The "Alt Right" movement?
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http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/opinions/hillary-clinton-alt-right-speech-stanley/index.html
Timothy Stanley, a conservative, is a historian and columnist for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between L.A. and D.C. Revolutionized American Politics." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
Clinton's alt-right con trick
There were two big winners in Hillary Clinton's speech on the alt-right. One was Hillary Clinton, who was able to present herself as the opponent of a neo-racist movement. The other was the alt-right, which hardly anyone had ever heard of and which got some free advertising.
The big loser of the night was the Republican Party. Most of its activists had probably never heard of the alt-right either. Now their label is tarred with it. Never mind that the alt-right is tiny and unrepresentative of conservatism, or even that Trump has allied with alt-right figures but never endorsed the movement by name. These are details that Clinton doesn't benefit from so she didn't dwell on them.
What exactly is the alt-right then? Come back and ask in about 30 years' time. It's too soon to be exact about a movement so diffuse and containing so many factions, some disputing the label.
To put it generously, alt-righters are conservatives who are as critical of the Republicans as they are the Democrats -- believing both to be slaves of political correctness. Put ungenerously, they tend to preach a white rights, hypermasculine identity politics that comes off like sheer bigotry.
Notably, they contain few Christian groups. They are post-Christian, almost post-capitalist, rather obsessed with biology. The American Renaissance, an alt-right group, posted a response to Clinton's speech, arguing: "If whites really understood the racial implications of what she stands for, they wouldn't vote for her as dog catcher."
American Renaissance adds: "We do not claim that Donald Trump is part of the alt-right or that he is an advocate for white people. It is clearly unfair to make him responsible for our views. However, by promoting polices that put America first, he will slow our decline and perhaps even pave the way to an American Renaissance in which the truth about race is no longer a taboo."
When future historians write about the alt-right they may well quote Clinton's speech. It was important. She drew a spurious line of influence from Vladimir Putin to Britain's Nigel Farage -- who addressed a Trump rally in Mississippi on Wednesday -- to Trump himself, who is, said Clinton, the agent of the alt-right's takeover of the Republican Party.
This is too slick an interpretation. In reality, Farage, the British nationalist, has consistently said there are profound cultural differences between British and American conservatives, particularly over the importance of religion. Trump, meanwhile, may channel alt-right ideas or provide a platform for them, but it's not clear that his overall philosophy is theirs.
And Putin's supposed influence over right-wing politics is overblown. We're in danger of entering McCarthyite waters when anyone who suggests that confrontation with Russia is unnecessary is painted as an agent of foreign influence. Trumpism is not alt-right, the alt-right is not Trump, and neither is some plot by the KGB.
But Trumpism isn't mainstream conservatism either, and neither is the alt-right. Don't get me wrong: There's a reason why the alt-right has found a home with the Republicans rather than the Democrats. Since the 1960s, the GOP's rhetoric has made it a more natural fit for those who think only African-Americans get welfare or that feminists are worse than cancer (the latter a famous Breitbart headline quoted by Clinton when she mentioned that the Trump campaign's new CEO is the executive chairman of Breitbart).
But there are angels within the Republican Party, and those with a clear-eyed understanding of the moral precepts of conservatism resist this trend. Long before Clinton gave this speech, Mitt Romney attacked Trump for his alleged racism. Commentators like Ben Shapiro -- as far to the right of the sane spectrum you can get without falling off into madness -- have condemned his bigotry also.
Conservatism is as hard to define as the alt-right. And at a moment when people are fighting over its meaning, it's important to establish what it's not.
Conservatism, as mainstream Republicans have long defined it, preaches the supremacy of the individual, in limited government and in the noble idea that you and I were created equal. There is no room in that philosophy for the dirty lie of racism. It attaches itself parasitically to it from time to time, but is generally shaken off.
Hence, Clinton has pulled off a con trick. Yes, she has denounced folks who needed to be denounced. Yes, she has forced conservatives like me to test our conscience regarding Trump. But she has also created an imagined relationship between everyday, mainstream conservatives and the alt-right. Don't be fooled. Clinton did not call out the alt-right to save the GOP from it, but to condemn it by association.
