The Radical Voice in the Rhetoric of the Tea Party Movement
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Chapter 4 the Right-Wing Media Enablers of Anti-Islam Propaganda
Chapter 4 The right-wing media enablers of anti-Islam propaganda Spreading anti-Muslim hate in America depends on a well-developed right-wing media echo chamber to amplify a few marginal voices. The think tank misinforma- tion experts and grassroots and religious-right organizations profiled in this report boast a symbiotic relationship with a loosely aligned, ideologically-akin group of right-wing blogs, magazines, radio stations, newspapers, and television news shows to spread their anti-Islam messages and myths. The media outlets, in turn, give members of this network the exposure needed to amplify their message, reach larger audiences, drive fundraising numbers, and grow their membership base. Some well-established conservative media outlets are a key part of this echo cham- ber, mixing coverage of alarmist threats posed by the mere existence of Muslims in America with other news stories. Chief among the media partners are the Fox News empire,1 the influential conservative magazine National Review and its website,2 a host of right-wing radio hosts, The Washington Times newspaper and website,3 and the Christian Broadcasting Network and website.4 They tout Frank Gaffney, David Yerushalmi, Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Steven Emerson, and others as experts, and invite supposedly moderate Muslim and Arabs to endorse bigoted views. In so doing, these media organizations amplify harm- ful, anti-Muslim views to wide audiences. (See box on page 86) In this chapter we profile some of the right-wing media enablers, beginning with the websites, then hate radio, then the television outlets. The websites A network of right-wing websites and blogs are frequently the primary movers of anti-Muslim messages and myths. -
Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition
Presents: Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition A film by Robert Greenwald (56 min., USA, 2013) Language: English Publicity: Linsey Pecikonis Brave New Films Tel: 310-204-0448x225 E-mail: [email protected] High-resolution film stills may be downloaded at http://www.bravenewfilms.org/koch_presskit ABOUT THE FILM In early 2011, Robert Greenwald and the Brave New Films (BNF) staff questioned how to make ordinary Americans care about the activities of David and Charles Koch, billionaire brothers who were spending hundreds of millions of dollars to influence federal, state and local elections. The Koch brothers were not yet in the daily conversations of the average American, but that would change with the 2012 release of BNF’s investigative documentary Koch Brothers Exposed. Originally Greenwald envisioned Koch Brothers Exposed as a series of thirteen short investigative videos that shed light on the Koch political dealings and the negative impact their money has on a variety of aspects of American life. These mini-documentaries immediately went viral, and viewers made it clear to BNF that they wanted more comprehensive coverage of the Koch’s activities. The first edition of the hour-long Koch Brothers Exposed highlighted the Koch’s efforts to gut Social Security by spending more than $28 million to popularize the fiction that the federal program was on the brink of collapse. It also addressed the Koch’s attempts at re-segregating schools in North Carolina; their efforts at voter suppression by supporting misleading voter ID laws; and the disastrous impact of their environmental policies on oil and gas projects and on industrial toxic waste. -
The Civil War in the American Ruling Class
tripleC 16(2): 857-881, 2018 http://www.triple-c.at The Civil War in the American Ruling Class Scott Timcke Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies, The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, [email protected] Abstract: American politics is at a decisive historical conjuncture, one that resembles Gramsci’s description of a Caesarian response to an organic crisis. The courts, as a lagging indicator, reveal this longstanding catastrophic equilibrium. Following an examination of class struggle ‘from above’, in this paper I trace how digital media instruments are used by different factions within the capitalist ruling class to capture and maintain the commanding heights of the American social structure. Using this hegemony, I argue that one can see the prospect of American Caesarism being institutionally entrenched via judicial appointments at the Supreme Court of the United States and other circuit courts. Keywords: Gramsci, Caesarism, ruling class, United States, hegemony Acknowledgement: Thanks are due to Rick Gruneau, Mariana Jarkova, Dylan Kerrigan, and Mark Smith for comments on an earlier draft. Thanks also go to the anonymous reviewers – the work has greatly improved because of their contributions. A version of this article was presented at the Local Entanglements of Global Inequalities conference, held at The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine in April 2018. 1. Introduction American politics is at a decisive historical juncture. Stalwarts in both the Democratic and the Republican Parties foresee the end of both parties. “I’m worried that I will be the last Republican president”, George W. Bush said as he recoiled at the actions of the Trump Administration (quoted in Baker 2017). -
Taking Down Trumpism from Africa: Delegitimation, Not Collaboration, Please Patrick Bond 9 Feb 2017
