Dana Milbank of the Washington Post chastises CPAC, the Trump wing of the Republican Party, for inviting Hungarian leader Viktor Orban as a keynote speaker at its meeting in Dallas this week.
He writes:
Thank you, Viktor Orban, for showing us where the American right is heading.
The Hungarian strongman, who derailed his country’s nascent democracy, has been a darling of the MAGA crowd for his anti-immigrant policies. He has enjoyed a fawning interview and favorable broadcasts from Budapest by Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, and he has been invited as a featured speaker to next week’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas alongside a who’s who of Republican senators, governors and members of Congress, as well as former president Donald Trump himself. Several such luminaries addressed a CPAC gathering in Hungary in May, at which Trump described Orban as “a great leader, a great gentleman.”
But Orban made things awkward for his American friends a few days ago. During a July 23 address (in which he said immigration should be called “population replacement or inundation”) he gave voice to the belief underlying his nationalism: He opposes the mixing of races.
“Migration has split Europe in two — or I could say that it has split the West in two,” he said, after commending to his listeners a 50-year-old racist treatise. “One half is a world where European and non-European peoples live together. These countries are no longer nations. They are nothing more than a conglomeration of peoples.” He went on to contrast that with “our world,” in which “we are willing to mix with one another, but we do not want to become peoples of mixed race.”
That was too much even for Orban’s longtime adviser Zsuzsa Hegedus, who resigned and lambasted the prime minister for “a pure Nazi speech worthy of Goebbels.” She said the speech could “please even the most bloodthirsty racists” and suggested he was “advocating an openly racist policy that is now unacceptable even for the Western European extreme right.”
But not for the American right! CPAC’s organizer confirmed to me on Wednesday that Orban is still scheduled to address the group next week. “Let’s listen to the man speak,” Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Coalition, told Bloomberg News on Tuesday. Orban’s name remained on CPAC’s speakers list, along with Trump; some two dozen GOP House members; Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.), Rick Scott (Fla.) and Bill Hagerty (Tenn.); Fox News’s Sean Hannity; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; and former Trump aides including Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller.
These leaders shouldn’t say they’re surprised to be sharing a stage with a man leading the fight against “peoples of mixed race.” Last year, CPAC canceled an appearance by a speaker who had referred to Judaism as a “complete lie” that was “made up for political gain.” After the Guardian reported that the CPAC conference in Budapest featured a speaker who had previously called Jews “stinking excrement,” referred to the Roma population as “animals” and used racist epithets for Black people, CPAC issued a statement saying “anti-Semitism and racial intolerance are scourges that must be eradicated.” (The program for the Budapest CPAC, from which many media organizations were banned, included live or virtual addresses by Trump, Carlson, four Republican members of Congress and former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.)
Republicans have hailed Orban as “Trump before Trump” (Bannon), whose government is doing “so many positive things” (Sen. Ron Johnson). Among the things it has been doing: seizing control of the judiciary and media, banning the depiction of homosexuality, demonizing Jewish billionaire George Soros, expelling asylum seekers and erecting a wire fence on the border, forcing out the country’s top university, and halving the size of parliament and redrawing districts to keep itself in power.
At its core, Orban’s rule has been about sustaining, and being sustained by, white nationalism. His July 23 speech was an extended articulation of the “great replacement” conspiracy idea — embraced by Carlson and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), among others — that non-White people are plotting to wipe out White people.
He claimed: “Brussels, reinforced with Soros-affiliated troops, simply wants to force migrants on us.” Orban railed against a “mixed-race world” in which “European peoples are mixed together with those arriving from outside Europe.” He warned that “Islamic civilization” is “constantly moving toward Europe” and is now “occupying and flooding the West.”
“This is why we stopped the Turks at Vienna,” he said, citing the 1683 battle between a European alliance and the Ottoman Empire. “This is why, in still older times, the French stopped the Arabs at Poitiers.” This was a reference to the Battle of Tours — in the year 732, when a Frankish Christian ruler defeated an army of Moors invading from Spain.
It was good of Orban to spell that out, because now we know what Hungary’s white nationalists — and their American fan boys at CPAC — have in mind when they rage against immigration and the “great replacement.” They want to take us back to the Dark Ages.
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I would assume that Bannon et al would be happy to live in a world where everyone was a carbon copy of himself. I really wonder if that crowd has ever considered what such a world would be, since such a place has never existed. Orban has stated the platform of American conservatism perfectly. Conservative voters want a country run for the benefit of people like themselves. They are too myopic to see this can never be. They are far too different from one another.
