It was a shtick. It was a shtick that stuck. It was a shtick that stuck and proved easily mimicked for fun, profit, ratings, political power and/or bigger salaries.
35 years ago, a failed standup comedian fouled the air with a slickly produced manifesto of populist poppycock that plowed and fertilized the ground for a right-wing media echo chamber that continues to insult our collective intelligence to this day. He died with cigar in his mouth, a nine iron in his hand and a Medal of Freedom hung around his fat neck.
It is ironic that a failed stand-up comedian stumbled onto this franchise-able shtick because real comedians work small clubs for years to develop a singular identity. When they finally hit on something that consistently resonates with audiences, they keep it, hone it, and make it their own. New comedians would quickly starve offering weak imitations of Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield or Phyllis Diller.
But such is not the case with populist poppycock. That schtick is so basic even simpletons can use it to gain political relevance by waving their arms, stomping their feet and screaming who to blame; what names to call them and separating all public figures into one of two tribes: courageous but victimized American patriots like themselves or evil deep state coastal woke Marxist libtard baby-raping vermin.
Re-baptize yourself as an evangelical conservative and call your chosen enemies terrible names over and over again; rinse, repeat, sit back and count your votes or the zeroes in your next contract while denying every documented fact that conflicts with your rants – which is all of them.
One cable news channel refined this populist ideology for dummies and broadcast it 24/7 for years. It developed a large base of viewers – for cable. Since its peak ratings are half a single episode of Young Sheldon or 60 Minutes, its prominence is like being the biggest stud in the convent.
Over time, the channel attracted political opportunists like flies to a dead lizard once they discovered they could surmount that pesky, elitist requirement that they be able to articulate something, anything relevant about public policy by simply reciting some version of the original populist poppycock schtick while wearing a low-cut moo-moo or that mean, squinty face that just begs to be smacked.
The Shtick-Light Channel planted seeds that grew into a crop that was eventually harvested by the world’s most polished conman, who quickly claimed ownership of the channel’s field and all the fields that surround his new field.
In a development I did not see coming, the vast majority of those who previously identified as conservative looked around, saw the world becoming more inclusive and globally segmented and realized they simply had neither the energy and skillset to compete nor the willing and open spirit to adapt and sought refuge in a pure alloy of willful ignorance and racist nativism.
A significant percentage of former conservatives turned to demonstrating solidarity with their brother jihadists by hurling frenzied nihilism against the twin towers of secular authority and religious diversity.
The rest rejected outright jihadism and tried to walk the high wire of rejecting the conman’s obvious unfitness while still committing to vote for him in November out of a false sense of party loyalty.
By choosing to parse populism, they effectively killed their political careers and will play no role in the eventual (re)formation of a responsible, policy-focused, center/right political party. They will learn, far too late, what the rest of America has long known: once you Don the mask of MAGA-rotted Republicanism, you can never pry it off.
There are none so blind as those who will not see the most dangerous line of bullshit has a hook on both ends.
Next: The Thing in the Middle
Really good piece, really true story 😠