148
submitted 10 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

Chris Rufo, a rightwing culture-war celebrity and close Ron DeSantis ally, has maintained a close relationship with IM-1776, a “dissident right” magazine that regularly showers praise on dictators and authoritarians, puffs racist ideologues, and attacks liberal democracy.

The outlet’s editors and writers – many of them so-called “anons” working under pseudonyms – have variously advocated for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act; celebrated figures such as the “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski and the proto-fascist Italian nationalist Gabriele D’Annunzio; and advanced conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic, and what they term the “regime”, a leftist power structure that they imagine unites the state, large corporations, universities and the media.

top 19 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago

"Mr. DeSantis, your ally Chris Rufo is attached to a magazine that praises the Unabomber. Do you believe the Unabomber deserves praise?"

-- Media with balls that doesn't exist.

[-] DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

DeSantis would just find some way to blame the "woke" Left and how it's an attack on a strong conservative like Rufo, or some similar bullshit.

This fuckhead governor of mine, that I obviously did not vote for, deflects any criticism, and would blame the "woke Left" if he stubbed his toe getting out of bed in the morning.

Although it would be nice for the media to grill robot Ron, he would just cancel the interview or remove the reporter, or get his minions in the legislation to legislate the criticism away to make it harder on the media or some other fascist bullshit.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

He might, but the fact that no one even bothers to ask those sort of questions of politicians like him is a bigger issue because of course he has an ally with ties like that. That's just obvious.

[-] DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

But that's the thing, some do, some have tried, DeSantis has a reputation for this stuff, he's not going to face his critics, he can't deal with criticism, I don't think he's a narcissist per se but he's definitely not used to being questioned and absolutely doesn't like it.

This goes into the article about his dating habits from before he was married, where he would purposely mispronounce "thai food" as "thigh food" and if the date corrected him in any way he would end the date. The guy can't even face being challenged in his personal life, he for damn sure can't deal with it on the big political stage.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

I think that's a little different from supporting the Unabomber though. But I almost guarantee you no one will ask him directly about that.

[-] DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Criticism is criticism, whether it's the Unabomber or weird dating hijinks, either way he'll react very similarly, he will deny, deflect, project, and dismiss, because that is how his brain has evolved and adapted to handle criticism.

I'm not sure if you're in Florida or not, but if you're not you only get to see what makes national and international headlines, I live here and near one of the more critical local stations, Orlando has been a thorn in his side constantly and even moreso after the Disney mess he created for himself, so they really dig into his BS nearly every chance they get, while still not actually confronting him the way you want them to.

One of the reasons why we don't challenge DeSantis as much as other governors here is because he's shown that he is petty, he's shown that he will cause problems for his critics, and he still seems to have a lot of support from some really crazy people here. So the thought of being one of his targets is a little scary, and he has the legislation in his pocket they will just create laws to justify his actions after the fact. Florida is currently a fascist state, we'll see how well things go this next election, but I've been here for long enough to expect disappointment.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

I admit I'm not in Florida, but I don't agree that criticism is criticism. "Are you an asshole to women?" is a hugely different question to "do you support a terrorist?" A lot fewer people will care about "DeSantis is an asshole to women" than they will "DeSantis supports terrorism."

[-] DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

But that's the thing, DeSantis is knowingly supporting terrorism right now, one of his proxies is LibsofTiktok, aka Chaya Raichik, she's been pushing stochastic terrorism and has been linked to several bombing attempts and threats. He also refuses to condemn Nazis as they threaten Jews at synagogues across the state, he's even had Nazi iconography in his campaign ads and quietly fired/reassigned the person responsible for that. So Ron DeSantis is no stranger to supporting terrorism, he supports Nazis, Proud Boys, Putin, people banning and burning books, bullying gay and trans kids, so you can say he definitely supports terrorism from his actions.

You seem to think he's going to change if confronted or modify his behavior, but bullies like him only change when they get their asses kicked, and who is going to be able to kick the ass of a governor who surrounds himself with lackeys willing to do his enemies harm? Police willing to arrest his foes? A political party that enables and supports this garbage behavior? DeSantis has no reason to change, even worse, he thinks we all need to change to conform to his worldview, and that's what he is trying to do with what he's removing from our schools from the elementary to the college level. He's a Christian nationalist fascist, and some hard hitting questions aren't going to change anything about that, they may even increase his support among conservatives.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

I don't think he's going to change.

