One of the built in advantages for liberals these days is that, truly and sincerely, Even the most nonsensically outlandish random liberal crazies pulled from under a rock somewhere in CA is *STILL* many many notches below “daily baseline” crazy that The right must *daily* armwrestle for control a couple hours of news cycle.
I laughed for about 15 minutes when I read that Matt Shea of easten washington and Almost Ruby Ridge 2.0: Cattle Grazing boogalo managed to blow up the another painstakingly low-key regional politican’;s spot .
*MATT SHEA! THE BUNDIES!! STILL!
Someone should send this bloke a copy of RFK’s book on Fauci. If only a tenth of the copious evidence RFK presents is true then the guy should have been jailed long ago. He is an avatar for deep state corruption of process.
Bernard Hill
1 year ago
…a conviction for contempt of congress is a fall from grace? More likely its a badge of honor in the current socio-political upheaval.
In the “Historical Documents” of the BBC series “Yes Prime Minister”, Bernard informs James Hacker of a particular earned honor, the JBB “Jailed By the British”
Indeed. The lack of any conviction details and Peter’s possibly legitimate reason for not testifying should have been included but that information might have conflicted with the story’s narrative of: Thinker turned wayward Pitbull
T Bone
1 year ago
By quoting Zizek, I feel comfortable saying the author is sympathetic to Marx and the idea of class struggle. Therefore it should be stated that if you’re going to accuse people of “conspiracy theories” you should acknowledge that every variant of Marxism is a just irrational conspiracy theory married to bread crumbs of truth.
Marxist Economics sees everything as a zero sum game where one group’s gains can only come at the expense of another group…as if Mercantilism never ended. Marxist analysis retains the colonial oppressor/oppressed dynamic and then describes how “invisible systems of oppression” still run the postcolonial world in subtle harmful ways that only enlightened Theorists can find. In the Marxist view, oppression didn’t go away, it just reinvented itself. The last part is actually true but Marxists believe they’re the only ones able to singlehandedly identify the source…Capitalism and economic growth. They believe economic growth is “unsustainable” for the planet and widens disparities so people are just going to have to learn to live with less. Apparently everyone will be happier when Scarcity is introduced.
But “Economic Populism” in America does not buy into the Rich=Bad, Poor=Good dynamic. Sometimes the workers are the good guys and sometimes they’re not. It depends on the circumstances as any balanced person will acknowledge. Economics is not a Manichean struggle of Light vs Dark. America First populism doesn’t tell everybody to develop a “class consciousness” about their status on the economic hierarchy. The goal is economic growth and prosperity that raises conditions across income groups.
It’s not targeting the elimination of group disparities (although that does incidentally occur as a result of economic growth in a capitalist economy). What it’s trying to do is gradually increase opportunities for more people in order for them rise up the social ladder, become self-sufficient, prosperous and unreliant on a central planner. Its not trying to collect mass demographic information so it can tinker with identity or income group outcomes. There was no “economic revolution.” America First Populism was simply a set of policies that sought to protect America’s national interest first by maximizing the opportunities to its people…just as every country should do for its people.
The article was about his swings from good policy such as pulling back from China and attempting to restore some manufacturing mixed with his stupid ones such as claiming the election was rigged simply to appease his boss. It laments how by allowing the nonsense to take priority over the important stuff he’s eventually caused his own downfall, despite being a handy economist.
It not once mentions Marxism, which seems to be the entire basis of your comment
Again he cites Zizek as inspiration. He also references Trotsky for God sakes.
The “important stuff” he’s alluding to is class struggle. He refers to “revolution” and “economic transformation.” The author is clearly well versed in Fabian Socialism.
Unlike Britain, America has historically not tolerated Socialism until the ACA. The bits of Nationalized Socialism that we do have (if you want to call it that) were built up during wartime emergency powers during WW2 and Vietnam.
Because the American public has historically reviled Socialism, it had to be slipped in the back door through Academia in cultural studies departments. So the only people in America that understand Socialism are practioners and the few Conservatives that bothered to study Global Affairs.
