How the populist left has become vulnerable to the populist right
https://zeeshanaleem.substack.com/p/how-the-populist-left-has-become
"Since the mid-2010s, the rise of the populist left and the populist right has shaken up the American political spectrum. Both movements have maneuvered to pressure and persuade the political establishment to adopt their objectives. But in recent years something unusual has been happening. We're seeing the formation of a pipeline that circumvents the center altogether and directly connects left-wing to right-wing populism.
A group of journalists and media personalities who once were at home on the far left has formed a niche but influential political subculture that encourages leftists to abandon leftism for the populist right. Its most recognizable faces are former icons of leftist discourse who have millions of diehard fans: Glenn Greenwald, a co-founder of The Intercept, known as one of the most powerful critics of the "war on terror" in the Bush era. Matt Taibbi, a former Rolling Stone writer, who was famous for excoriating defenders of neoliberalism and likening Goldman Sachs to a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity." Tulsi Gabbard, formerly a Democratic House member and 2020 presidential candidate, was aligned with the Bernie Sanders wing of the party.
….., Collectively, these and other lesser-known pundits push a political position that could be called "anti-lib populism." ("Lib" as in the pejorative slang term for a liberal, in currency among leftists and the right.) Like all populisms, it purports to oppose elitism and speak on behalf of the people. But as a practice, it funnels people toward the snake-oil populism of the right."
*….and Taibbi is making major bank on his Substack subscriptions. He was starting to roll in the major simoleons when he had 50k subscribers, now he has 360k+. He flunks the purity test. He found his niche audience and he is banging them harder than the dinner bell on the Ponderosa.
https://zeeshanaleem.substack.com/p/how-the-populist-left-has-become
"Since the mid-2010s, the rise of the populist left and the populist right has shaken up the American political spectrum. Both movements have maneuvered to pressure and persuade the political establishment to adopt their objectives. But in recent years something unusual has been happening. We're seeing the formation of a pipeline that circumvents the center altogether and directly connects left-wing to right-wing populism.
A group of journalists and media personalities who once were at home on the far left has formed a niche but influential political subculture that encourages leftists to abandon leftism for the populist right. Its most recognizable faces are former icons of leftist discourse who have millions of diehard fans: Glenn Greenwald, a co-founder of The Intercept, known as one of the most powerful critics of the "war on terror" in the Bush era. Matt Taibbi, a former Rolling Stone writer, who was famous for excoriating defenders of neoliberalism and likening Goldman Sachs to a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity." Tulsi Gabbard, formerly a Democratic House member and 2020 presidential candidate, was aligned with the Bernie Sanders wing of the party.
….., Collectively, these and other lesser-known pundits push a political position that could be called "anti-lib populism." ("Lib" as in the pejorative slang term for a liberal, in currency among leftists and the right.) Like all populisms, it purports to oppose elitism and speak on behalf of the people. But as a practice, it funnels people toward the snake-oil populism of the right."
*….and Taibbi is making major bank on his Substack subscriptions. He was starting to roll in the major simoleons when he had 50k subscribers, now he has 360k+. He flunks the purity test. He found his niche audience and he is banging them harder than the dinner bell on the Ponderosa.
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Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
