Tucker Carlson starts presidential campaign by appealing to moderate Republicans

[Badger]

"Our heritage" is such a wonderfully vague term that it could be used to refer to anything from racial makeup (lolz) to some sort of incorporeal idea of America's historic promise. This leads to the above bickering as to what the phrase even means.

Also, Sanchez, please don't deport me just because I'm a communitarian.

Very much agree with your assessment here. I would simply add the caveat that, given Sanchez's extremely well documented views on the subject, or should I rather say his well-documented extreme views, there is little doubt as to which definition of Heritage he was primarily using.

[John Dule]

Did anyone see the full clip? Duckworth was asked in an interview whether or not statues of George Washington should be taken down, and her answer was "We should have a conversation about that." Aside from the fact that this is my most-hated political platitude, how f**king hard is it for Democrats to say "Hey, there's a difference between a person who became critical of slavery later in life and freed his slaves upon his death, and a person who actively fought for the preservation of slavery"?? And maybe there's also a distinction to be made based on the fact that George Washington had, you know, a few notable accomplishments in his life outside of fighting for slavery-- something the Confederates can't say for themselves?

I used to like Duckworth; I thought she was a decent Democrat and a good VP choice for Biden. But this is an unforced error that is clearly the result of influence from the internet activist left. Either Duckworth actually believes that #cancelling Washington is worth discussing, or she is too scared of reprisal from dumb millennial Twitter twits to actually speak her mind. Either way, this whole thing is disheartening and it has made me lose even more faith in the Democratic Party's ability to restrain its worst elements.

[Badger]

Did anyone see the full clip? Duckworth was asked in an interview whether or not statues of George Washington should be taken down, and her answer was "We should have a conversation about that." Aside from the fact that this is my most-hated political platitude, how f**king hard is it for Democrats to say "Hey, there's a difference between a person who became critical of slavery later in life and freed his slaves upon his death, and a person who actively fought for the preservation of slavery"?? And maybe there's also a distinction to be made based on the fact that George Washington had, you know, a few notable accomplishments in his life outside of fighting for slavery-- something the Confederates can't say for themselves?

I used to like Duckworth; I thought she was a decent Democrat and a good VP choice for Biden. But this is an unforced error that is clearly the result of influence from the internet activist left. Either Duckworth actually believes that #cancelling Washington is worth discussing, or she is too scared of reprisal from dumb millennial Twitter twits to actually speak her mind. Either way, this whole thing is disheartening and it has made me lose even more faith in the Democratic Party's ability to restrain its worst elements.

You're actually right, and frankly I think Duckworth failing to make such a response as Biden recently did, should eliminate her from the VP contention as simply being not ready for primetime. That, and despite her compelling personal story, she's always been a rather underwhelming campaigner, IMHO

[HisGrace]

I've said for a while the 2024 nomination is Tucker's if he wants it. The GOP is such a clown show.

[HisGrace]

Did anyone see the full clip? Duckworth was asked in an interview whether or not statues of George Washington should be taken down, and her answer was "We should have a conversation about that." Aside from the fact that this is my most-hated political platitude, how f**king hard is it for Democrats to say "Hey, there's a difference between a person who became critical of slavery later in life and freed his slaves upon his death, and a person who actively fought for the preservation of slavery"?? And maybe there's also a distinction to be made based on the fact that George Washington had, you know, a few notable accomplishments in his life outside of fighting for slavery-- something the Confederates can't say for themselves?

I used to like Duckworth; I thought she was a decent Democrat and a good VP choice for Biden. But this is an unforced error that is clearly the result of influence from the internet activist left. Either Duckworth actually believes that #cancelling Washington is worth discussing, or she is too scared of reprisal from dumb millennial Twitter twits to actually speak her mind. Either way, this whole thing is disheartening and it has made me lose even more faith in the Democratic Party's ability to restrain its worst elements.

Nuance isn't woke, man.

Nobody controls their worst elements anymore which is why the country is going to s***

[Landslide Lyndon]

Duckworth's answer might have been the worst possible but since when does that mean that chickenhawk trust fund babies have the right to question her patriotism?
It's pretty telling that some right-wingers here instead of condemning what Carlson said (and did with that racist chyron) their first instinct was to indirectly defend him by blaming the victim.

