Members stevenkesslar Posted February 9 Members Posted February 9 I think this is sad. I will say three good things about Halperin first. First, I think he is beyond doubt one of the best political reporters of my lifetime. I liked him best in his Game Change days, when he and John Heilemann were a team. I did not know this at the time. But I suspect given where they are now that they offset each other's biases. Second, I think Halperin did the best job of any political reporter covering and explaining 2024. Mostly because he tried very hard to understand and explain both sides of a brutal and deep political divide. He compares favorably with my fallen hero Alan Lichtman, who believed that reality would bend to a set of rigid rules that work most of the time. Arguably, it was as simple as this. Halperin listened, and Lichtman preached. Halperin heard, "It's the inflation, stupid. And the border. And the cultural excesses of the left." That was all over his 2way podcasts, every day, coming from every corner of America. Third, this is typical Halperin these days: peace, love, and understanding. He was, of course, cancelled by MeToo and banished for years for being handsy with women. So I keep thinking he may have an axe to grind. But if he does, his method of doing it is like Obama's beer summit. Let's talk it out. All that said, I've lost interest. And I suspect his business success, since this is now his business model, will increasingly depend on being an apologetic and meek Trump whisperer. This is just spineless moral equivocation. When someone says they were racist before racist was cool, they are saying they are proud to be racist. We don't have to water that down to being potentially "racially insensitive." When someone says, "normalize Indian hate," they are openly espousing hate. There is no subtle subtext. It's not even good political reporting. Halperin is trying hard not to see why JD Vance is doing what he is doing. They are not going to kiss and make up. Halperin wants to have it both ways. He calls out Vance for his outrageous response: "You disgust me." But still manages to quickly squeeze in that he "denounces" them both. Since when do we denounce people for asking someone openly racist who espouses racial hate to at least apologize? The "kid" should be fired, both for his amateur coding, and his over the top pride in racism and hate. It further makes clear that the MAGA minority is deeply committed to no holds barred attacks on Gays, Blacks, Indians, and anyone who is not a White male. The comments on this video are the most interesting part of it. It is almost 100 % pure MAGA. Same as all the comments on Halperin's X posts these days. So I suspect the people Halperin has to pander to now are the minority that elected Trump. Everyone else may be tuning out. That is sad. Because Halperin was about the only journalist around trying to promote deeper understanding. My takeaway is that MAGA land feels like this is war, and we are here to fight and win. So don't even try peace, love, and understanding. We'll openly talk about how we don't want our kids to even hear the word "Gay". And we'll talk endlessly about men in women's bathrooms. Did I mention how Harris wants the government to pay for sex changes? Let's spend the whole election on that one. But as soon as you say we need to protect Indian children from "normalize Indian hate," you disgust me. I think Khanna epitomizes grace. This is the way graceful politicians let each other off the hook all the time. JD will have none of it. Khanna wants to be POTUS, and is someone I think has the will and skill to fight for it. But I suspect after four years Democrats will be trained by this. Khanna won't have a prayer. Because the lesson may be that we need an even bigger asshole. Who shows no mercy, has no grace, and has no interest in peace and understanding whatsoever. JD Vance clearly understands the role, and what he has to be now. The most shocking comment is that Khanna is now a "racist" for being an Indian American saying it's not okay to say, "Normalize Indian hate." JD Vance and Elon Musk want to normalize Indian hate. They will deny it. But if it is disgusting to ask an adult to apologize for preaching hate, they are normalizing hate. It's the cool new thing. If you are against hate, shut the fuck up and stop whining. This is Trump's America. Quote
