This is why I’ve largely come to distrust populism both on the Right and the Left. I understand there are legitimate problems affecting many. There are large wealth divides and big changes in the culture they are leaving many confused and uncertain about their place in it. Populism though seems to be leading to fear and rage across the board. It’s allowing demagogues and con men to take power on the Right and demagogues and nihlism on the Left.
The Wannabe Authoritarian/Dictator Trump tells Glenn Beck he’d ‘lock up’ political opponents if reelected https://thehill.com/homenews/media/...hed-lock-up-political-opponents-if-reelected/
Republicans can't win anything without MAGA and they know it. That's why they kowtow to him. He staved off the death of the Republican party for a short while, and accelerated it's demise at the same time. My guess is instead of slowly losing ground, the republican party will fall off a cliff at the national level in the next 10-20 years.
Can any of the MAGA folks tell me the PRO MAGA argument for allowing the Saudis to buy out the PGA? Why are we allowing these scumbags to control more of our sports? Why is trump pushing for the Saudis to buy out the PGA? @SuraGotMadHops @Salvy @AroundTheWorld
Trump and his family love that Saudi money. I wonder if the “Free speech absolutists” Trump and Elon will defend the actions of their bone saw bro's repressive regime.
I understand that but @Salvy and other MAGAA claim they're strictly MAKE AMERICA GREAT. I just wanna know the reasoning how allowing Saudi to control our sports makes us great? What's next? NBA? NFL? Cmon you know Trump would sell anything he could for $$$ I just don't get how folks can be so brainwashed....I just don't get it
There are so many horrific stories from that regime. I'd never stand foot in a country like that, but the Trump family loves them. They are tight. These young Saudis spoke up on social media. Then they disappeared In spring 2021, Saudi authorities seized at least 14 people who had used anonymous accounts to dissent. Many are still unaccounted for. This is the story of three 'May detainees' https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/saudi-arabia-young-spoke-out-social-media-disappeared Saudi Arabia: Women's rights defender given 34 years in prison over tweets Ruling for Salma al-Shehab is the longest ever given to a women's rights activist in kingdom. There are concerns further lengthy sentences are coming https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-women-rights-defender-prison-tweets
I can give you the libertarian argument. The government has no business stopping a private entity from setting up a sports league or merging their sports league with another league in the same sport. The same reason the government doesn't shut down other basketball leagues that are competing with the NBA for players, even though they are at least partially funded by Russian Oligarchs, nor would or should they stop a merger between say the XFL and NFL (just like they didn't stop a merger between the NBA and the ABA). The government getting involved is rarely the solution and often the problem. What is the argument in favor of the US Government shutting down LIV golf or blocking a merger with the PGA? That you don't like the Saudis? Should Mikhail Prokhorov have been blocked from buying the Nets? What is the cutoff for who is allowed to be an owner in a US sport in terms of the person and the ownership stake? What should happen to the people that want to sell their team/league to one of the forbidden owners but are blocked by the government?
Do you seriously believe this garbage? The off hand approach to corporate consolidation is why our supply chains are so ****ed. It's why we have a handful of players in every industry dominating the field. We have 4 meat packers controlling the entire industry screwing over farmers for decades. Livestock prices have stagnated for years now cuz of monopolies. The sugar industry is consolidated with 2 major players. PBMS are destroying millions of peoples lives as they can't afford medicine no more while middle man run away with money. I've written papers on corporate consolidation and its devastating impact on society. I can give you 1000 examples of corporate mergers in past 2 decades that have hurt America in devastating ways. Look at the UKR war. We can't even manufacture enough weapons cuz of consolidation in the defense industry. Neoliberal off hand approach will get you no where in life
And that is a principle and while I don’t fully agree I recognize that is a principled argument. What we’re hearing though from a lot on the Right about the “Biden crime family” taking foreign money or about how we need to protect American business from foreign competition is silence on the Trump family taking Middle Eastern money and foreign investment into US sports.
Musk himself has called himself a free speech absolutist and many here act like governments just talking to social media is the end of civilization. At the same time more silence when Musk works with Erdogan, Modi and Xi to block content on Twitter / X critical of them.
If you wish to have a contented moderate country you should really be for populism of the left. Rule directed pretty much exclusively by the elites i.e the wealthy and often very educated who generally see little need for change does not lead to the reduction in economic inequality that tends to lead to contentment and moderation. Only left population is capable of actually creating less economic inequality. In the US context there is little threat that left populism will lead to a communist or left authoritarian dictatorship.
Not right away they can't but that is there fault, they can't win WITH MAGA either ........they could easily get behind the investigations and prune Trump out saying, we are the party of law and order....and yes it would hurt for an election cycle or 2 but it would not be forever. DD