[John Dule]

Duckworth's answer might have been the worst possible but since when does that mean that chickenhawk trust fund babies have the right to question her patriotism?
It's pretty telling that some right-wingers here instead of condemning what Carlson said (and did with that racist chyron) their first instinct was to indirectly defend him by blaming the victim.

Tiresome.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Duckworth's answer might have been the worst possible but since when does that mean that chickenhawk trust fund babies have the right to question her patriotism?
It's pretty telling that some right-wingers here instead of condemning what Carlson said (and did with that racist chyron) their first instinct was to indirectly defend him by blaming the victim.

Tiresome.

...but enough talking about your libertarian shtick.

[Hammy]

Do explain "having a conversation" on something is somehow bad. What happened to the whining about safe spaces and shutting down free speech and censoring people?

[John Dule]

So "having a conversation" on something is now inherently bad? What happened to the whining about safe spaces and shutting down free speech and censoring people?

Saying "we need to have a conversation on x" is the lowest of all political platitudes. It allows the person saying it to avoid making any commitment on policy whatsoever while still playing lip service to the issue being discussed. If you are a politician being interviewed on TV or speaking in a debate, then guess what? This is the conversation! It's already happening! If Duckworth actually supports removing statues of the founding fathers, she should just come out and say it instead of resorting to this spineless waffling. As it is, the only thing we know about her position is that she thinks it's "worth discussing," which means absolutely nothing.

I'd like to have the conversation. I crave the opportunity to face these iconoclasts in a fair debate where they are open about their moronic opinions. But they continue to hide behind these meaningless platitudes, which makes a productive discussion impossible. And for the record, this is hardly the first time I have complained about this particular platitude on this site.

[Badger]

So "having a conversation" on something is now inherently bad? What happened to the whining about safe spaces and shutting down free speech and censoring people?

Saying "we need to have a conversation on x" is the lowest of all political platitudes. It allows the person saying it to avoid making any commitment on policy whatsoever while still playing lip service to the issue being discussed. If you are a politician being interviewed on TV or speaking in a debate, then guess what? This is the conversation! It's already happening! If Duckworth actually supports removing statues of the founding fathers, she should just come out and say it instead of resorting to this spineless waffling. As it is, the only thing we know about her position is that she thinks it's "worth discussing," which means absolutely nothing.

I'd like to have the conversation. I crave the opportunity to face these iconoclasts in a fair debate where they are open about their moronic opinions. But they continue to hide behind these meaningless platitudes, which makes a productive discussion impossible. And for the record, this is hardly the first time I have complained about this particular platitude on this site.

Point of order. The lowest political latitude is actually " people are talking about this". Admittedly That's more journalistic platitude than a political one oh, and the need to have a conversation vs is only slightly above it.

[Cashew]

Do explain "having a conversation" on something is somehow bad. What happened to the whining about safe spaces and shutting down free speech and censoring people?

I'm assuming you don't mind it when a conservative hides behind "let the states decide" when they are asked about their own personal stance on nondiscrimination laws?

[Saint Milei]

Duckworth's answer might have been the worst possible but since when does that mean that chickenhawk trust fund babies have the right to question her patriotism?
It's pretty telling that some right-wingers here instead of condemning what Carlson said (and did with that racist chyron) their first instinct was to indirectly defend him by blaming the victim.

Ahh yes, because you can't question someone's patriotism since they served in the military. How dare we do this. As if militarism is the only form of patriotism. What is this? 2003?


Maybe this veteran should have more respect for the first Commander and Chief. I swear everything is racist to you guys. Literally everything.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I've said for a while the 2024 nomination is Tucker's if he wants it. The GOP is such a clown show.

He's the frontrunner right now. I'd actively and avidly work on his behalf. I'm sitting this election cycle out for a number of reasons (mainly because the only big GOP candidate in my area is Laura freaking Loomer, who has NO presence AT ALL despite her candidacy), but Tucker would excite the base for sure.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Ahh yes, because you can't question someone's patriotism since they served in the military. How dare we do this. As if militarism is the only form of patriotism. What is this? 2003?