There’s a reason that so many Bernie Sanders voters switched to Trump. Because Trump was speaking the language of Anti-Elitism which many on the left conflated with class revolution. This particular author repeatedly bemoans the “failed revolution” because he didn’t understand the distinction between the two concepts.
I am sorry, you clearly did not read article.
Zizek is Marxists and Galbraight was favourite Western economist of Soviet Block for reasons I explained in another post.
So yes, author did not mention Marxism or Communism directly but his use of quotes clearly shows where his loyalties are..
Marxism is at the very crux of Progressive ideology today. It is exactly what Navarro hates most. Communist ideology and Communists gaining power in our world are his nemesis.
Yes, I replied about commie idiot Zizek before reading your post.
Author is free to move to alternative political system, he clearly supports.
I think most readers on Unherd would found his one way ticket to North Korea.
Every comment on this forum is an opinion. What are you on about?
Tyler Durden
1 year ago
What I find odd is that so few of the Republican Party, even their Right, looked at the events of August 2020 and concluded, publically, that America had already had its Jan 6 when the POTUS was locked into his security quarters while scores of security personnel were injured by marauding left-wing rioters outside.
Elsewhere, civillians lives were lost and 10s of millions of dollars damage done to property in American towns and cities.
Yet none of this registers as a political point about street thugs interfering in the democratic process, or really, the status of the United States as a liberal democracy with an open and free civil society.
Obviously, because rioters and looters and killers are “suppressed minorities”, so they are never responsible for their actions.
How is it that we have all this videos on YouTube of black people contesting arrest for traffic offences against black police officers?
Nothing to do with racism.
Everything to do with overentitled, low IQ people expecting special treatment, when committing crimes, because they are black.
Cho Jinn
1 year ago
“In the end, largely due to the uneven and haphazard qualities of advisers such as Navarro…”
They have nothing on establishment stonewalling, and what should be plain now is the role Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell played in preventing more significant developments.
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reads like an orthodox anti-populist, neo-liberal critique. Don’t know much about Navarro, but sounds like he had some good ideas, maybe some not so good as well.
Operation Warp Speed was political theater in the first place, which is why it was so easy to disown later on. (The so-called vaccine itself certainly can’t be considered a success.)
Have the “vast majority of voters moved on” from the scandalous 2020 election? In that case, I hope Navarro keeps talking about it.
Carmel Shortall
1 year ago
“But even as he took charge of the administration’s central policy response, Navarro endorsed quack cures like hydroxychloroquine, while repeatedly blaming Anthony Fauci, not just for initiating lockdowns, but for being responsible for the virus itself, alleging that he had funded the Chinese lab that bred the disease (and, therefore, was “the father” of Covid-19)”
Was also tempted to stop reading… For me Toni Fauci belongs in jail and I hope Senator Rand Paul will get him there.
Dumetrius
1 year ago
What’s he in gaol for?
One of those weird American felonies?
Transporting a mallard across state lines for immoral purposes, or something?
Alex Carnegie
1 year ago
Navarro was much more important than most realise. The single most important policy shift of the Trump period was to break with orthodoxy and take on China economically. Though subsequently embraced by Biden, the new policy was bitterly opposed at the time by the economic establishment led within the White House by Gary Cohn. After Steve Bannon was booted, Cohn appeared to be winning and the Trump regime condemned to follow orthodox economic and trade policies. Instead Navarro hung in and eventually Cohn was forced out. No Navarro; no new China policy. Pity about the flaws.
William Shaw
1 year ago
You refer to Navarro as a “political sycophant.”
Is this what left wing writers call every supporter of a right wing politician?
Andrew F
1 year ago
This is weird article.
There is no mention why Navarro was found of contempt of Congress.
But we have quotes from Zizek, useless Marxist and mention of Galbraight, favourite “Western” economist in Soviet Block.
Who claimed there was convergence between Communist and Capitalist systems.
Obviously we know there was not any convergence, so bringing pro commie idiot into conversation does not help.
Konstantinos Stavropoulos
1 year ago
Michael Cuenco is obviously a political soldier, indifferent for basic elements of truth. That short of writing will push voters to Tramp. Good job Michael..!
