Support Our Journalism

Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

Politics National News World Economy Lifestyle Store

Tag: culture war

Democrats' Midterm Triumph Marks The Ignominious End Of MAGA Culture War

Thrilling as it was to watch Donald Trump, the Congressional Republicans and the MAGA movement defeated in historic style, last week, the even better news that has emerged in the election's wake is that they suffered a sweeping cultural rejection too.

As the midterm results reveal the dimensions of the Democratic victory, it has become clear that its meaning extended beyond blue over red. What the voters declared with their choices in one contest after another, was the end of the MAGA project – again, not just as an electoral phenomenon but as war on American culture. Voters repudiated Trump’s attempted restoration of white supremacy, his routine misogyny, his appeals to phony piety and to nativist bigotry, his worship of money and all the ugliness he has manifested since that trip down the escalator in 2015.

Specific examples of that rejection span the entire map -- from New Hampshire to South Carolina, from Michigan to Mississippi, and from Arizona to Alaska. Some rose to national attention, heavily publicized as “firsts”: Abdul El-Sayed, the first Muslim-American in the U.S. Senate; Gina Hinojosa, the first Latina Governor of Texas; Keisha Lance Bottoms, the first Black female governor (and a truly extraordinary departure for Georgia); Xavier Becerra, the first Latino governor of California; Chris Pappas, the first openly gay man in the U.S. Senate; and Deb Haaland of New Mexico, the first female Native American governor.

Confronted by millions of dollars in openly hateful propaganda designed to scare voters, these rainbow candidates triumphed over prejudice and fear. The vilest Republican appeals were far less effective than anyone anticipated, even with the categories of (white and male) voters usually most vulnerable to those appeals.

But the exceptional cases that made the faces of MAGA fanatics as red as their hats went well beyond that handful. Literally dozens of surprisingly successful candidates, whose races haven’t quite risen to headline status, showed how thoroughly Americans repudiated Trump’s ideology in all its forms.

As women and minorities expanded their political and cultural power, so did other categories inimical to Trumpian idiocy, including scientists, doctors, union workers, veterans, gays and lesbians, and even beleaguered trans people.

In Alabama of all places, a Democratic software engineer will be the first transgender woman elected to the state legislature, flipping a seat in the House of Representatives despite a noxious gender-baiting campaign against her. Arizona chose the first Native American woman for statewide office. Nevada chose its first Black governor and so did Wisconsin. Georgia voters didn’t just choose their first Black and woman governor (while re-electing their first Jewish senator), but they also elected the first Black woman with a science Ph.D. to Congress, Emory University microbiologist Jasmine Clark.

Trump political adviser Roger Stone told us long ago that in politics, “hate is a stronger motivator than love.” His depressing maxim appears to have maxed out, at least for now.

No election victory is ever final and a Republican presidential campaign led by the likes of JD Vance could certainly revive the resentments exploited in Trump’s rise. But Election 2026 reminded us of something we had almost forgotten -- that Americans still can transcend the poisonous and small-minded politics of this president.

Joe Conason is founder and editor-in-chief of The National Memo. He is also editor-at-large of Type Investigations, a nonprofit investigative reporting organization formerly known as The Investigative Fund. His latest book is The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism (St. Martin's Press, 2024). The paperback version, with a new Afterword, is available wherever books are sold.

Amid Their Redistricting Wreckage, Trump And Johnson Reject Obvious Solution

Republicans across the country, spurred by President Donald Trump and encouraged by House Speaker Mike Johnson, are pushing hard to redraw as many congressional districts as possible in order to maintain their House majority after next year’s midterm elections.

They know that losing the majority would cost them everything they’ve built their power around. They could no longer steer investigations designed to protect Trump, bottle up Democratic legislation, or jam extremist messaging bills onto the floor. They’d lose the committee gavels they’ve used to hound political enemies, the messaging platform they rely on to launder right-wing conspiracies, and the institutional leverage to slow-walk or sabotage even the most basic functions of government.

So far, Trump’s efforts have been a bust, despite the terrible political damage he has done to the tradition of once-a-decade redistricting.That process, carried out shortly after the 2020 census, was supposed to create a stable map voters could rely on for 10 years, providing them a predictable landscape they could use to understand who represents them. The process had long acted as guardrail against nonstop map-shopping every time a party felt insecure about the next election.