I think the press should have some balls and ask those questions rather than shy away from them whether or not it will change. You can't honestly believe that hard questions shouldn't be asked.

[-] DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Of course i think hard questions should be asked, but again like I said in my first reply to you, he's not going to answer, so why waste time? Why chance having your press credentials f'd with? Why chance right wing psychopaths trying to intimidate you? Especially when you already know he's not going to answer.

You seem to still not be getting it, either that or you're sealioning me, but I'm going to continue to treat you as sincere, but what you're not getting is that this man does not do criticism under any circumstances, ffs he married his wife because she's basically a pretty version of a "Yes man". Any reporter who tries to show criticism will almost certainly be wasting their time, while also making a powerful enemy willing to cause them problems.

DeSantis is also going to avoid those instances where he may find himself at risk of hearing criticisms, this is just who he is, and believe me plenty of us have loads of questions and criticisms for him. I mean ffs he literally had one of his aides die in the hallway outside of his office, wouldn't you think we'd want to know more about something like that? Yet he will never answer, because he knows he doesn't have to, and he knows that he doesn't actually care about anything except his and his agendas success. This guy is a Harvard law school grad, a veteran Navy officer who worked closely with the SEALS and Gitmo interrogators, he knows exactly what he's doing and what type of people he's consorting with, and like his role with the SEALS and Gitmo interrogators, he knows exactly what he can get away with.

You really need to come to terms with who you're talking about and learn to understand him better, because he's going to keep being a problem for all of us, and will continue to ignore, deflect, and project any criticism.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Of course i think hard questions should be asked, but again like I said in my first reply to you, he’s not going to answer, so why waste time? Why chance having your press credentials f’d with? Why chance right wing psychopaths trying to intimidate you? Especially when you already know he’s not going to answer.

Okay, so who should the media ask the hard questions to if not people like state governors? I don't understand why you think a non-answer is a non-story. Not responding to "do you support terrorism" is, in itself, a story.

But I really want to know who you think the media should ask hard questions to.

[-] DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

The media should ask hard questions to the people that aren't going to just ignore or deflect them obviously, maybe they should ask Donald Trump some harder questions, because Donnie is going to talk whether you want him to or not.

There are a whole slew of folks that the media would be better suited at going after than DeSantis, but there are also other folks similar to DeSantis that still shouldn't be ignored, especially the ones that are more vulnerable than DeSantis is.The only people that should be asking DeSantis questions are the ones he can't lie to, he can't deflect on, and that's something like the FBI.

Also again we all know the answer about DeSantis supporting terrorism, that answer is yes, hell CPAC sarcasticly admitted that they are domestic terrorists:

They know what they are and what they're doing, it's the naive folks who don't realize won't care, and their supporters who definitely don't care, and no journalist asking questions is going to change those people.

I've got two DeSantis humpers in my life and there is nothing you can say to make them waver about Ron being the "best governor in the US" because believe me, I've tried, they know he's a petty little tyrant, but that's what they want, and it's pathetic and unAmerican, neither of these people can articulate why they like DeSantis, but I'm fairly certain it's rooted in racism and the way DeSantis attacks his detractors. I know this because one of these people also admitted to being a Klandice Owens fan, and his fandom for her was summed up by him as "I like it when she "gets them'" as in he likes it when Klandice gish gallops and attacks people on her show. They like the outrage and they're attracted to it and the drama like moths to flame.

DeSantis should be thoroughly reported on, but again, I wouldn't waste my time asking questions, he's not going to answer, but he should be thoroughly covered by the press while not expecting to ever get an answer fromhim or his team.

[-] TheFonz@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

I think he's also one of the Architects behind mom's for liberty but I could be wrong

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

He's the main guy behind rebranding Critical Race Theory as a vague scary thing children are taught, so it would definitely be in his wheelhouse..

[-] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Ronnie don't care as long as it ain't "woke".

[-] carl_dungeon@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Such a shocker

[-] Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com -2 points 10 months ago

..attacks liberal democracy.

What kind of reporting is this? There is no such thing as "liberal democracy" in my view. You either let people have a voice or you don't.

[-] anachronology@kbin.social 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The Guardian is a paper based in Manchester, England. Fairly certain that they do not mean "liberal" in the American sense meaning left-wing, progressive politics. They mean it in the classical sense meaning free.

[-] Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 months ago

Ah, okay then. The phrasing seems odd to me.

this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2024
148 points (98.1% liked)

politics

19223 readers
2682 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS