NATO expansionism. Tucker Carlson was an early and vocal proponent of that lie, saying, “Why shouldn’t I root for Russia? Which I am.” Trump was still pushing that false narrative as late as last weekend, blaming Biden for “almost forcing Russia to invade Ukraine.”

          But even people who wrongly believe that NATO promised Russia that it would not expand into the former Soviet republics should be repulsed by Putin’s wanton attacks on civilian populations. And those attacks on civilians are not new; they are merely headlining the news cycle today because the latest attacks are clearly undertaken in retaliation for a military victory by Ukraine. Indeed, Putin admitted that fact to his Security Council in a speech on Monday, saying that the attacks were “in retaliation” for a “terrorist act” at the Kerch Strait Bridge.

          Some in the US (looking at you, Elon Musk) are urging Ukraine to “be reasonable” in seeking peace by capitulating to Russia’s disputed control over four provinces in the east and recognizing Crimea as Russian territory. It is not; Russia illegally seized Crimea in 2014. For a superb explanation of Crimea’s status as Ukrainian territory, see Professor Timothy Snyder’s blog on Substack, Thinking About . . . , Russia’s Crimea Disconnect.

          Ukraine’s successful resistance to Russia’s illegal war against the Ukrainian people has become an inconvenient fact for Russian apologists and friends of Putin across the globe. The disastrous performance of Putin’s army has revealed the corruption and rot that has eroded Russia’s military capability. Russia’s vaunted air force has been ineffective and missing in action over large parts of the combat theater. The battlefield humiliations have weakened Putin’s domestic position and accelerated attrition in his ever-shrinking circle of trusted friends and advisers. Hence, Putin’s desperate tactics in killing civilians to appease war hawks in Russia and intimidate citizens who fear and despise Putin.

          President Biden has stayed the course, strongly supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia’s attacks on civilians. (“We will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom.”) As usual, Biden expresses strong support of Ukraine while avoiding provoking a wider conflict. Senator Dick Durbin was not as restrained, saying,

Hitler’s [attacks] on the innocent Brits strengthened their resolve. Putin’s mass strike on innocent Ukrainians will do the same. The hottest ring in Hell has Putin’s name on the door.

Reader meetings with Rep. Tim Ryan, candidate for US Senate from Ohio.  

          Most pundits gave Democrats no chance to win a Senate seat in Ohio. But as the NYTimes wrote this evening, “the race is more competitive than many political observers expected.” In “Times-speak,” that means the race is effectively tied. If we are going to maintain or expand our margin in the Senate, we will need some “upset” wins. Tim Ryan is positioned to be one of those upset wins.

          Founding Members. Tim Ryan will join our monthly call on Tuesday 11 AM Pacific / 2 PM Eastern from a campaign bus—hot off his one-and-only debate with JD Vance. Tim will have time to respond to a few questions. [You received a Zoom link by separate email.]

          All readers, we have tentatively scheduled a Zoom discussion between Tim and me (and possibly others) on Tuesday, October 18th at 5:30 PM Pacific / 8:30 PM Eastern. We are still working on details but will circulate registration information as soon as possible. The “all readers” Zoom discussion will be a fundraiser, but Tim’s campaign has committed to making the event broadly accessible to people who are interested in hearing from Tim directly. We plan to have affordable contribution levels, but if you can give more, please do so. Tim is in a tough fight with JD Vance, and Mitch McConnell just dumped tens of millions of dollars into Ohio. If we want to keep the path to success open, we must support candidates like Tim who are defying the odds. Stay tuned for details!

The GOP expands its culture war to include antisemitic tropes.

          As Tommy Tuberville’s racist comments over the weekend continue to roil the political landscape, Republicans are extending their culture-war dog whistles to include antisemitic tropes. In the Pennsylvania race for governor, MAGA extremist Doug Mastriano has launched multiple attacks on Josh Shapiro for sending his children to a “privileged, exclusive, elite” school—a Jewish day school. As Mastriano recently told an audience, the “people” who send their children to that school “disdain people like us.” Note the phrase “people like us”, which begs the question of who are the “people who are not like us.”

          Mastriano suggests that the “people who are not like us” are “Jewish people” who seek a religious education for their children. Of course, when Christians send their children to private Christian schools, those institutions are referred to as “schools”—not “privileged, exclusive, and elite.” See NYTimes, Mastriano’s Attacks on Jewish School Set Off Outcry Over Antisemitic Signaling.

