I notice pundits salivating over the prospects for regime change in Russia and Iran.
When is it cool to publicly call for regime change and when it is uncool?
It is considered legitimate when a super-majority (60%+) of the population no longer consents to the rule of the elite.
Deneen’s View: Regime change is legitimate (and inevitable) when the “ruling class” has ceased to rule in the interests of the community and instead rules for its own benefit. Deneen argues that in the U.S., the “managerial elite” has seceded from the common citizen, making the current regime illegitimate.
The Intersection: Both views agree that regime change is “cool” when it is a “Rebellion from Below”—ordinary people reclaiming agency from a disconnected elite (whether Theocratic Mullahs in Iran or “Placeless” Meritocrats in the USA).
When is it “Uncool” (Illegitimate/Dangerous)?
The Standard View: When it is imposed by foreign military intervention (e.g., the Iraq War).
Deneen’s View: Deneen explicitly critiques the Iraq War model. He argues that simply toppling a government (the easy part) does not change the “regime” (the hard part). A true regime is the deep culture, habits, and “constitution” of a people.
The Contrast: You cannot impose a liberal democracy on a place with a different “constitution” (culture) by force. “Uncool” regime change is trying to force a way of life onto a people that contradicts their history and traditions.
Here are the highlights from Patrick Deneen’s lecture, focusing on his definition of the ruling class, the rebellion from below, and the statistics regarding class division.
1. Redefining “Regime Change”
Deneen distances his concept from the violent overthrow of governments (like Iraq) and defines it as a shift in the deep culture and “constitution” of a people.
[02:09] Deneen references the war in Iraq, noting that while overthrowing a government is “fairly easy” for a powerful nation, achieving true regime change (changing a way of life) is extremely difficult.
[02:57] He defines “regime” in the Platonic sense (politeia): not just the written constitution, but “that which constitutes people, that which constitutes tradition, that which constitutes a way of life.”
[03:52] Regime change often runs against “deep-seated ways of life” and is more than a mere change of government; it acts as a project of political philosophy.
2. The Rebellion from Below
Deneen argues that the current “regime change” in the West is driven by dissatisfaction with the ruling elite.
[04:20] He notes that Americans are pining for regime change due to “consistent expressions of deep and pervasive levels of unhappiness and discontent.”
[05:11] The source of this longing is dissatisfaction with the “ruling class,” noting that liberal democracy is under “extreme duress.”
[07:49] Deneen cites Christopher Lasch’s The Revolt of the Elites (1995), arguing that the rebellion arises because the populace perceives the ruling class as ruling in “its own interest,” not the interest of the working class.
3. The New “Managerial Elite” (The Ruling Class)
Deneen describes the current regime as a “meritocracy” that replaced the old aristocracy but has developed its own exclusionary traits.
[12:34] He quotes Thomas Jefferson’s hope for a “natural aristocracy” based on “virtue and talents” (meritocracy) to replace the artificial aristocracy of wealth and birth.
[14:11] Feature 1: Placelessness. The new elite has a “fluid relationship to geography.” Unlike the old aristocracy (e.g., “von” or “de” indicating place), the new elite must be “placeless” to serve the global market.
[16:01] Feature 2: Hostility to Tradition. The new elite views the past and cultural inheritance as obstacles to progress.
[17:31] Feature 3: Separation. There is an increasing division between the elite and ordinary citizens. He cites a conservative author who told struggling Americans to “rent a U-Haul” and move, viewing rootedness as “backward.”
4. Statistics on Class Division
Deneen provides concrete numbers regarding the composition of these classes, drawing on Richard Florida’s work.
[27:19] He references Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class.
[27:27] The Super Creative Class: Deneen notes this group (the genuine 1%) is actually about 12% of the population.
[27:39] The Broader Creative Class: When augmented with the larger creative class, this group constitutes roughly one-third (33%) of the population. These are the “reliable” ruling class.
[27:47] The Service Class: About 47% (nearly half) of the population works in the service sector, characterized by low pay and an insecure social safety net, replacing the “downstairs servants” of the old aristocracy.
5. The Mechanism of Control and Replication
The elite maintains power not through owning factories (like old oligarchs), but through “soft” power and education.
[23:34] Citing James Burnham, Deneen argues that power now lies with “managers” who possess skills to manipulate symbols and data, rather than those who own property.
[25:36] Power is exercised through “control of state and quasi-public institutions” like media, non-profits, and corporate boards, rather than direct ownership of production.
[31:37] The elite replicates itself through “command of educational facilities,” ensuring their children inherit their status through “merit” (e.g., expensive prep, internships) rather than title.
6. The Future: A “Post-Liberal” Order
Deneen speculates on what a regime change toward a post-liberal future looks like.
[41:16] He predicts a reversal of the elite’s values: renewed stress on place (borders, national economy) and national culture (celebrating history rather than deconstructing it).
[43:30] He advocates for “mixing” the classes to decrease the separation between the managerial elite and ordinary people.
