Vowing loyalty to Trump, 'America First' groups try to bring nativism into the mainstream

[TomCADem]

Yes, Republicans actively use racism to mobilize working class whites to support policies that hurt them while only benefitting the top 1 percent. However, we can't discount the fact that Trump rode that strategy to power aided by foreign social media campaigns designed to push pro-Trump talking points on the left through "progressive" figures like Ed Schultz.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/vowing-loyalty-to-trump-america-first-groups-try-to-bring-nativism-into-the-mainstream/ar-AALUz8T?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

MESA, Ariz. – An hour into the rally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is standing in front of the podium, microphone in hand, swaying back and forth as she tears into political opponents.

She calls for a Black congresswoman to be expelled from the chamber, brands an openly gay congressman “Mussolini,” and dramatically emphasizes former President Barack Obama’s middle name, “Hussein.”

Then she turns to some favorite targets, four freshman House members, all women of color: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is Puerto Rican; Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, both Muslim; and Ayanna Pressley, who is Black.

“These women are a disgrace,” Greene says, gripping the mic with one hand and waving her finger with the other. “They are an embarrassment to the United States Congress. They are terrorists.”

[hlthe2b]

1. Ed Schultz? He's been dead since July, 2018...

I lost interest in him after the demise of AAR. What was his role?

[TomCADem]

2. He Was A Blatant Example of How Russia Was Also Targetting The Left...

...by hiring Ed Schultz to generate support for Trump in 2016 on Russia Today. You still get that today, but Russia is trying to be more secretive about its affiliation with such efforts. For example, Russia has created a new channel called "Ruptly" that still specializes in pushing divisive content.

Of course, an argument can be made that right wing news media itself is now happy to generate such content on its own through OANN, News Max and Fox News.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-ed-schultz-transformed-from-msnbc-lefty-to-the-american-face-of-moscow-media/2016/12/20/320713f4-c322-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html

How Ed Schultz transformed from MSNBC lefty to the American face of Moscow media

Ed Schultz used to be the bombastic lefty host of a syndicated radio show and daily MSNBC program. He befriended Hillary Clinton, called Donald Trump “a racist” for his birther views, and once beseeched God to take Dick Cheney “to the promised land.”

In 2014, he ripped Russian President Vladi­mir Putin’s “nasty” human rights record. He also torched American conservatives for siding with the Russian president as a counter to President Obama. “Putie is their new hero,” sneered Schultz.

But the times have changed. And so has Ed Schultz.

In mid-2015, MSNBC handed Schultz his last paycheck. After six years on the air, the ratings of his daily program, “The Ed Show,” were soft and MSNBC was going for more news in Schultz’s time slot, not opinion. His daily radio show had ended the previous year.

So Schultz went back to his lakefront home in Detroit Lakes, Minn., and took stock. At 61, after a lifetime in broadcasting, he concluded he wasn’t done. In early 2016, he returned to television, albeit in an unlikely place and role for a guy who once styled himself as a “prairie populist.” He became the lead news anchor for RT America, the domestic network of what was once known as Russia Today, a globe-spanning multimedia organization funded by the Russian government.

[abqtommy]

4. Thanks for this info.

[Dream Girl]

3. He went off the rails. I believe he was feature on Russia Today. He got all cozy with Russia before

His death.

[abqtommy]

5. I just had to look up "nativism"* and it looks like it means the same as "nationalism", "racism"

and "ethnic bigotry".

* https://www.wordnik.com/words/nativism