Instead, Trump’s meddling has turned redistricting into a perpetual power-grab, eroding public trust and encouraging every state to treat its map as a live grenade rather than a settled civic obligation.

Not only have Democrats engaged in retaliatory efforts that will likely leave things roughly where they began, but also a recent legal decision means Republicans’ attempt to gain an extra five seats in Texas may end up reversed, leaving Republicans further behind than where they started.

Trump and Johnson have never hidden the motive behind their effort. One recalcitrant Republican state legislator in Indiana, where the state GOP is warring over whether to redraw the state’s map, said he heard from Johnson, who “just talked about the importance of the House majority.”

Of course, the majority is important to Johnson and Trump. But it’s striking that neither man shows interest in the one thing that would help protect their party’s majority: doing popular stuff.

They could try governing in a way that aligns with what most Americans want, but that would require them abandoning their culture-war extremism, anti-democratic impulses, and Trump-first loyalty—all of which define the modern GOP. Johnson could have his chamber show up to work instead of adjourning for weeks to protect Trump from the release of the government’s files on accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

But rather than change their message, their agenda, or their behavior that is repelling voters, they’ve chosen to change the maps. And even that doesn’t seem to be working out the way they hoped.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Beware The Culture Warrior Posing As ‘Moderate Republican’

Virginia's new Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, raced into office bearing two culture war baubles. One was a ban on teaching critical race theory. The other was a prohibition on mask mandates in public schools.

Each came in the form of an executive order. Neither costs anything. And both are of little consequence.

In terms of politics, however, they serve the function of provoking liberals, to the delight of the right-wing. Youngkin's first week in office, The Washington Post headline read, "leaves Republicans jubilant, Democrats fuming."

Bear in mind that the Post, as much of the liberal-friendly media does, profits on the ability to raise its audience's anxiety level and thereby keep its customers glued. CNN does that, too.

The day Newt Gingrich threatened Jan. 6 committee members with jail if Republicans regain the majority, CNN featured the menacing video about every hour. The former House speaker has been out of office for 23 years, but his moronic comment, amplified by "respectable" media, made him seem relevant again. (The smartest response came from Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat on the committee, who brushed it off, saying that the notably gaunt Gingrich looked "unwell.")

Take a closer look at Youngkin's executive orders. Critical race theory is not taught in Virginia's K-12 schools, so banning it is an exercise in virtue-signaling, Trump-style. As a candidate, Youngkin backed letting local school districts make policy on masks, which is what a real conservative would do.

Now at least seven school boards have filed lawsuits against Youngkin, arguing that the state constitution empowers local school boards to run their districts. Also, state law requires schools to follow federal health guidelines.

Naturally, this has raised to boil conflicts that were just simmering before. One woman in Page County threatened to bring a gun to a school that had instituted a mask requirement. This inconveniently comes at a time when schools are already struggling with the loss of teachers sick with COVID-19 or quitting the profession. Meanwhile, children who have already missed so much school might benefit from some months of peace in the classroom.

Youngkin did temper his position on critical race theory. (Almost no one understands this controversial academic concept, which portrays racism as systemic.) He noted that Virginia's history contains "ugly" chapters, thus suggesting that America's painful history on race would be honestly taught.

Youngkin got elected in this generally Democratic state by portraying himself as a not-scary Republican who would fight off the left's excesses. The political press has since been raking his words for evidence of how moderate he would be.

Despite his reckless (or naive) stirring of turmoil early on, the political press still doesn't know. It's possible that Youngkin took what he thought were some insignificant swipes at the left to appease the right before he embarks on the course of normal governance. That's the hope.

But here is where Youngkin's first days may come back to haunt his party. Whether he intends to be more Trumpian or less, Youngkin has probably hurt the chances of Republicans who hoped to win in Democratic states by playing the moderate.

The models, Govs. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Larry Hogan of Maryland, avoid the kind of political nastiness that's now making civic life in Virginia so unpleasant. Having campaigned as one of them, Youngkin is making that sales pitch harder to pull off.

Democrats, meanwhile, would do well to quietly govern and let the opposition fuel the division that drives the public crazy. We all should be mindful that Youngkin won the governorship by only two points.