Taking down Trumpism from Africa: Delegitimation, not collaboration, please Patrick Bond 9 Feb 2017 In the US there are already effective Trump boycotts seeking to delegitimise his political agenda. Internationally, protesters will be out wherever he goes. And from Africa, there are sound arguments to play a catalytic role, mainly because the most serious threat to humanity and environment is Trump’s climate change denialism. Consider two contrasting strategies to deal with the latest mutation of US imperialism: we should protest Donald Trump and Trumpism at every opportunity as a way to contribute to the unity of the world’s oppressed people, and now more urgently link our intersectional struggles; or we should somehow take advantage of his presidency to promote the interests of the ‘left’ or the ‘Global South’ where there is overlap in weakening Washington’s grip (such as in questioning exploitative world trading regimes). The latter position is now rare indeed, although before the election Hillary Clinton’s commitment to militaristic neoliberalism generated so much opposition that to some, the anticipated ‘paleo-conservatism’ of an isolationist-minded Trump appeared attractive. One international analyst of great reknown, Boris Kagarlitsky, makes this same argument this week largely because Trump is questioning pro-corporate ‘free trade’ deals. But the argument for selective cooperation with Trump was best articulated in Pambazuka as part of a series of otherwise compelling reflections by the Ugandan writer and former South Centre director Yash Tandon. Tandon might re-examine the ‘space’ he can ‘seize’ with Trump, the ‘fraud’ Since more than any other individual Tandon helped make the 1999 Seattle and Cancun World Trade Organisation summits a profound disaster for world elites, I take him very seriously. -
The Alt-Right on Campus: What Students Need to Know
THE ALT-RIGHT ON CAMPUS: WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW About the Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal oportunity will become a reality. • • • For more information about the southern poverty law center or to obtain additional copies of this guidebook, contact [email protected] or visit www.splconcampus.org @splcenter facebook/SPLCenter facebook/SPLConcampus © 2017 Southern Poverty Law Center THE ALT-RIGHT ON CAMPUS: WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW RICHARD SPENCER IS A LEADING ALT-RIGHT SPEAKER. The Alt-Right and Extremism on Campus ocratic ideals. They claim that “white identity” is under attack by multicultural forces using “politi- An old and familiar poison is being spread on col- cal correctness” and “social justice” to undermine lege campuses these days: the idea that America white people and “their” civilization. Character- should be a country for white people. ized by heavy use of social media and memes, they Under the banner of the Alternative Right – or eschew establishment conservatism and promote “alt-right” – extremist speakers are touring colleges the goal of a white ethnostate, or homeland. and universities across the country to recruit stu- As student activists, you can counter this movement. dents to their brand of bigotry, often igniting pro- In this brochure, the Southern Poverty Law Cen- tests and making national headlines. Their appear- ances have inspired a fierce debate over free speech ter examines the alt-right, profiles its key figures and the direction of the country. -
Online Media and the 2016 US Presidential Election
Partisanship, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Online Media and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Faris, Robert M., Hal Roberts, Bruce Etling, Nikki Bourassa, Ethan Zuckerman, and Yochai Benkler. 2017. Partisanship, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Online Media and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Research Paper. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33759251 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA AUGUST 2017 PARTISANSHIP, Robert Faris Hal Roberts PROPAGANDA, & Bruce Etling Nikki Bourassa DISINFORMATION Ethan Zuckerman Yochai Benkler Online Media & the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper is the result of months of effort and has only come to be as a result of the generous input of many people from the Berkman Klein Center and beyond. Jonas Kaiser and Paola Villarreal expanded our thinking around methods and interpretation. Brendan Roach provided excellent research assistance. Rebekah Heacock Jones helped get this research off the ground, and Justin Clark helped bring it home. We are grateful to Gretchen Weber, David Talbot, and Daniel Dennis Jones for their assistance in the production and publication of this study. This paper has also benefited from contributions of many outside the Berkman Klein community. The entire Media Cloud team at the Center for Civic Media at MIT’s Media Lab has been essential to this research. -
Trumpism on College Campuses
