Tel-Chai Nation

Liel Liebovitz looks at how a serious defeat was suffered in east coast elections in the USA, what with Zohran Mamdani now NYC's first Muslim mayor, and how such awful politicians end up elected. And something to consider is that Republicans are blowing it badly, which only serves to draw attention away from these pressing topics:

On one side stand figures like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who promise a return to classical conservatism: a muscular foreign policy, aggressive free-market economics, and an unrelenting fight against the progressive chaos that took root in America under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. On the other side are candidates like Vice President J.D. Vance, pulling the party in a very different direction.

A troubling example of that direction came just last week. Vance spoke at a Turning Point USA event, the conservative movement founded by his late friend Charlie Kirk, who was murdered earlier this year by a left-wing gunman. A student in the audience asked Vance: "I'm a Christian," he said, "and I don't understand why we support Israel, a Jewish state that doesn't seem to share our values."

Vance could have easily explained the importance of the US-Israel strategic alliance. He could have emphasized the obvious point that, in a war between a Jewish democracy and an Islamist terrorist organization, there should be no question where America stands. Instead, Vance mumbled something about Trump and how Israel doesn't tell him what to do, then veered into theology: "The reality is that Jews don't believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah," said Vance, a Catholic convert baptized in 2019. "My approach has always been that if we have disagreements, we should discuss them publicly."

Imagine for a moment a serious presidential candidate declaring that Americans should publicly debate whether Catholic politicians can be trusted to represent voters rather than follow the pope's orders from Rome. Or whether Hindus, who don't believe in one God, should be allowed to run for office. Such questions sound absurd, and rightly so. The separation of church and state is a bedrock principle of the American constitution. So what made the vice president, one of the GOP's highest-ranking figures, think that the right response to a political question was to turn it into a religious one?

The answer, in short, is Tucker Carlson.

The popular television host was ousted from Fox News in 2023 under complex circumstances. He launched his own podcast and wasted no time steering it in a new ideological direction. In February 2024 he traveled to Moscow for a warm interview with Vladimir Putin, who claimed, among other things, that Poland was to blame for the Nazi invasion in World War II and that Volodymyr Zelensky was the villain in his war with Ukraine. Carlson then toured Moscow's subway and shops, telling his audience that such order and cleanliness couldn't be found in any American city.

Some raised eyebrows, lavish praise for Russia and propaganda that demeaned the US hardly sound conservative. But Carlson was just getting started. Months before the presidential election, he hosted online influencer Darryl Cooper, who told viewers that Hitler was the real victim of World War II and that Winston Churchill refused to compromise with the "peace-loving" German chancellor only because a small group of people—no need to specify who, but they control the banks and the media—pressured him.

Last month, Carlson invited an even viler guest: Nick Fuentes, a social-media personality who has repeatedly expressed admiration for Hitler and Stalin.

What drove the supposedly conservative pundit to such extremes? The reasons are many, but the overall direction is clear: Carlson, and now Vance after him, understand that to capture the imagination of young and apathetic voters, one must sound extreme and exciting.

What's told about Vance is certainly galling, because his complaint about Jews not believing in Jesus was entirely uncalled for. It would be wrong to complain that far eastern countries like India and Japan don't believe in one god, so why is Vance dampening the impact as he is? What matters is whether even non-monotheists can be vigilant and realists. Doesn't that matter to Vance any more than anybody else?

It's also troubling that the movement founded by Kirk, a pro-Israel guy who was tragically murdered, appears to be hosting somebody with "values" that are anathema to what Kirk stood for. Is Turning Point USA deteriorating? Who knows? But Vance is certainly not setting a good example here, and if he keeps this up, it will only make things worse, and take away attention from the next Mamdanis who're planning their run for office in the USA. Division on the right is one of the problems that led to where we are now.

Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, Christianity, communism, dhimmitude, islam, Israel, jihad, misogyny, Moonbattery, political corruption, racism, RINOs, Russia, sexual violence, State Dept, terrorism, United States, White House