Nope. Guilt by association and purity tests are BS, especially with legal outfits.
You’re using the same arguments that people used to use against working with the ACLU, because they defended Nazis, before they went woke.
The reality is that if you want to be effective, you’re going to end up working with allies on one issue who are your antagonists on another issue. That’s reality.
Nope. Guilt by association and purity tests are BS, especially with legal outfits.
You’re using the same arguments that people used to use against working with the ACLU, because they defended Nazis, before they went woke.
The reality is that if you want to be effective, you’re going to end up working with allies on one issue who are your antagonists on another issue. That’s reality.
The difference between then and now is that the ACLU weren't actually Nazis, whereas the America First Legal Foundation has fascism built into its DNA in my opinion.
My opinion was informed by many hours of listening to knowledgeable sources on credible media outlets and by reading pieces by authors of the caliber of Anne Applebaum and Ruth Ben-Ghiat, including Ms. Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present."
I have also read "Hate Monger," a biography of Stephen Miller, current president of the America First Legal Foundation and Trump's former key advisor on immigration.
Here's a summary of Ms. Ben-Ghiat's credentials:
"Ruth Ben-Ghiat is an American historian and cultural critic. She is a scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders. Ben-Ghiat is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University."
"Born in the United States to an Israeli-born Sephardi father and a Scottish mother, she grew up in Pacific Palisades, California. She graduated in history at UCLA and obtained a PhD in comparative history at Brandeis University. A member of the American Historical Association since 1990, she is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. She regularly writes for CNN, The Atlantic and The Huffington Post." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ben-Ghiat#Biography
Ms. Ben-Ghiat recently explained the threats our nation faces on The Lincoln Project podcast:
"Host Reed Galen is joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Author and Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. They discuss the role extremist groups play in a nation’s evolution to authoritarianism, how every Trump rally since 2015 has been a radicalization site, and how the history of strongmen can inform our nation’s current political moment. If you’d like to hear more from Ruth, check out Lucid (her Substack newsletter) and pick up Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. " She can be heard here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-window-with-ruth-ben-ghiat/id1551582052?i=1000627677457
A recent source is this episode of Rick Wilson's podcast "The Enemies' List": "The Conspiracy To End America: The GOP and Trump."
"Best-selling author and former GOP strategist, Stuart Stevens, joins Rick to discuss his new book: Conspiracy To End America. They discuss the GOP's reveal its ugly underbelly under Trump, drawing parallels to historical authoritarian movements. They delve into the party's collapse and the potential consequences of a second Trump term, emphasizing the erosion of democratic values and institutions."
"Stuart Stevens’ new book, The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy, is available now."
Timestamps:
[00:02:16] Building blocks of an autocratic movement
Purity tests are for luxury believers more concerned about their image than their results. If you are an effective lawyer willing to work pro bono to help protect my child, I don’t care if you literally have worked with Nazis.
Nope. Guilt by association and purity tests are BS, especially with legal outfits.
You’re using the same arguments that people used to use against working with the ACLU, because they defended Nazis, before they went woke.
The reality is that if you want to be effective, you’re going to end up working with allies on one issue who are your antagonists on another issue. That’s reality.
The difference between then and now is that the ACLU weren't actually Nazis, whereas the America First Legal Foundation has fascism built into its DNA in my opinion.
Your opinion...exactly- no more no less and certainly not fact.
My opinion was informed by many hours of listening to knowledgeable sources on credible media outlets and by reading pieces by authors of the caliber of Anne Applebaum and Ruth Ben-Ghiat, including Ms. Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present."
I have also read "Hate Monger," a biography of Stephen Miller, current president of the America First Legal Foundation and Trump's former key advisor on immigration.
Here's a summary of Ms. Ben-Ghiat's credentials:
"Ruth Ben-Ghiat is an American historian and cultural critic. She is a scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders. Ben-Ghiat is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University."
"Born in the United States to an Israeli-born Sephardi father and a Scottish mother, she grew up in Pacific Palisades, California. She graduated in history at UCLA and obtained a PhD in comparative history at Brandeis University. A member of the American Historical Association since 1990, she is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. She regularly writes for CNN, The Atlantic and The Huffington Post." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ben-Ghiat#Biography
Ms. Ben-Ghiat recently explained the threats our nation faces on The Lincoln Project podcast:
"Host Reed Galen is joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Author and Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. They discuss the role extremist groups play in a nation’s evolution to authoritarianism, how every Trump rally since 2015 has been a radicalization site, and how the history of strongmen can inform our nation’s current political moment. If you’d like to hear more from Ruth, check out Lucid (her Substack newsletter) and pick up Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. " She can be heard here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-window-with-ruth-ben-ghiat/id1551582052?i=1000627677457
A recent source is this episode of Rick Wilson's podcast "The Enemies' List": "The Conspiracy To End America: The GOP and Trump."
"Best-selling author and former GOP strategist, Stuart Stevens, joins Rick to discuss his new book: Conspiracy To End America. They discuss the GOP's reveal its ugly underbelly under Trump, drawing parallels to historical authoritarian movements. They delve into the party's collapse and the potential consequences of a second Trump term, emphasizing the erosion of democratic values and institutions."
"Stuart Stevens’ new book, The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy, is available now."
Timestamps:
[00:02:16] Building blocks of an autocratic movement
[00:06:23] The Financiers
[00:13:10] A strain of cruelty
[00:19:39] Treating Putin as the hero
[00:22:23] Losing control of the party
[00:28:10] Authoritarian hallmark's
[00:32:05] What a second term looks like
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-to-end-america-the-gop-and-trump/id1650861232?i=1000632251205
Purity tests are for luxury believers more concerned about their image than their results. If you are an effective lawyer willing to work pro bono to help protect my child, I don’t care if you literally have worked with Nazis.