Once-time peacenik icon Tulsi Gabbard has joined Robert F. Kennedy Jr in defecting to the now openly fascist and even Nazi-embracing MAGA camp—actually becoming members of the Trump transition team. Meanwhile, the Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, likewise enamoured of Vladimir Putin and the dictators in his orbit (including mass murderer Bashar Assad), is being represented by a former Trump attorney in her bid to get on the ballot in swing state Nevada. Beyond the threat that she could serve as a spoiler and throw the election to Trump, this raises questions about the cooptation of segments of the American left by MAGA-fascism. It is no longer just the old-school sectarian “tankie” left that’s in danger of taking the fascist lure in a Red-Brown alliance, but the pacifist, cannabis-friendly “green” left as well. In Episode 244 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg raises the alarm.
Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.
Production by Chris Rywalt
We ask listeners to donate just $1 per weekly podcast via Patreon—or $2 for our special offer, or $5 to become a Major Rant Enabler. We now have 69 subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 70!
Image via Freedom Leaf
Jill Stein blinks… sort of
Seemingly in response to the controversy following her refusal to call Putin a “war crimina” in her recent interview with Mehdi Hasan, Jill Stein has released a statement on Twitter, beginning: “We condemn all war criminals including Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Bashar al-Assad, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney & many more. We also recognize the urgent need for diplomacy to prevent WWIII.” The statement, however, mentions Gaza and Syria, but not Ukraine.
Even this weak and belated statement was bashed by Stein's former running mate Ajamu Baraka, who tweeted: "Playing to the rightest forces among the left & democrat party was not necessary." (Sic!) (Yahoo)
Further notes on hippie fascism
The Hindu-fascist convergence seen in Savitri Devi also lies at the roots of Narendra Modi’s Hindutva movement, as we discussed in our podcast of Oct. 9, 2019, “Against Narendra Modi’s Gandhi-exploitation.”
I also should have noted that Tucker Carlson was a Deadhead in his youth. We might have been at some of the same concerts….