Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

Madam45for2923

(7,178 posts)
1. How it all began:
Fri Dec 16, 2016, 10:52 AM
Dec 2016

Last edited Fri Dec 16, 2016, 08:20 PM - Edit history (1)

Throughout his just-concluded campaign, Donald Trump was frequently analogized to the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein. The future president — as everyone from his former ghostwriter to critics on both the left and right asserted — was the inevitable byproduct of the political culture of bravado and bigotry that Republican and conservative elites had used to gain votes from people who had no interest in cutting the government.

Whether the GOP will suffer the ruination and death that ultimately befell Mary Shelley’s monster is yet to be determined. Also unknown is the degree to which the anti-Semitic white nationalist movement known informally as the alt-right will be able to use Trump’s election to inject its ideas into the bloodstream of American conservatism and the larger body politic.

This story also has a “Frankenstein” quality on another level. In many ways, the alt-right was invented by Paul Gottfried, a retired Jewish political historian whose age and persona are about as far removed as one can get from the youthful legions of self-proclaimed “shitlords” who roam Twitter 24/7 seeking to serve the man they only half jokingly refer to as the God Emperor.

How it all began

Frequently held to be a brand-new phenomenon or merely a reincarnated version of old-school Southern segregationism, the alt-right is actually neither. Many of the people and ideas that bind the movement go back a long way, even if they don’t quite hearken back to the likes of John C. Calhoun.

Looking at the early history of the movement, long before the social-media trolls got involved, one can more clearly see that one of the principles that got the alt-right started was an intense dislike of former president George W. Bush — and his foreign policy in particular. Indeed, criticizing and debunking the neoconservatives who dominated the Bush administration has been Gottfried’s lifelong project.

Continues in links above.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»How d alt-right became ra...»Reply #1