Oh, excuse me. I was distracted by your avatar and forgot that you are an anarchist.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Regardless of what Duckworth said Carlson took his criticism to an absolutely appalling level and has now moved the conversation from Duckworth's alleged gaffe and onto him being an ignoramus. He has now helped put Duckworth in a sympathetic position and took her "gaffe" out of the headlines.

 Sometimes it's better and more expedient to just move on, but right wingers in the Trump era just can't help themselves to not act like a dog with a chew toy that they refuse to let go of.

[Former President tack50]

Our heritage is under attack.

For some reason everyone seems to be asking you to define "our". However, I will do it differently.

Please, define what heritage is, as well as what attacks it is suffering.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Our heritage is under attack.

For some reason everyone seems to be asking you to define "our". However, I will do it differently.

Please, define what heritage is, as well as what attacks it is suffering.

"Heritage" - ie, the nation we were passed down. A nation where free speech was absolute, our founding fathers were respected, and our ideals were upheld.

Now we have mobs of (mostly white) students rampaging through cities, tearing down our history, and demanding structural change to the country that goes far, far, far beyond a few acts of Congress or a constitutional amendment. I don't think I have to define what they are demanding. They've made that clear themselves.

[DrScholl]

Our heritage is under attack.

Let's face it, your heritage is nothing but a raggedy-assed traitor flag and some apartheid style entitlement.

[HisGrace]

I've said for a while the 2024 nomination is Tucker's if he wants it. The GOP is such a clown show.

He's the frontrunner right now. I'd actively and avidly work on his behalf. I'm sitting this election cycle out for a number of reasons (mainly because the only big GOP candidate in my area is Laura freaking Loomer, who has NO presence AT ALL despite her candidacy), but Tucker would excite the base for sure.

I do think Tucker would be an improvement over Trump. He would likely be less corrupt and just better on a competence level with things like Corona. But I'm just not comfortable with the "celebrity president" thing especially after how the Trump experiment has gone. Experience does not guarantee success but it is a prerequisite. I think you'd see him making a lot of the same political blunders as Trump. Trump couldn't even get Obamacare repealed when the Republicans had the numbers because he didn't have the political experience to mediate the divide between the hardliners and moderates.

[HisGrace]

Our heritage is under attack.

Let's face it, your heritage is nothing but a raggedy-assed traitor flag and some apartheid style entitlement.

They're attacking statues of Washington and Jefferson now which has nothing to do with the civil war. I would say America's past liberal values of tolerance and settling ideas through debate rather than force are under attack from both the right and left.

[lfromnj]

Did anyone see the full clip? Duckworth was asked in an interview whether or not statues of George Washington should be taken down, and her answer was "We should have a conversation about that." Aside from the fact that this is my most-hated political platitude, how f**king hard is it for Democrats to say "Hey, there's a difference between a person who became critical of slavery later in life and freed his slaves upon his death, and a person who actively fought for the preservation of slavery"?? And maybe there's also a distinction to be made based on the fact that George Washington had, you know, a few notable accomplishments in his life outside of fighting for slavery-- something the Confederates can't say for themselves?

I used to like Duckworth; I thought she was a decent Democrat and a good VP choice for Biden. But this is an unforced error that is clearly the result of influence from the internet activist left. Either Duckworth actually believes that #cancelling Washington is worth discussing, or she is too scared of reprisal from dumb millennial Twitter twits to actually speak her mind. Either way, this whole thing is disheartening and it has made me lose even more faith in the Democratic Party's ability to restrain its worst elements.

Well she's simple.
She wants to be the VP pick so gotta act woke in order to look good.

[Sumner 1868]

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Our heritage is under attack.

Let's face it, your heritage is nothing but a raggedy-assed traitor flag and some apartheid style entitlement.

They're attacking statues of Washington and Jefferson now which has nothing to do with the civil war. I would say America's past liberal values of tolerance and settling ideas through debate rather than force are under attack from both the right and left.

The right are experiencing a great success here. Aided by (some) protesters, they are successfully hiding their collection of racist lawn gnomes behind the coattails of the Founding Fathers.

[ctrepublican512]

I consider myself a quintessential Northeast moderate Republican and this does not resonate with me whatsoever. Tucker Carlson's loathsomeness transcends any unforced error by Duckworth.