DuBose Kapeluck
1 year ago
This article has prompted me to cancel my subscription. Junk.
Rick Frazier
1 year ago
“…when politics is severed from its policy content or, indeed, from any larger moral objective — and becomes simply about the prosecution of feuds based on pure friend-enemy distinctions.”
Politics always needs enemies to rail against. Otherwise it would fade away…fewer people would pay attention and most people would be better off for it.
Last edited 1 year ago by Rick Frazier
Benjamin Greco
1 year ago
The revolution never had a chance because it was led by a clown.
Martin Johnson
1 year ago
Maybe the real story is from Rudyard Kipling’s “If”, which in a better age we memorized in school, about keeping your head when all about you are losing theirs, and blaming it on you.
Malcolm Webb
1 year ago
Didn’t know much about Navarro but this hatchet job of an article makes me think that maybe he’s not such a bad guy.
j watson
1 year ago
Navarro never properly explained why he refused to testify or provide documents to Congress. What’s he got to hide? It’s part of the Constitution that Congress can demand such, and there is considerable danger if people decide which bits they want to abide by and which they don’t. So just seems stupid…unless of course he really does have something malign to hide? As Trump said himself why use the 5th amendment if you’ve done nothing wrong only to then, groan, use it hundreds of times. Same hypocrisy. Folks claiming morale superiority need to practice what they preach.
Now it does seem Navarro had some interesting economic theories and given some key issues considerable thought worth absorbing, whether one agrees with them or not. Quite why he drifted into the more wacko pronouncements less clear. But he’s like so many who entered the Trump orbit, became intoxicated with chance of some unbridled power and lost their marbles in the process. And then ended up in legal jeopardy while Agent Orange of course walks away…or tries to. Navarro wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last of that we can 100% sure.
It’s a feature of many comments on Unherd, that analyses of “the problem” in articles on aspects of the current malaise, include the lament “…but no one says what to do about it”. Well Mr Navarro was one who did something practical about it, which includes his rebellion against Congress’s over-reach.
Main Edition
US
FR
” … while repeatedly blaming Anthony Fauci, not just for initiating lockdowns, but for being responsible for the virus itself, alleging that he had funded the Chinese lab that bred the disease (and, therefore, was “the father” of Covid-19).”
Fauci DID channel funds to the Wuhan lab through NIH. That is why we are still not being told who was responsible for developing the virus.
Anthony Fauci Knew NIH Funded Wuhan’s Gain-of-Function Research as Covid Pandemic Began | National Review
Thankyou. You’ve saved me the trouble of pointing that out.
One of the built in advantages for liberals these days is that, truly and sincerely, Even the most nonsensically outlandish random liberal crazies pulled from under a rock somewhere in CA is *STILL* many many notches below “daily baseline” crazy that The right must *daily* armwrestle for control a couple hours of news cycle.
I laughed for about 15 minutes when I read that Matt Shea of easten washington and Almost Ruby Ridge 2.0: Cattle Grazing boogalo managed to blow up the another painstakingly low-key regional politican’;s spot .
*MATT SHEA! THE BUNDIES!! STILL!
Someone should send this bloke a copy of RFK’s book on Fauci. If only a tenth of the copious evidence RFK presents is true then the guy should have been jailed long ago. He is an avatar for deep state corruption of process.
…a conviction for contempt of congress is a fall from grace? More likely its a badge of honor in the current socio-political upheaval.
In the “Historical Documents” of the BBC series “Yes Prime Minister”, Bernard informs James Hacker of a particular earned honor, the JBB “Jailed By the British”
Indeed. The lack of any conviction details and Peter’s possibly legitimate reason for not testifying should have been included but that information might have conflicted with the story’s narrative of: Thinker turned wayward Pitbull
By quoting Zizek, I feel comfortable saying the author is sympathetic to Marx and the idea of class struggle. Therefore it should be stated that if you’re going to accuse people of “conspiracy theories” you should acknowledge that every variant of Marxism is a just irrational conspiracy theory married to bread crumbs of truth.