Agreed, Mr. Turrentine. Looked at from their perspective, 385M people are just going to roll over for this? Nope. Maybe a few million would. But the rest? It would get very, very messy, very very quick in this country.
These people on the American right have no notion how backward they are perceived to be outside their own crowd. I guess that at some point they will resort to shooting those who laugh at them.
There is a group of Good Trouble” makers on Twitter called “The Good Liars.” They troll right wingers. One of them was in the crowd at Bedminster Golf Club, Trump’s golf club, when Phil Mickelson was about to swing at a golf ball. The commentator says to the camera, “The Saudis paid Phil $100 million to play in their league.” As Mickelson is about to swing, the agitator shouts, “Di it for the Saudi Royal Family,” and the golfer stops swinging and steps back.
In another prank, several of them go to a Trump rally and shout, “we’re bored! You are boring.” Trump wax rattled.
LOL. Wonderful.
Bannon and his ilk are not conservative. They want others to think that they are but they aren’t. They are xtian regressive fundie reactionaries who wish to take America back to a time and place that never has been nor ever will be.
They want to obliterate, not conserve.
Actually, Bannon would fit right in in a Nenderthal clan living in a cave.
He even looks the part.
Except Neanderthals were much smarter than Bannon so he would have the job of cleaning up the bones after dinner.
Republican Fascists on the rise. Next they will be saluting Trump as the Nazi did Hitler.
The Trump salute will be the “O” Trump regularly makes with his thumb and index finger..
It will be quite apt given that Trump is a zero.
The MAGA fascists already are showing their patriotism/loyalty is for Trump and not the US Constitution.
During the attempted overthrow of our democratically elected government on January 6, 2021, how many of the flags the domestic terrorists were waving as they waged a violent battle to murder members of Congress, had the traitor’s name filling most of the space with Make America Great Again in smaller print below it?
https://thewire.in/world/us-capitol-storming-flag-india-militia-groups-nationalism
“The flags seen throughout the sea of rioters symbolize their support for far-right causes, white supremacy and anti-government militias.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/far-right-symbols-capitol-riot/
AFTER these morons stormed the Capitol, attempting to stop a democratic transfer of power and to HANG the Vice President, 147 STILL SITTING Republican Senators and Representatives STILL voted with the insurrectionists not to certify the election results. This is how bad things have gotten.
That dumpster is a TOTAL FASCIST and so stupid, too.
We can tell who a person is by the company that person keeps.
We are playing with fire by our continued tolerance of those who are intolerant.
The “Trump eing of the Republican party”?
Is there another wing?
If so, where has it been hiding for the past 6+ years?
Under Josh Hawleys bed?
The non-Trump wing of the Republican Party holds its annual convention:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44979/mr-floods-party
The other wing of the Republican Party consists of Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Gov Baker of Massachusetts, Rusty Bowers of AZ, and Gov Hogan of Maryland.
Bill Weld
❤
That’s not a wing.
That’s just a few scattered feathers.
Clever quip, Poet. I’d add a stanza about the Cheney’s flight pattern never going anywhere that created value for anyone other than the rich and powerful. And, Bowers’ flight plan to the land of men over women.
For you, Linda:
Thanks, Greg- Bob pointed out to me that there’s more reason to oppose religious indoctrination than my focus- religion driven, right wing politics.
I’ll leave the argument to Carlin and Bob who are able to do it justice.
“This is why, in still older times, the French stopped the Arabs at Poitiers.”
This quote from Orban is very interesting in light of real history. In Arab chronicles, I have been told by those who have read them, the battle is described as a fight between a small raiding party and the Franks. In the European telling, Charles Martel (The Hammer) changes the entire course of history by holding back the tide of Saracen invasion.
History is full of alternative narrative. Cultures generally accept parts of these stories. When Orban accepts only this traditional version, he speaks to a Eurocentric view only. He knows better. Maybe.
Another superb piece by Millbank!!!
It is no surprise that CPAC is CPAC , Nor that Trumpanzees will be Trumpanzees . Or that Fascists will be fascists.
But the question to as is who is WaPo that Milbank works for. Who is the NYTimes CNN … For six months starting in late spring of 2021 they all hyped inflation and gasoline prices. Inflation at the time was generated (and still is ) from supply disruptions from gasoline to Tampex and from shifts in demand from services to goods not from excess demand .
