In the last 72 hours, a lot has been written about the latest aggrieved white racist who cowardly murdered people from a marginalized group fueled by his paranoia. Conservative Representative Elise Stefanik is doubling down on brown babies taking food from the mouths of white babies, and Tucker Carlson is being recognized for the evil he spreads. In the now-infamous leaked Supreme Court opinion, Justice Alito wrote, citing the CDC as cover, “whereas the domestic supply of infants relinquished at birth or within the first month of life and available to be adopted has become virtually nonexistent.” If you couple that with the constant refrain of the ‘white replacement theory’ from Matt Gaetz, Stefanik, and Tucker Carlson, one cannot avoid the implicitness of Alito talking about birthing more white babies.
The question is not whether the Carlson(s) of the world influence people; the more difficult question is, are they channeling them? Polling shows an increase in the feelings of white Americans being replaced and reverse discrimination. An ever-decreasing number of “Republican moderates” is running out of excuses for the blatant racism in their party. As much as Max Boot, Jennifer Rubin, Ana Navarro, and David Frum wax poetically about what was, not enough are condemning what is. The current Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are regulars on the Sunday morning talk circuit. Feigning outrage over the insanity ruining their party, they end every soliloquy vowing to vote for the generic republican. Reminiscent of former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who said he could not endorse Trump in 2016 because he confessed to sexual assault but would vote for him.
The 18-year-old who went on his — hate energized rampage Saturday mimicked his heroes. Heroes like Donald Trump, who told him “very good people,” existed in the white supremacy world when he was fifteen; or Carlson, who has riled and ravaged, for months, the minds of the beloved “uneducated” Mr. Trump covets. “So I know that the left and all the little gatekeepers on Twitter become literally hysterical if you use the term ‘replacement,’ if you suggest the DemocraticParty is trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters from the third world,”said Carlson.
Carlson sounds more and more like a Daniel Day-Lewis recruitment pitch from the Gangs of New York. I believe Tucker Carlson is channeling and not influencing his viewers because they choose to tune him in. They are not there for the truth, intellectual heft, or witty repartee. All that is left is someone to validate their racism and channel the energy they are too afraid of or too ashamed to admit. He is the most-watched talking head on tv for his time slot, and to my knowledge, no one is holding an AR-15 to the head of his audience, making them watch.
Carlson is a painful tumor spreading his vile hatred over the body-politic of neo-conservative Fascism. Tucker Carlson did not purchase the weapon or drive 200 miles to Buffalo, New York, but he loads the minds of killers on a nightly basis. With the help of Republicans in and out of Congress, it does not take much to pull the trigger.
Continue to Vote for Change.