UC San Diego UC San Diego Previously Published Works Title Trumpism on College Campuses Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1d51s5hk Journal QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY, 43(2) ISSN 0162-0436 Authors Kidder, Jeffrey L Binder, Amy J Publication Date 2020-06-01 DOI 10.1007/s11133-020-09446-z Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Qualitative Sociology (2020) 43:145–163 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-020-09446-z Trumpism on College Campuses Jeffrey L. Kidder1 & Amy J. Binder 2 Published online: 1 February 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract In this paper, we report data from interviews with members of conservative political clubs at four flagship public universities. First, we categorize these students into three analytically distinct orientations regarding Donald Trump and his presidency (or what we call Trumpism). There are principled rejecters, true believers, and satisficed partisans. We argue that Trumpism is a disunifying symbol in our respondents’ self- narratives. Specifically, right-leaning collegians use Trumpism to draw distinctions over the appropriate meaning of conservatism. Second, we show how political clubs sort and shape orientations to Trumpism. As such, our work reveals how student-led groups can play a significant role in making different political discourses available on campuses and shaping the types of activism pursued by club members—both of which have potentially serious implications for the content and character of American democracy moving forward. Keywords Americanpolitics.Conservatism.Culture.Highereducation.Identity.Organizations Introduction Donald Trump, first as a candidate and now as the president, has been an exceptionally divisive force in American politics, even among conservatives who typically vote Republican. -
The Tea Party in North Carolina: Threat to a New Birth of Freedom
THE TEA PARTY IN NORTH CAROLINA: THREAT TO A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM By Devin Burghart and Leonard Zeskind Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights is responsible for the content and analysis of this report. Additional materials, including updates and exclusive web content can be found at irehr.org. Copyright © 2014 Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights. All Rights Reserved. No Part of this report may be reproduced without the permission of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights except for sections quoted with proper attribution for purposes of reviews and public education. The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR) is a national organization with an international outlook examining racist, anti-Semitic, white nationalist, and far-right social movements, analyzing their intersection with civil society and social policy, educating the public, and assisting in the protection and extension of human rights through organization and informed mobilization. INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH & EDUCATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS P.O. Box 411552 Kansas City, MO 64141 voice: (816) 474-4748 email: [email protected] website: www.irehr.org Contents Preface by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II 1 Foreword: Exposing the Hard Right's Bag of Tricks Against Poor and Working 2 White People by Alan McSurely Introduction 4 Inside the Tea Party in North Carolina 7 Tea Party Membership in North Carolina 10 North Carolina Tea Party Chapters 18 Beyond Policy: North Carolina Tea Party’s -
Billionaires Tea Party
1 THE BILLIONAIRES’ TEA PARTY How Corporate America is Faking a Grassroots Revolution [transcript] Barack Obama: This is our moment. This is our time. To reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that where we are many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes we can. Man on Stage: They’re listening to us. They are taking us seriously, and the message is: It’s our county, and they can have it when they pry it from our cold dead fingers. They work for me! NARRATOR: Where did it all go wrong for Barack Obama and the democrats? After sweeping to power with a promise of hope and change, a citizens uprising called the tea party movement emerged. Their message was “no” to big government spending, “no” to healthcare and climate change legislation, and “no” to Obama himself. Woman: Obama is a communist. He says that he doesn't believe in the constitution. NARRATOR: Then, two years into Obama’s presidency, tea party endorsed candidates emerged to sweep the republicans to victory in the House of Representatives. Male News Reader: 32% of the candidates that were elected last night across this country are affiliated with the Tea Party movement. Rand Paul: There's a Tea Party tidal wave, and we're sending a message to 'em. Female Reporter: And they see it as a repudiation of the President and his policies. -
`` Une Voix Et Un Écho '': Analyse Des Interactions Entre Le Tea Party Et Le
“ Une voix et un écho ” : Analyse des interactions entre le Tea Party et le système politique américain (2009-2013) Eric Rouby To cite this version: Eric Rouby. “ Une voix et un écho ” : Analyse des interactions entre le Tea Party et le système politique américain (2009-2013). Science politique. Université de Bordeaux, 2018. Français. NNT : 2018BORD0043. tel-01896475 HAL Id: tel-01896475 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01896475 Submitted on 16 Oct 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. THÈSE PRÉSENTÉE POUR OBTENIR LE GRADE DE DOCTEUR DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DE BORDEAUX ÉCOLE DOCTORALE DE DROIT (E.D. 41) SPÉCIALITÉ SCIENCE POLITIQUE Par Eric ROUBY « Une voix et un écho » Analyse des interactions entre le Tea Party et le système politique américain (2009-2013) Sous la direction de : Patrick TROUDE-CHASTENET Soutenue le 27 mars 2018 Membres du jury : M. BATTISTELLA Dario, Professeur à Science Po Bordeaux, examinateur M. GAGNON Frédérick, Professeur à l’Université du Québec à Montréal, rapporteur M. SINTOMER Yves, Professeur à l’Université de Paris 8 , rapporteur M. TROUDE-CHASTENET Patrick, Professeur à l’Université de Bordeaux , directeur de thèse M. -
True Conservative Or Enemy of the Base?