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In a year when the United States seemed more split than ever, Americans united in one way: We demanded results, and we wanted them now. From ICE raids designed as a theater of terror and GLP-1 shortcuts for weight loss to A.I.-generated term papers, rampaging DOGE bros and summary Alien Enemies Act deportations, America raged against the journey and clamored for the destination, no matter what the lawyers and the chatbot therapists said. Outcomes seemed to be all that mattered. Winners win. Losers follow rules and talk it over…
The 2025 revolt against process signaled the final collapse of a powerful idea that once promised to hold the country together. At the height of America’s 20th-century power, belief in process served as a guiding concept among the legal and political elites of both parties who sought to manage our most difficult national disagreements.
…Process became the centerpiece of America’s powerful commitment to democracy during the struggle with totalitarian regimes in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. A generation of social scientists, lawyers and statesmen came to see the genius of American government not as any one set of values but rather as the collection of institutions, methods and techniques by which the United States articulated its principles and resolved its controversies.
Values might change. Elections, for example, might sweep a Franklin Roosevelt into the White House to replace a Herbert Hoover. Republican control of Congress in the 1920s might give way to Democratic control in the 1930s and ’40s. But process offered a deeper continuity. Elections, legislative hearings and administrative agencies turned the gears of politics while juries, judges and the bar managed the levers of the law.
Influential political science scholars such as Yale’s Robert Dahl and Charles Lindblom contended that social science should study what they called politico-economic systems. The enlightened manager-statesman might not always be able to identify ultimate truths. There might be no such thing as perfect solutions for all time. But leaders could be social engineers, designing the institutional arrangements most likely to produce good outcomes for companies, nonprofits and government agencies.
Sometimes process is more important than results, and sometimes results are more important than process.
Elites love “process” when it serves their interests in giving them power, status and income. Elites see in process a mechanism to maintain stability, legitimacy, and continuity in a diverse and divided nation without requiring agreement on “ultimate truths.”
Was a commitment to process a powerful idea? Yes, it was the “civil religion” of the post-war establishment.
Did it hold the country together? Yes, by burying deep conflicts under layers of bureaucracy.
Did it collapse? Absolutely. We are now in an era of Raw Power, where the manual has been thrown out because neither side trusts the person writing it.
If “process” consistently led to elites losing their jobs, their fortunes, or their status, they would abandon it overnight. History is littered with examples of elites torching the very rules they wrote the moment those rules stopped guaranteeing their victory.
This is the “Fair Weather Institutionalist” phenomenon. Elites love the rules of the game only as long as they keep winning the game.
We don’t even have to guess. We can look at what happens when the “process” accidentally produces a populist or anti-elite result.
When a democratic process (an election or referendum) delivers a result the elite hates (e.g., Brexit, or the election of a populist outsider), do they say, “Well, the process spoke, we must respect it”?
The Reaction: No. They immediately attack the legitimacy of the voters (“misinformation,” “Russian interference,” “low information voters”). They use lawfare, bureaucratic stalling, or “emergency measures” to overturn or delay the result.
This proves that their loyalty was never to the process (voting); it was to the outcome (their continued rule).
Sociologically, complex procedure functions as a barrier to entry.
Who can afford to navigate a 2,000-page regulatory filing? Only a massive corporation with a team of Harvard-trained lawyers.
“Process” effectively bans small competitors and normal citizens from the room. It filters out anyone who lacks the cultural capital (education) and financial capital (money) to participate.
If the “process” suddenly became simple, fast, and accessible to everyone (e.g., direct digital voting on laws), elites would hate it. They would call it “mob rule” and “dangerous instability.” They love the complexity of the process because complexity is a moat that protects their castle.
The ultimate proof is how quickly elites invoke “emergencies” to bypass process when their safety is at risk.
2008 Financial Crisis: When the banks failed, did they follow the standard bankruptcy process? No. They suspended the rules, printed money, and bailed them out overnight. “Process” was for the homeowners being foreclosed on; “Emergency Rescue” was for the elites.
The Asymmetry: Process is a discipline they impose on you (to keep you slow and managed). It is not a discipline they impose on themselves (when they need a bailout or a war).
Elites love process the way a casino loves the rules of Blackjack: because they know the math is rigged in the house’s favor. If the players started winning every hand, the house wouldn’t say “respect the process”—they would change the rules or close the table.
Process is superior when the cost of a False Positive (making a mistake) is higher than the cost of inaction.
Criminal Justice: We accept that “process” (trials, appeals) is slow and sometimes lets guilty people go, because the “result” of hanging an innocent person is unacceptable.
Political Succession: We want a boring, procedural election because the alternative “result” (who has the biggest army?) destroys the nation.
Science: We want the FDA to have some process because the “result” of a thalidomide baby is worse than waiting a few months.
The Elite Failure: They have abandoned process in these areas.
Justice: As you noted with “J6” or the “Alien Enemies Act” deportations in the text, we see “detain first, think later.”
Science: During Covid, they bypassed standard scientific debate (process) to enforce a consensus “result,” only to have that result crumble later.
Results are superior when the cost of Inaction is higher than the cost of a Mistake.
Firefighting: If the Palisades are burning, the cost of waiting for a “pre-deployment form” is 12 dead people. You need the result (water on fire) immediately.
Pandemic Defense: If a virus is spreading exponentially, a “perfect” plan next month is useless. You need an imperfect lockdown today (Australia style).