Let me spell it out with all the clarity I can squeeze from the keyboard. Racism is un-American. It is unchristian. It is unconservative.
Timothy Stanley, a conservative, is a historian and columnist for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between L.A. and D.C. Revolutionized American Politics." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
Clinton's alt-right con trick
There were two big winners in Hillary Clinton's speech on the alt-right. One was Hillary Clinton, who was able to present herself as the opponent of a neo-racist movement. The other was the alt-right, which hardly anyone had ever heard of and which got some free advertising.
The big loser of the night was the Republican Party. Most of its activists had probably never heard of the alt-right either. Now their label is tarred with it. Never mind that the alt-right is tiny and unrepresentative of conservatism, or even that Trump has allied with alt-right figures but never endorsed the movement by name. These are details that Clinton doesn't benefit from so she didn't dwell on them.
What exactly is the alt-right then? Come back and ask in about 30 years' time. It's too soon to be exact about a movement so diffuse and containing so many factions, some disputing the label.
To put it generously, alt-righters are conservatives who are as critical of the Republicans as they are the Democrats -- believing both to be slaves of political correctness. Put ungenerously, they tend to preach a white rights, hypermasculine identity politics that comes off like sheer bigotry.
Notably, they contain few Christian groups. They are post-Christian, almost post-capitalist, rather obsessed with biology. The American Renaissance, an alt-right group, posted a response to Clinton's speech, arguing: "If whites really understood the racial implications of what she stands for, they wouldn't vote for her as dog catcher."
American Renaissance adds: "We do not claim that Donald Trump is part of the alt-right or that he is an advocate for white people. It is clearly unfair to make him responsible for our views. However, by promoting polices that put America first, he will slow our decline and perhaps even pave the way to an American Renaissance in which the truth about race is no longer a taboo."
When future historians write about the alt-right they may well quote Clinton's speech. It was important. She drew a spurious line of influence from Vladimir Putin to Britain's Nigel Farage -- who addressed a Trump rally in Mississippi on Wednesday -- to Trump himself, who is, said Clinton, the agent of the alt-right's takeover of the Republican Party.
This is too slick an interpretation. In reality, Farage, the British nationalist, has consistently said there are profound cultural differences between British and American conservatives, particularly over the importance of religion. Trump, meanwhile, may channel alt-right ideas or provide a platform for them, but it's not clear that his overall philosophy is theirs.
And Putin's supposed influence over right-wing politics is overblown. We're in danger of entering McCarthyite waters when anyone who suggests that confrontation with Russia is unnecessary is painted as an agent of foreign influence. Trumpism is not alt-right, the alt-right is not Trump, and neither is some plot by the KGB.
But Trumpism isn't mainstream conservatism either, and neither is the alt-right. Don't get me wrong: There's a reason why the alt-right has found a home with the Republicans rather than the Democrats. Since the 1960s, the GOP's rhetoric has made it a more natural fit for those who think only African-Americans get welfare or that feminists are worse than cancer (the latter a famous Breitbart headline quoted by Clinton when she mentioned that the Trump campaign's new CEO is the executive chairman of Breitbart).
But there are angels within the Republican Party, and those with a clear-eyed understanding of the moral precepts of conservatism resist this trend. Long before Clinton gave this speech, Mitt Romney attacked Trump for his alleged racism. Commentators like Ben Shapiro -- as far to the right of the sane spectrum you can get without falling off into madness -- have condemned his bigotry also.
Conservatism is as hard to define as the alt-right. And at a moment when people are fighting over its meaning, it's important to establish what it's not.
Conservatism, as mainstream Republicans have long defined it, preaches the supremacy of the individual, in limited government and in the noble idea that you and I were created equal. There is no room in that philosophy for the dirty lie of racism. It attaches itself parasitically to it from time to time, but is generally shaken off.
