Spineless Senators, Ted Cruz Goes on Tour & A Tale of Two Fascisms

In this episode, Alex focuses on intensifying concerns inside of the GOP over Trump’s control of the party, as well as the global far-right movement, and his thoughts on how the US must work towards unity again. He discusses - 

Iowa’s 88 year old senator, Chuck Grassley, accepted Trump’s endorsement for reelection at a rally in Des Moines over the weekend. Grassley had been a “Sometimes Trumper” who diverged from the president over the “big lie,” January 6th, and Trump’s rhetoric. This highlights that Trump’s control over the party has only intensified and even creatures of the senate like Grassley have accepted this truth. 

Last weekend, Sen. Ted Cruz joined a virtual rally in Madrid held by the far-right party, VOX. He spoke  of the “shared values” between him and VOX leader Santiago Abascal. Even for Ted Cruz, this is a troubling shift in values and rhetoric. VOX is a populist party with a nostalgia for the fascism of the Franco dictatorship. They also have an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-feminist agenda. Alex highlights how it feels like right-wing parties from around the world aren’t treating each other like foreign entities but instead as a shared global movement. The only connection seems to be Steve Bannon’s presence and a shared distaste for modernity and liberal society. He mentions Tucker Carlson’s trip to Hungary, Victor Obran’s erosion of democratic institutions, and more. 

Alex ends by discussing how the country needs to focus on unity before massive policies. The need leaders that aren’t focused on “big D” or “big R” politics, it needs to focus on the “small d” democracy politics first. He mentions how the country is seeing two extremes that could borderline on having authoritarian tendencies. He discusses how the aspirational patriotism of the progressive left and the nostalgic patriotism on the far-right must be tamed down. He draws parallels between this time and the onset of the Spanish Civil War.