          In a similar vein, the GOP has lionized and exploited the rapper known as Ye (formerly Kanye West). Ye has publicly described his struggles with mental health, a factor that may bear on the following. On Sunday, Ye posted a series of statements on social media that accused another rapper of being “controlled” by Jewish people and said that Ye was going “death con 3” on Jewish people. See Forbes, Twitter Locks Kanye West’s Account After Post About Jewish People.

          Tucker Carlson interviewed Ye last week, where Carlson pitched the entertainer softball questions about his recent fashion show featuring “White Lives Matter” shirts and his anti-abortion views. See CNN, Kanye West tells Tucker Carlson he thought ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt was ‘funny’. Of course, Carlson has nothing to say about Ye’s statement that he is going “death con 3” on Jewish people. See also Talking Points Memo, After Gleefully Embracing Kanye West, Right-Wing Figures Reposition In Response To Antisemitic Posts.

          Should we hold Republicans accountable as a group for statements like those of Mastriano and Ye? Yesterday, I called on “Republicans of good conscience” to condemn Tuberville’s remarks. A reader (TCinLA) responded in the Comments, saying,

Silence in the face of what is being done is complicity. Complicity based in cowardice. There are no “uncomplicit” Republicans. I wish I was wrong.

          It’s hard to disagree with that logic. Indeed, after Ye’s antisemitic statements, the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee left up a tweet saying, “Kanye. Elon. Trump.” Rather than condemning Ye’s antisemitic statements, Republicans are trying to turn him into a free-speech hero whose antisemitic views are just another example of robust political discourse. See Rolling Stone, Conservatives Are Mad Kanye Is Being Censored for Antisemitism.

As the events of the last century taught us, antisemitism is not political discourse. It is hate speech that can unleash the ugliest impulses of bigots and madmen.

McCarthy lies to family of officer who died as a result of January 6th.

          Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly demonstrated that he is a two-faced liar who has no backbone. He condemned Trump in private meetings with the GOP House caucus and genuflected and kissed Trump’s ring a week later. McCarthy is motivated by amoral ambition, nothing else. That fact was demonstrated by a recording of McCarthy’s meeting with the family of an officer who died due to the violence on January 6th. During the meeting, McCarthy claimed, “I’m just telling you from my phone call, I don’t know that he did know that.” The “that” in McCarthy’s statement refers to the fact that Trump supporters were violently assaulting the Capitol. See Talking Points Memo, McCarthy Tried To Claim In Meeting That Trump Didn’t Know What Was Happening On Jan. 6.

          Of course, McCarthy’s statement is false. McCarthy spoke to Trump on January 6th. McCarthy told Fox News on January 6th the following about his call with Trump: “He’s getting reports of what is happening. He did not [approve] people doing this type of the behavior. I know he’s getting reports as well. I wanted to give him a first-hand report.

          So, contrary to McCarthy’s statement to the deceased officer’s family, Trump did know what “was going on” during the assault on the Capitol. We must defeat GOP control of the House if for no other reason than keeping an inveterate liar out of the presidential line of succession.

Concluding Thoughts.

          Republicans have resolved to ratchet up to “DEFCON 3” in their invocation of ugly stereotypes and racial slurs to gain control of Congress. It is painful and frightening to watch as Republicans pour gasoline on the embers of racial resentment and ignorance. But as painful as it is to watch, we should take solace in the fact that for every bigoted voter the GOP motivates by using hate speech, they offend dozens of potential voters who are the targets of that speech. For all of the “free passes” that the media gives to Republicans, they have reported extensively on the hate speech of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, Tommy Tuberville, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and others.

          There is, of course, tension in how to respond to hate speech and racial slurs. Democrats must lead with positive messaging that touts the accomplishments of Joe Biden’s first two years in office—which are considerable! But we cannot allow Republicans to stoke prejudice and hate without rising to the defense of the targets of those attacks and condemning the speech as unacceptable.

          Bullies and demagogues like Tuberville and Trump are counting on most people to be silent in the face of their vitriol. As the reader quoted above wrote, “Silence is complicity. Complicity based in cowardice.” We must be neither silent nor afraid but must instead raise our voices in righteous indignation and condemnation. The targets of the GOP’s hate speech are looking nervously to see who will rise to their defense. That must be us.

          Talk to you tomorrow!