Hence, Clinton has pulled off a con trick. Yes, she has denounced folks who needed to be denounced. Yes, she has forced conservatives like me to test our conscience regarding Trump. But she has also created an imagined relationship between everyday, mainstream conservatives and the alt-right. Don't be fooled. Clinton did not call out the alt-right to save the GOP from it, but to condemn it by association.
Let me spell it out with all the clarity I can squeeze from the keyboard. Racism is un-American. It is unchristian. It is unconservative.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...hite-nationalist-alt-right-movement/89332420/
Clinton links Trump to white nationalist 'alt-right' movement
RENO, Nev. — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gave one of her strongest rebukes against Republican opponent Donald Trump on Thursday, criticizing him for embracing radical elements of the right and basing his campaign on racism and paranoia.
Her speech in Reno marked Clinton’s most aggressive attack on Trump since the Democratic National Convention, as she called Trump a bigot and a subscriber to conspiracy theories, blaming him for allowing the radical right to take over the mainstream of the Republican Party.
“From the start, Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia,” she said. “He’s taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party. His disregard for the values that make our country great is profoundly dangerous.”
Trump has made varying claims that critics have said are racially offensive during his campaign.
Clinton pointed to Trump’s non-denouncement of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, retweets of white supremacists and anti-Semites and his leadership of the birther movement — a conspiracy theory-laden attempt to prove President Obama was not born in the United States — as proof-positive of racism.
“The last thing we need in the Situation Room is a loose cannon who can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction, and who buys so easily into racially-tinged rumors,” she said. “Someone detached from reality should never be in charge of making decisions that are as real as they come.”
Recently, Trump announced Stephen Bannon, former executive chairman of the online news site Breitbart, as his campaign CEO, another issue Clinton pointed to as an example of Trump embracing and legitimizing fringe elements within the GOP.
Clinton also gave praise to former Republican nominees Bob Dole and John McCain as well as President George W. Bush for quashing fringe elements within the party.
“We need leadership like that again,” she said.
In the past couple of weeks, Trump has sought to soften his image with minority communities, making explicit gestures to African Americans in particular. At the same time, he hired Bannon, whose site has become a voice for the loosely affiliated activist groups that identify with the so-called alt-right.
Clinton has been the subject of her own controversies in recent weeks, particularly after the release of additional emails from her time at the State Department that raised questions about its relationship with the Clinton Foundation during her tenure as secretary of State. The Trump campaign said Clinton was trying to spin the narrative of the election after a terrible few weeks.
“Hillary Clinton’s attempt to delete the single worst week of her political career isn’t going to work. Her admission that there's a lot of smoke but no fire is a complete lie, and the American public’s response will be to do exactly as her campaign suggests: don’t vote for her,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller said.
Trump tweeted after Clinton's remarks that the Democratic presidential nominee was the one who was "fear-mongering" and that she was "pandering to the worst instincts in our society."
"She should be ashamed of herself!" Trump wrote.
In her Nevada remarks Thursday, Clinton cast Trump as "a man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far, dark reaches of the internet."
Saying "there's always been a paranoid fringe in our politics," Clinton argued that “it’s never had the nominee of a major party stoking it, encouraging it, and giving it a national megaphone."
"Until now," she said.
Clinton links Trump to white nationalist 'alt-right' movement
RENO, Nev. — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gave one of her strongest rebukes against Republican opponent Donald Trump on Thursday, criticizing him for embracing radical elements of the right and basing his campaign on racism and paranoia.
Her speech in Reno marked Clinton’s most aggressive attack on Trump since the Democratic National Convention, as she called Trump a bigot and a subscriber to conspiracy theories, blaming him for allowing the radical right to take over the mainstream of the Republican Party.
“From the start, Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia,” she said. “He’s taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party. His disregard for the values that make our country great is profoundly dangerous.”
Trump has made varying claims that critics have said are racially offensive during his campaign.
Clinton pointed to Trump’s non-denouncement of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, retweets of white supremacists and anti-Semites and his leadership of the birther movement — a conspiracy theory-laden attempt to prove President Obama was not born in the United States — as proof-positive of racism.
“The last thing we need in the Situation Room is a loose cannon who can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction, and who buys so easily into racially-tinged rumors,” she said. “Someone detached from reality should never be in charge of making decisions that are as real as they come.”
Recently, Trump announced Stephen Bannon, former executive chairman of the online news site Breitbart, as his campaign CEO, another issue Clinton pointed to as an example of Trump embracing and legitimizing fringe elements within the GOP.
Clinton also gave praise to former Republican nominees Bob Dole and John McCain as well as President George W. Bush for quashing fringe elements within the party.
“We need leadership like that again,” she said.
In the past couple of weeks, Trump has sought to soften his image with minority communities, making explicit gestures to African Americans in particular. At the same time, he hired Bannon, whose site has become a voice for the loosely affiliated activist groups that identify with the so-called alt-right.
Clinton has been the subject of her own controversies in recent weeks, particularly after the release of additional emails from her time at the State Department that raised questions about its relationship with the Clinton Foundation during her tenure as secretary of State. The Trump campaign said Clinton was trying to spin the narrative of the election after a terrible few weeks.
“Hillary Clinton’s attempt to delete the single worst week of her political career isn’t going to work. Her admission that there's a lot of smoke but no fire is a complete lie, and the American public’s response will be to do exactly as her campaign suggests: don’t vote for her,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller said.
Trump tweeted after Clinton's remarks that the Democratic presidential nominee was the one who was "fear-mongering" and that she was "pandering to the worst instincts in our society."
"She should be ashamed of herself!" Trump wrote.
In her Nevada remarks Thursday, Clinton cast Trump as "a man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far, dark reaches of the internet."
Saying "there's always been a paranoid fringe in our politics," Clinton argued that “it’s never had the nominee of a major party stoking it, encouraging it, and giving it a national megaphone."
"Until now," she said.
I suppose I could be put in this group. But If someone, regardless of race, calls me a racist, that could become problematic.
It's the ole "if you question me then you're a racist, sexist, or any other 'ist'"...meanwhile Hillary and her supporters are the bigots here - a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions.
Dude hired the head of Breitbart as "CEO" of his campaign. I'm starting to think Breitbart is German for Klan Daily. I'll vote for that lying bitch over the white nationalist candidate every day of the week.
You're not the naive and stupid.
She should have just played the Hitler card and called it an election, then again, knowing her, she probably will.
I agree, I'm not naive or stupid. I have eyes, ears and a brain. I hope other conservatives stand up and shout down these rotten humans so that we can beat Hillary in 2020.
Then don't buy into the "Alt Right" bullshit and cheap race card tactics Hillary's employed. Trumps a shithead, but Hillary's presser yesterday was appalling. Willie Horton 2016.
It's astounding to me the number of so-called conservatives who are just sitting idly by watching the nation's dominant conservative political party being co-opted by know-nothings and conspiracy kooks. It's going to be bad for everyone, because even as much as some libs might be myopically laughing at what's happening, one party rule is bad and there is plenty to dislike about Democrats. The GOP risks becoming a non-serious entity and no one seems to want to fight back the populist/nationalist surge that is having its day.
I'm curious why you refer to the notions of "alt right" as BS. Breitbart exists. Infowars exists. It's there for all to see, and Trump has adopted that message. The message is nationalism, xenophobic implications/undertones, and conspiracy mongoring. Trump has praised Alex Jones. He has made the head of Breitbart his campaign CEO. You act as if this is somehow in doubt. As if Breitbart is just another place for regular conservatives to hang out. It's not. It's where robEERt types hang out. Trump is the de facto head of the GOP and he is endorsing this shift that is happening in the plain light of day. For the life of me, I don't understand why conservatives would think putting their heads in the sand is the best move here.
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Breibart is to the right as Huffington Post is too the the left, and to suggest it's on the level of an Infowars is absurd at best.
This whole notion of "Alt Right" is Hillary's way of using scare tactics on the rubes to keep them from supporting Trump in light of Trump's push to reach out to minority voters (a push that would fail even without her scare tactics). It's a buzzword, talking point, and the lowest common denominator type of politics, similar to when Trump claimed Hillary created ISIS.