The culture war may not quite be the free lunch Republicans think is.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

On Fox News, ‘Concerned Parents’ Are Actually GOP Activists

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters

Nearly a dozen of the Fox News guests the network has presented as concerned parents or educators who oppose the teaching of so-called "critical race theory" in schools also have day jobs as Republican strategists, conservative think-tankers, or right-wing media personalities, according to a Media Matters review.

Critical race theory is an academic legal framework which examines the systemic impact of racism in the United States. But "critical race theory," like "cancel culture" and "political correctness" before it, also functions as an umbrella term the right-wing movement uses to turn its mostly white adherents' racial anxiety into political energy.

In this case, a sophisticated, nationwide network of conservative think tanks, advocacy groups, media outlets, and GOP officials have seized on the term and, in the words of Christopher Rufo -- a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and a key player in the effort -- sought to render it "toxic" and apply to it "the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans." Republicans have proposed or passed a slew of legislation restricting "critical race theory" and hope to use it as a core part of their political strategy in upcoming local, state, and federal elections.

Fox, the leading propaganda outlet for the GOP, plays a key role in this strategy. The network has mentioned "critical race theory" nearly 1,300 times over the past three and a half months. The purportedly sinister spread of "critical race theory" provides a perfect framework for Fox's technique of highlighting local concerns to fuel the culture war. The network supercharges the individual, at times dubious, stories that filter up with the help of nationally backed local activists, other right-wing outlets, and social media. Fox has targeted the purported influence of "critical race theory" in corporate America, the military, and particularly schools, hosting parents, teachers, and other educators to talk about how they don't want it taught in their communities.

In several of those cases, the locals Fox has highlighted are also Republican strategists, conservative think-tankers, or right-wing media figures -- ties the network has downplayed or ignored altogether. This trend is particularly notable when Fox covers "critical race theory" controversies in Northern Virginia, a bedroom community for Washington, D.C., in a state where GOP gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin has sought to make his opposition a central issue in the fall.

"The first test will be here in Virginia," Fox chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel reported last month. "If this issue works in the governor's race in November, it will likely be part of the GOP campaign playbook in the midterm elections next year."

Republican strategists have every right to advocate for their children and their communities, if not to manipulate nationwide education priorities. But since Fox has identified opposition to "critical race theory" as central to the party's political strategy, the network has a responsibility to inform its viewers about exactly who it's talking to.

Ian Prior

Fox has hosted Ian Prior at least 15 times to discuss various "critical race theory" stories, according to Media Matters' database of weekday cable news guests. Fox hosts and anchors have given him various introductions including "Loudoun County parent"; a "father" who "has gone from concerned parent, like many of you, to legal activist"; and "a Loudoun County, Virginia, parent and founder of FightForSchools.com."

Fight for Schools, which Prior leads, is a political action committee launched this year to support "common sense candidates" who oppose "critical race theory" in schools.

What Fox personalities tend not to mention is Prior's long career as a Republican political operative. He worked in top communications roles during the 2016 election cycle for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the Karl Rove-fronted super PAC American Crossroads, and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC that works to elect Republican senators which was founded by allies of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He then spent a year and a half as a top public affairs aide to Trump's first attorney general, Jeff Sessions.

Prior currently runs his own political communications consulting firm, is co-founder of a political newsletter, and is a senior counsel and spokesperson for Unsilenced Majority, "a grassroots conservative advocacy organization opposed to cancel culture in all forms" helmed by other Republican and right-wing media figures.

Prior had made dozens of appearances on Fox to discuss a range of issues before becoming a regular anti-critical race theory guest on the network earlier this year.

Quisha King

Fox host Tammy Bruce identified Quisha King as an "everyday American," "a Florida mom who took a bold stance against critical race theory" and as "that hero, the Northeast Florida co-chair of Moms for Liberty" during a June 11 appearance on Fox News Primetime; on-screen text also stressed her role as a "mom" and "parent." Anchor John Roberts likewise described King as "one mom" who is "going viral" for criticizing "critical race theory" and noted her Moms for Liberty affiliation during a June 14 segment on the "straight news" program America Reports; on-screen text during the segment also described her as a "mom of two daughters."

