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   Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:36 JST Thomas Zimmer

   Today, the anti-“woke” crusaders on the Right got what they wanted – and it would not have been possible without the mainstream media eagerly propagating, laundering, and legitimizing a disgustingly disingenuous rightwing campaign. 1/

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     Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:31 JST Thomas Zimmer

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     • Don Moynihan

     Please read this fantastic piece by @donmoyn – a dissection of the disastrous role of the mainstream in this whole affair. It’s just not plausible anymore to assume the media “got played”: They deliberately contributed, again, to a breathtakingly disingenuous rightwing assault.

     https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-campaign-to-remove-the-president

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     Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:32 JST Thomas Zimmer

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     Rufo has always been completely transparent about the entirely dishonest nature of his reactionary projects. That he’s been so tremendously successful in poisoning the polity and manufacturing nationwide crusades is a devastating indictment of our political and media culture. 5/

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     Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:32 JST Thomas Zimmer

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     Rufo is celebrating. Note how he is explicitly pointing to one of the New York Times’ anti-“woke” columnists, standing in for the mainstream media as a whole, as having played a crucial role in his plan. And in the replies, his extremist fans demand more blood: “Who’s next?” 6/

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     Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:32 JST Thomas Zimmer

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     A while ago, I wrote about Rufo as a figure emblematic of the counter-revolutionary zeal, desire for vengeance, lust for radicalism, and brutal cynicism that characterizes the Right today.
      
     Rightwing Dreams of American Reconquista: 7/
      
     https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/rightwing-dreams-of-american-reconquista

     Paul Cantrell repeated this.
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     Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:33 JST Thomas Zimmer

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     When that didn’t work, the Right seamlessly pivoted to the accusation of plagiarism. Once again, Christopher Rufo, one of America’s most successful far-right activists, played a crucial role in this pivot, never hiding his true intentions – and yet, the media did exactly what he wanted. 4/

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     Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:34 JST Thomas Zimmer

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     None of this is surprising – although it is still shocking to see it play out like this. It is indicative of larger issues: The media’s obsession with proving its “neutral” credentials, an increasingly reactionary, anti-“woke” stance on the center, and America’s elite accommodating extremism. 2/

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     Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 03-Jan-2024 11:26:34 JST Thomas Zimmer

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     Remember, this all started with Republicans trying to get the Black woman fired by accusing her of antisemitism - a brutally cynical attempt by the party of Trump, “Jewish space lasers,” QAnon, and “Great Replacement” theory to use Jews to strike against “leftist” institutions. 3/
      
     https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/we-are-falling-apart