1. One strong tendency in Republican Party right now is that it's intensifying two seemingly contradictory tendencies: rhetorical populism ("we're a worker's party") & attempts to gain power as minoritarian party (via voter suppression, gerrymandering, electoral college etc.)
-
-
3. Right-wing populism of various forms - Tom Watson(s), Coughlin, Wallace - typically squared the circle simply by imagining "the people" in a specific way (as white Christian). But has rarely had truck with the more institutional forms of minority rule (courts, bureaucracy)
Show this thread -
4. One reason I'm fascinated by the nearly forgotten figure of Willmoore Kendall (the mentor of William F. Buckley) is he tried to merge the two minoriarianisms: racist populism & institutional gridlock. That makes him seem a prophetic figure.pic.twitter.com/rWZosVFOEz
Show this thread -
5. Kendall was a prophet of the Trumpized GOP. We're in a Kendall revival, with 2 biographies in the work along with strong work by
@mkazin,@Joshua_A_Tait,@lioneltrolling. Building on them, I argue for Kendall as a major figure:https://jeetheer.substack.com/p/racism-and-the-paradox-of-anti-democratic?r=bh54&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=twitter …Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
It was built-in by our founders. The US Senate is the prime example.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Especially in the South. I live in a quite liberal county in Virginia which is about 30% Black, but the county is so segregated that almost all the Black voters are contained in two of the five magisterial districts, so we are still Republican-controlled in our county government
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Clicked on this hoping it was a dissection of GOP minotaurism, and how they were going to find their way back out of the labyrinth they've built or something along those lines.
-
Your analysis is of course superior, but still would have been a fun read.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.