But King is also a Republican strategist. She was regional engagement coordinator for the Republican National Committee in 2020 according to her LinkedIn page, which states that she now runs her own political media consulting firm. On Twitter, she calls herself a "@gop 2021 Rising Star."

On Fox, King said teachers unions "want to remake America" and are "trying to raise up a generation that believes everything that they're pushing; they're trying to raise little woke Marxists" through "critical race theory," which she later added is actually "aligned with the KKK and true white supremacy."

Patti Hidalgo Menders

Patti Hidlago Menders

On June 4, Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt described Menders and two other guests who oppose the supposed teaching of "critical race theory" in their schools as "three parents from Loudoun County, Virginia," and mentioned that she is "president of the Loudoun County Republican Women's Club."

Menders is also a Republican strategist. She is "Virginia State Strategist" for Majority Strategies, a GOP media consulting firm, according to her bio at the firm, which also calls her "the creator of the Loudoun Conservatives Care, a state PAC that fundraises for Republican candidates by organizing large scale events." Majority Strategies bills itself as "the only firm to work with every official GOP presidential nominee since 2000" and counts Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and two past Speakers of the House among its current or former clients.

Lilit Vanetsyan

Lilet Vanetsyan

Fox anchor Dana Perino described Lilit Vanetsyan as "one of the teachers who was at that school board meeting" in Loudoun County, Virginia, and suggested she was part of a "grassroots movement" during a June 9 interview on America's Newsroom. Bruce similarly identified Vanetsyan as a "Fairfax County teacher" when she was on the June 10 edition of Fox News Primetime.

Vanetsyan is also a right-wing media personality. She is affiliated with the Trumpist youth organization Turning Point USA and runs a "Teachers for Trump" Instagram account (which now largely posts about "critical race theory"). Vanetsyan was a reporter for the pro-Trump Right Side Broadcasting Network, according to a since-deleted bio on its website that calls her "a passionate educator who never hesitates to expose the public education system, the teacher unions, and the corrupt curriculum our children are spoon-fed." That bio also says Vanetsyan's goal is to open the "The Donald J. Trump School of Excellence" and quotes her saying, "If we want to change the world, we must start with the youth."

On Fox, Vanetsyan described "critical race theory" as an attempt to "indoctrinate our children."

Barry Bennett

On May 18, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade described Barry Bennett as an "AlexandrIa Little League parent and an informal adviser to the 2016 Trump campaign," and on-screen text throughout the segment identified him as a "Virginia Little League Parent."

Bennett, elsewhere described as a "senior adviser" to Trump's 2016 campaign, is also "one of the most prominent lobbyists of the Trump era," according to Politico. He co-founded Avenue Strategies with Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign manager, after Trump's victory, billing the firm as "your sherpa through turbulent times" (Lewandowski left in 2017). After Trump's 2020 defeat, Bennett shuttered the company, which had been "loaded with lobbyists who had ties to Trump and the Republican Party," and founded Bennett Strategies, a government relations and political consulting firm.

Nicole Neily

Fox host Laura Ingraham introduced Nicole Neily as one of "two parents fighting against CRT in their schools" (Prior was Ingraham's other guest) and as "president and founder" of the organization Parents Defending Education during the May 26 edition of her prime-time show.

Neily has spent her entire career working in and for libertarian and conservative political advocacy organizations and think tanks, including stints at FreedomWorks, the Cato Institute, the Independent Women's Forum, the Franklin Center for Government and Public Policy, and Speech First, before launching Parents Defending Education in January.

Elizabeth Schultz

Fox "news side" anchor Dana Perino introduced Elizabeth Schultz for a May 20 America's Newsroom interview by calling her a "former Fairfax County [Virginia] school board member." On-screen text echoed that description and also noted her affiliation with the group Parents Defending Education.

Schultz is also a former Trump administration official. She became locally notorious during her tenure on the Fairfax County School Board for voting against "expanding the school system's sex-education curriculum to include lessons on gender identity and transgender issues" and supporting armed teachers in classrooms. After losing a reelection bid in 2019, she became deputy director of the Office of Educational Technology at the Department of Education, according to her LinkedIn profile. In March, she joined Neily's Parents Defending Education group as a senior fellow.

On Fox, Schultz alleged that "our education system is being weaponized by school boards" that are "using taxpayer money to embed things like critical race theory." She plugged Parents Defending Education and its website and urged parents to "take back your schools."