You don't think Hillary has "praised" kooks of her own in the past?
Breibart is to the right as Huffington Post is too the the left, and to suggest it's on the level of an Infowars is absurd at best.
This whole notion of "Alt Right" is Hillary's way of using scare tactics on the rubes to keep them from supporting Trump in light of Trump's push to reach out to minority voters (a push that would fail even without her scare tactics). It's a buzzword, talking point, and the lowest common denominator type of politics, similar to when Trump claimed Hillary created ISIS.
You don't think Hillary has "praised" kooks of her own in the past?
I certainly don't condone racism in any facet. With that said, the PC stuff sickens me. The blind support the left has had the last 8 years and current rationalizing I see that will cause them to vote for Hillary is equally disgusting. The people buying in to this alt-right group being anything more than the racist minority that has always existed thing amaze me. You are basically buying into what is basically the same kind of fear peddling the alt-right side is doing with a different flavor. I've seen it mentioned on this board by people that are generally conservative. I think it was Coop. He doesn't want a roll back of civil rights. Are you fvcking serious? Do you really think that would happen if Trump were elected? Get real man. Stop grasping for things to help you cope and rationalize with voting for someone you know isn't fit to be in office.
I'm not racist because I don't have white guilt. What in God's name should I feel guilty about? I'm not racist because I don't care about something that happened before my ancestors got off the boat. I'll not be shamed for the pride I have in my country. I'm all for Nationalism, but you have to remember, I'm also the guy that will tell someone to take the hat off their head during the National Anthem at a sporting event and if they don't will take it off their head for them.
No, but I doubt it's a racist/hate website. Also, I don't think the HuffPo's EIC is the "CEO" of Clinton's campaign.
I don't think Breitbart is a racist hate website.
Infowars is basically the online version of all of the conspiracy/alien shit on the History channel. It's a different flavor of the Enquirer.
There is a difference between racism and PC. Trump's base is filled with racist hatred. Anybody with functioning eyes, ears and brain know this, but I understand many GOP/conservatives kind of feel like this is the boy crying wolf again because the Democrats have also called Romney, McCain and Bush racists. Hopefully this is something we can correct after this landslide.
Eventually Mntneer, Rog etc will see this Trump campaign for what it is....I just hope it's before November and they help send Trump in to obscurity with his tiny hands tucked between his legs until he and his old bastard Breitbarters die off one by one.
I see Trump's campaign for what it is. It's a circus show, but it's not a base filled with racist hatred. Hatred of Hillary? Sure, racist hatred? Nope. Sure there are the fringe racist kooks in his list of supporters, but to characterize his based being filled with them not reflective of its reality.
I am doing everything I can to send Trump back to the WWE and The Apprentice, but unlike many, I'm not selling out my soul to do so.
LOL...again...just because I don't support Hillary doesn't mean I support Trump. Having blind support for Hillary is just as bad IMO.
Do you even have a clue.......sounds like you are conflicted. Have another gulp of that special Kool-Aid you have been drinking for years.
And BTW, I'm not saying conservatives have to, or even should vote Clinton. I'm fine if others want to vote 3rd party, sit it out, whatevs. I just hope they realize that the hate wing of the party is out in full force and they need to be shouted down, shamed and then ignored.
Which is why I'm voting Libertarian and haven't considered myself a "Republican" in a long long time.
May I question your use of your facilities? No response needed, you have proven that daily.
HuffPo is no different than Breitbart. Slanted "Media" outlets with contributors that appear to hate the opposition.
It's a stupid tactic.
It's like she's trying to out-Trump Trump. She'll never do that. To me, you just run an ad with Trump's own words overtop of each other. You can start with him saying he's not going to deport people, but then play all of the clips behind that in which he said that he was.
I totally understand the hatred for Hillary ... I'll never for the life of me understand the support for Trump. It can't be because you agree with his policies and his plans because he doesn't have any, and any that he has mentioned he's backed off of, then said again, then said no, etc.
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