Marxist Economics sees everything as a zero sum game where one group’s gains can only come at the expense of another group…as if Mercantilism never ended. Marxist analysis retains the colonial oppressor/oppressed dynamic and then describes how “invisible systems of oppression” still run the postcolonial world in subtle harmful ways that only enlightened Theorists can find. In the Marxist view, oppression didn’t go away, it just reinvented itself. The last part is actually true but Marxists believe they’re the only ones able to singlehandedly identify the source…Capitalism and economic growth. They believe economic growth is “unsustainable” for the planet and widens disparities so people are just going to have to learn to live with less. Apparently everyone will be happier when Scarcity is introduced.
But “Economic Populism” in America does not buy into the Rich=Bad, Poor=Good dynamic. Sometimes the workers are the good guys and sometimes they’re not. It depends on the circumstances as any balanced person will acknowledge. Economics is not a Manichean struggle of Light vs Dark. America First populism doesn’t tell everybody to develop a “class consciousness” about their status on the economic hierarchy. The goal is economic growth and prosperity that raises conditions across income groups.
It’s not targeting the elimination of group disparities (although that does incidentally occur as a result of economic growth in a capitalist economy). What it’s trying to do is gradually increase opportunities for more people in order for them rise up the social ladder, become self-sufficient, prosperous and unreliant on a central planner. Its not trying to collect mass demographic information so it can tinker with identity or income group outcomes. There was no “economic revolution.” America First Populism was simply a set of policies that sought to protect America’s national interest first by maximizing the opportunities to its people…just as every country should do for its people.
This comment has absolutely nothing to do with what has been written in the article
America First= Navarro. Read it again.
The article was about his swings from good policy such as pulling back from China and attempting to restore some manufacturing mixed with his stupid ones such as claiming the election was rigged simply to appease his boss. It laments how by allowing the nonsense to take priority over the important stuff he’s eventually caused his own downfall, despite being a handy economist.
It not once mentions Marxism, which seems to be the entire basis of your comment
Again he cites Zizek as inspiration. He also references Trotsky for God sakes.
The “important stuff” he’s alluding to is class struggle. He refers to “revolution” and “economic transformation.” The author is clearly well versed in Fabian Socialism.
Unlike Britain, America has historically not tolerated Socialism until the ACA. The bits of Nationalized Socialism that we do have (if you want to call it that) were built up during wartime emergency powers during WW2 and Vietnam.
Because the American public has historically reviled Socialism, it had to be slipped in the back door through Academia in cultural studies departments. So the only people in America that understand Socialism are practioners and the few Conservatives that bothered to study Global Affairs.
There’s a reason that so many Bernie Sanders voters switched to Trump. Because Trump was speaking the language of Anti-Elitism which many on the left conflated with class revolution. This particular author repeatedly bemoans the “failed revolution” because he didn’t understand the distinction between the two concepts.
I am sorry, you clearly did not read article.
Zizek is Marxists and Galbraight was favourite Western economist of Soviet Block for reasons I explained in another post.
So yes, author did not mention Marxism or Communism directly but his use of quotes clearly shows where his loyalties are..
Marxism is at the very crux of Progressive ideology today. It is exactly what Navarro hates most. Communist ideology and Communists gaining power in our world are his nemesis.
Don’t think you’ve quite understood the point he’s making.
Yes, I replied about commie idiot Zizek before reading your post.
Author is free to move to alternative political system, he clearly supports.
I think most readers on Unherd would found his one way ticket to North Korea.
The loony Identity Marxists create the perfect environment for Orthodox Marxists to sound like reasonable, mainstream thinkers.
your comment about Marxism is simply an opinion.
What does that even mean? Marxism itself is an “opinion” about how the world operates through invisible sources of power.
Every comment on this forum is an opinion. What are you on about?
What I find odd is that so few of the Republican Party, even their Right, looked at the events of August 2020 and concluded, publically, that America had already had its Jan 6 when the POTUS was locked into his security quarters while scores of security personnel were injured by marauding left-wing rioters outside.
Elsewhere, civillians lives were lost and 10s of millions of dollars damage done to property in American towns and cities.
Yet none of this registers as a political point about street thugs interfering in the democratic process, or really, the status of the United States as a liberal democracy with an open and free civil society.