Carrie Lukas

Fox anchor Martha MacCallum introduced Carrie Lukas as a "a Virginia mom of five" on the April 27 edition of The Story. For much of the segment, on-screen text highlighted that she is a "VA mother," "parent," and a "Virginia mother of five," though the chyron briefly acknowledged toward the end of the segment that she is also "Independent Women's Forum President." She was interviewed alongside her daughter, an eighth-grader.

Lukas has worked at the Independent Women's Forum, a conservative think tank that says it works to "reduce government red tape and return resources and control to people," since 2003, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is also a contributor to National Review and the author of Checking Progressive Privilege, a book arguing that conservatives are "marginalized and stereotyped" in U.S. culture. She previously worked as a policy analyst for congressional Republicans and at the libertarian Cato Institute.

On Fox, Lukas said that instead of trying to "improve equity," Virginia should provide vouchers so that parents could use public funds to enroll their children in private schools.

Bridget Ziegler

Roberts introduced Bridget Ziegler as "the mother of three girls and a Sarasota County [Florida] school board member" on the June 10 edition of America Reports; on-screen text also described her as a "FL Mom" and a "Mother of 3 Girls."

Ziegler is also a Republican activist. She is a precinct committeewoman for the Republican Party of Sarasota County and a member of seven different local GOP organizations, according to her school board candidate bio.

On Fox, Ziegler said she is "so appreciative" of Florida's "great governor" Ron DeSantis for opposing the teaching of "critical race theory" in the state's schools. That "is why we call it 'Freedom Florida' here," she added, "because he's working and fighting for families to make sure that our children are going to be great, successful people and not be felt guilty by the content of their skin, or felt that they can't success because of the color of their skin, and that is exactly what this particular critical race theory or the anti-American issues that they are pumping into schoolhouses across America and in Florida [do]."

Deborah Flora

America's Newsroom anchor Bill Hemmer introduced Deborah Flora on June 3 as a Colorado "mother of two" who is also "president and founder of Parents United America." On-screen text also identified her as a "Douglas County School District mom." Flora later described Parents United America as "not political; it's nonpartisan. This isn't left or right; it's right and wrong."

Flora is also a right-wing media personality and activist. She hosts The Deborah Flora Show, a right-wing radio program airing on Denver's KNUS that brings on a variety of state and local Republican politicians and conservative activists. The station is owned by Salem Media Group, the right-wing radio giant that features hosts like Hugh Hewitt and Sebastian Gorka and reportedly pressured hosts to be more pro-Trump; former KNUS host Craig Silverman claimed in 2018 that his mic had been cut and he had been fired in the middle of his show for criticizing Trump (the station denied it). Flora is also "the Director of Public Policy for Salem Radio Denver." She became a right-wing celebrity in 2006 when she produced and starred in the anti-abortion film A Distant Thunder and later reportedly hosted "the first Beverly Hills 'Tea Party' rally" with the actor Pat Boone.

On Fox, Flora said that "equity policy is the same as critical race theory" and that it "divides … innocent children into oppressors and oppressed" which "damages both."

Joe Mobley

Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy introduced Joe Mobley on June 14 as a "father of three and U.S. Army vet" who had "rallied for education, not indoctrination" over the weekend in Loudoun County.

Mobley also hosts The Joe Mobley Show, a political self-help podcast that purports to teach conservative listeners how to respond to criticisms from liberals who engage in "massive misinformation campaigns" about them.

On Fox, Mobley agreed that "critical race theory" is racist, adding that its "singular purpose" is "to divide."

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe

Correction (6/17/21): This piece has been updated to correct a misspelling of Lilit Vanetsyan's name.

Shop our Store

Headlines

Editor's Blog

World

        About The National Memo
    
The National Memo is a political newsletter and website that combines the spirit of investigative journalism with new technology and ideas. We cover campaigns, elections, the White House, Congress, and the world with a fresh outlook. Our own journalism — as well as our selections of the smartest stories available every day — reflects a clear and strong perspective, without the kind of propaganda, ultra-partisanship and overwrought ideology that burden so much of our political discourse.
TAGS

Created By

RebelMouse

About Masthead Terms of Service Privacy Statement Advertise with Us Contact