Hyping gasoline prices that were lower by 20 to 50 cents than the period from 2011 to 2015 as if it was the end of the world in 2022 when wages were higher as prices were lower. Than they went full throttle to recession in February when the Fed hinted at tightening .
For a group of people at these media outfits who are perceived as anti Trump they “are doing a heck of a job ” trying to bring Orban’s style of authoritarianism to America .
Fun Fact: In the first six months of the 1981-82 recession, we lost 1,046k jobs, in the first six months of the 1990-01 recession we lost 690k jobs, in 2001 we lost 761k jobs, in 2007-09, we lost 705k jobs. In 2022 we gained 2,740k jobs. ” Dean Baker
They media will do its best to fix this.
to as x out .
The head of CPAC is Matt Schlapp (Bannon’s twin). I recall an article that explained Schlapp, his wife, and Opus Dei.
I stand in awe of your posts and the width of your knowledge.
Here’s why, even if the Fascists win in the short term, they will lose in the long term:
They have no clue about the extent to which people oppose them viscerally, how much they DESPISE the backward notions they wish to promote and people who hold those notions. A Senator (I’m looking at you, Ted Cruz) who reflects the values of middle-aged people in rural Texas or Florida (I’m looking at you, Rick Scott) just doesn’t grok that a majority of people from elsewhere HATE and SCORN the things that he stands for. And, especially, young people hate those notions. They aren’t religious nuts. They generally think it stupid when people are all Jesus-y. They are totally fine with gender fluidity and nonhetero sexual orientation. They think that HBO’s Euphoria is fire. They welcome immigrants from other cultures and are disgusted by people who oppose “race mixing.” Disgusted. As in viscerally revolted. As in how one responds to putrefaction.
If you thought the 1960s were tumultuous, just wait and see what’s coming when the current Fascist, extremist, Trumpy Repugnican Party takes complete control. There will be lots and lots of protests. These will be met with state violence. That will lead to more protests and more state violence. It will be a positive feedback loop.
And the current Repugnican plan to turn the tide by creating fundamentalist Christian nationalist madrassas ala the 1776 Curriculum and Dominion Theology is going to fail bigtime when it runs up against natural youthful rebelliousness.
Even if you win in November and in 2024, Pugs, don’t go giving thanks to your tribal god under the Mission Accomplished sign. Not a chance you will prevail in the long term. After the darkness of you, there will be a dawning.
cx:
A Senator who reflects the values of middle-aged and elderly people in rural Texas (I’m looking at you, Ted Cruz) or Florida (I’m looking at you, Rick Scott) just doesn’t grok that a majority of people from elsewhere HATE and SCORN the things that he stands for.
My point: If you’ve taught high-school-aged kids recently, you know how far, far, far beyond the troglodytes in the current Repugnican Party they are.
Provincial Repugncian Fascists Christian Nationalists, I have some news for you:
You can’t put them back down on the farm after they’ve seen Pah-ree.
In other words, the cat’s out of the bag, and it’s not going back in.
“These countries are no longer nations. ”
Orbán is crapdiving deeper and deeper, searching for the bottom.
Commenting from Budapest.
Mate, glad to hear from you! Budapest is one of my favorite cities.
CPAC’s head is Matt Schlapp. Articles have been written about the impact of their religion on what he and his wife promote politically.
The DJT/GOPee Crowd not only likes Orban. They like Orban’s strong arm Dictator tactics which they’ve been using in Canada to help STOP Protests against oil & gas industry development on Indigenous Lands.
Manhattan, Cato, Heritage Institutes and other right wing USA groups have spent YEARS partnering with the right wing Canadian Atlas Network and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All of them pressuring the Canadian Parliament to ignore the UN, Native Land Authority and Climate Change in favor of fossil fuel extraction and its tragic consequences.
They need lots of money to finance their takeover of USA democracy. Raging wildfires and East KY floods won’t deter them. Orban is icing on their cake and an ally in their dream of dominating the world. GRIST.ORG
https://grist.org/indigenous/how-a-conservative-us-network-undermined-indigenous-energy-rights-in-canada/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily
It strikes me that using Hungary to promote political ideology would be like going to Mississippi to get world class health care and education. Or, for international context, Yemen.
Greg, a few years ago, ALEC claimed that Arizona was #1 among the states. The best! For one reason only: it had the most school choice, not the best education.