Paul Ryan: True Conservative or Enemy of the Base? An analysis of the Relationship between the Tea Party and the GOP Elmar Frederik van Holten (s0951269) Master Thesis: North American Studies Supervisor: Dr. E.F. van de Bilt Word Count: 53.529 September January 31, 2017. 1 You created this PDF from an application that is not licensed to print to novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Page intentionally left blank 2 You created this PDF from an application that is not licensed to print to novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Table of Content Table of Content ………………………………………………………………………... p. 3 List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………. p. 5 Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………..... p. 6 Chapter 2: The Rise of the Conservative Movement……………………….. p. 16 Introduction……………………………………………………………………… p. 16 Ayn Rand, William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater: The Reinvention of Conservatism…………………………………………….... p. 17 Nixon and the Silent Majority………………………………………………….. p. 21 Reagan’s Conservative Coalition………………………………………………. p. 22 Post-Reagan Reaganism: The Presidency of George H.W. Bush……………. p. 25 Clinton and the Gingrich Revolutionaries…………………………………….. p. 28 Chapter 3: The Early Years of a Rising Star..................................................... p. 34 Introduction……………………………………………………………………… p. 34 A Moderate District Electing a True Conservative…………………………… p. 35 Ryan’s First Year in Congress…………………………………………………. p. 38 The Rise of Compassionate Conservatism…………………………………….. p. 41 Domestic Politics under a Foreign Policy Administration……………………. p. 45 The Conservative Dream of a Tax Code Overhaul…………………………… p. 46 Privatizing Entitlements: The Fight over Welfare Reform…………………... p. 52 Leaving Office…………………………………………………………………… p. 57 Chapter 4: Understanding the Tea Party……………………………………… p. 58 Introduction……………………………………………………………………… p. 58 A three legged movement: Grassroots Tea Party organizations……………... p. 59 The Movement’s Deep Story…………………………………………………… p. -
Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party Battle Over Energy Efficiency
Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party Battle over Energy Efficiency Jeff Erickson, Navigant Consulting ABSTRACT Those involved in delivering or evaluating energy efficiency programs have had a reasonably comfortable relationship with environmental advocates over the years. In fact heightened environmental concerns helped spur the latest round of enthusiasm for energy efficiency among regulators and legislators. What about some of the other groups that are battling for the public’s attention lately – how might their efforts affect energy efficiency? If the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement grows how will it affect publicly-funded energy efficiency? Will utility-led energy efficiency programs be frowned upon by the OWS crowd? Will they want to see more states taking energy efficiency programs away from utilities and creating new institutions to run them (as, for example, is done in Wisconsin)? On the other side of the spectrum, will the Tea Party target energy efficiency regulations as evidence that the government has overstepped its constitutional purview? Will their push for deregulation lead to a pull back from regulations authorizing public-benefits charges to fund energy efficiency programs? This paper provides a framework for thinking about these questions and considering the potential ramifications if either of these movements grows in influence and targets energy efficiency. The paper will break the energy efficiency realm down into several parts representing key organizational or regulatory issues and consider the positions that the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street members either have already expressed or are likely to express based on their foundational principles. Introduction Some individuals, families, businesses, and public sector entities take actions on their own accord, with their own money, to improve their energy efficiency.