Obviously, because rioters and looters and killers are “suppressed minorities”, so they are never responsible for their actions.
How is it that we have all this videos on YouTube of black people contesting arrest for traffic offences against black police officers?
Nothing to do with racism.
Everything to do with overentitled, low IQ people expecting special treatment, when committing crimes, because they are black.
“In the end, largely due to the uneven and haphazard qualities of advisers such as Navarro…”
They have nothing on establishment stonewalling, and what should be plain now is the role Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell played in preventing more significant developments.
Reads like an orthodox anti-populist, neo-liberal critique. Don’t know much about Navarro, but sounds like he had some good ideas, maybe some not so good as well.
Which is exactly what the article said.
Operation Warp Speed was political theater in the first place, which is why it was so easy to disown later on. (The so-called vaccine itself certainly can’t be considered a success.)
Have the “vast majority of voters moved on” from the scandalous 2020 election? In that case, I hope Navarro keeps talking about it.
“But even as he took charge of the administration’s central policy response, Navarro endorsed quack cures like hydroxychloroquine, while repeatedly blaming Anthony Fauci, not just for initiating lockdowns, but for being responsible for the virus itself, alleging that he had funded the Chinese lab that bred the disease (and, therefore, was “the father” of Covid-19)”
Stopped reading after this bollox!
Was also tempted to stop reading… For me Toni Fauci belongs in jail and I hope Senator Rand Paul will get him there.
What’s he in gaol for?
One of those weird American felonies?
Transporting a mallard across state lines for immoral purposes, or something?
Navarro was much more important than most realise. The single most important policy shift of the Trump period was to break with orthodoxy and take on China economically. Though subsequently embraced by Biden, the new policy was bitterly opposed at the time by the economic establishment led within the White House by Gary Cohn. After Steve Bannon was booted, Cohn appeared to be winning and the Trump regime condemned to follow orthodox economic and trade policies. Instead Navarro hung in and eventually Cohn was forced out. No Navarro; no new China policy. Pity about the flaws.
You refer to Navarro as a “political sycophant.”
Is this what left wing writers call every supporter of a right wing politician?
This is weird article.
There is no mention why Navarro was found of contempt of Congress.
But we have quotes from Zizek, useless Marxist and mention of Galbraight, favourite “Western” economist in Soviet Block.
Who claimed there was convergence between Communist and Capitalist systems.
Obviously we know there was not any convergence, so bringing pro commie idiot into conversation does not help.
Michael Cuenco is obviously a political soldier, indifferent for basic elements of truth. That short of writing will push voters to Tramp. Good job Michael..!
This article has prompted me to cancel my subscription. Junk.
“…when politics is severed from its policy content or, indeed, from any larger moral objective — and becomes simply about the prosecution of feuds based on pure friend-enemy distinctions.”
Politics always needs enemies to rail against. Otherwise it would fade away…fewer people would pay attention and most people would be better off for it.
The revolution never had a chance because it was led by a clown.
Maybe the real story is from Rudyard Kipling’s “If”, which in a better age we memorized in school, about keeping your head when all about you are losing theirs, and blaming it on you.
Didn’t know much about Navarro but this hatchet job of an article makes me think that maybe he’s not such a bad guy.
Navarro never properly explained why he refused to testify or provide documents to Congress. What’s he got to hide? It’s part of the Constitution that Congress can demand such, and there is considerable danger if people decide which bits they want to abide by and which they don’t. So just seems stupid…unless of course he really does have something malign to hide? As Trump said himself why use the 5th amendment if you’ve done nothing wrong only to then, groan, use it hundreds of times. Same hypocrisy. Folks claiming morale superiority need to practice what they preach.
Now it does seem Navarro had some interesting economic theories and given some key issues considerable thought worth absorbing, whether one agrees with them or not. Quite why he drifted into the more wacko pronouncements less clear. But he’s like so many who entered the Trump orbit, became intoxicated with chance of some unbridled power and lost their marbles in the process. And then ended up in legal jeopardy while Agent Orange of course walks away…or tries to. Navarro wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last of that we can 100% sure.