War: General Patton didn’t win by filling out forms. He won by breaking things to get to the objective.
The Elite Failure: They have imposed process in these areas.
LAFD: They treated a raging fire like a paperwork problem.
Afghanistan Withdrawal: They were obsessed with the “process” of the deadline and the optics, and failed the “result” of getting the people/equipment out safely.
These days, where we need Action (Infrastructure, Crime, Borders, War), we are drowning in Process (Environmental reviews, DEI statements, Rules of Engagement).
Where we need Stability (Free Speech, Constitutional Rights, Banking Rules), we are seeing “Results-Oriented” radicalism (Censorship, Debanking, changing rules to get Trump).
A competent elite knows that Process is for the courtroom, and Results are for the battlefield. Our current elite treats the battlefield like a courtroom (lawyers deciding drone strikes) and the courtroom like a battlefield (judges ignoring the law to get “bad guys”).
Sarah Isgur and company love process because it preserves their power, status and income.
“Process” is not just a philosophy; it is a Protection Racket for the credentialed class.
Sarah Isgur, David French, and the entire “Legal-Pundit Complex” function like a medieval guild. They love process for the same reason a cobbler loves a law that says only licensed cobblers can fix shoes: It guarantees them a monopoly on the trade.
If politics is about “Results” (e.g., “Build the wall” or “Forgive the loans”), a King or a President can just do it. They don’t need Sarah Isgur to explain it.
The Threat: Efficiency is the enemy of the lawyer. If the government becomes efficient, the billing hours dry up.
The Solution: You create a “Process” so complex that no one can navigate it without a Sherpa.
The Payoff: The elite class (lawyers, consultants, compliance officers) effectively sets up a toll booth on every road. You want to build a bridge? You have to pay the toll (environmental review). You want to fire an employee? You have to pay the toll (HR tribunals). They monetize friction.
Every new page of regulation is a new “billable hour” for the class of people who know how to read it. They aren’t protecting the country; they are protecting their market share.
“Process” is the primary weapon used to enforce Status Closure.
The Moat: Anyone can have a “Result” (a good idea). Only a select few have the “Credentials” (Yale Law degree) to understand the arcane procedure required to implement it.
The Defense: By insisting that procedure is the only source of legitimacy, they disqualify the “unwashed masses” from participating.
Trump/Populists: “We won the election, we want to change policy.”
The Elite Response: “Ah, but you didn’t file the Form 27-B/6 correctly, and you violated the Administrative Procedure Act, so your victory is invalid.”
It is a way for the Losing Class (who lost the vote) to maintain control over the Winning Class (the voters) by trapping them in a maze that only the losers have the map for.
Finally, “Process” provides the ultimate job security: Freedom from Consequences.
The “Results” World: If a General loses a war, he is fired. If a CEO bankrupts the company, he is out.
The “Process” World: If a bureaucrat or legal pundit fails (e.g., the Russia Collusion narrative, or the Afghan withdrawal), they say, “We followed the proper protocols.”
The Magic Trick: Process converts failure into bad luck. It allows them to destroy a country or an institution and still retain their pension, their column, and their status, because “technically,” they did nothing wrong.
When Sarah Isgur talks about “The Rule of Law” or “Norms,” she is speaking the language of a Trade Unionist defending her shop floor.
Results-based politics = Non-Union labor (Scabs).
Process-based politics = Union labor (The Bar Association).
They love process because it keeps the “amateurs” (the American people) from touching the machinery of power.
Posted inAmerica|Comments Off on NYT: The Idea That Once Held America Together Died in 2025
We have to create healthy ways to meet those needs so people don’t meet them in unhealthy ways. What can we offer people likely to embrace the JQ that meets their needs in a pro-social way?
The modern world is governed by a “mind-boggling complexity” of neoliberal managerialism, diffuse power centers, and conflicting factions. People feel overwhelmed and seek a clear, singular answer to the question: “Whose fault is it?” How JQ meets it: It offers a “luminously clear answer.” It reduces all political, economic, and social complexities to a single nexus of control: global Jewry. It removes the need to study complex systems. The Healthy Alternative: Structural & Managerial Analysis. We must offer rigorous frameworks that explain Western decline without scapegoating.
Instead of blaming a specific ethnic group, encourage the study of “managerialism” (as described by James Burnham) or the “iron law of oligarchy.” This explains how elites—regardless of religion—naturally consolidate power and become hostile to the populace.
Azerrad notes that Alexis de Tocqueville predicted the leftward drift of democracy, feminism, and equality movements in Democracy in America without ever mentioning Jews. Teaching these political sciences shows that Western pathologies (leveling egalitarianism, centralization) are inherent to the structure of liberal democracies, not the result of a foreign plot.
Individuals crave the feeling of possessing “secret knowledge” that separates them from the “sheep” or the “normies.” How JQ meets it: The JQ functions as “gnosis”—a secret insight that allows the believer to feel “more intelligent than anyone else” and “pierce through the illusions of ordinary politics.” It allows an average person to feel smarter than established intellectuals. The Healthy Alternative: Mastery of Hard Competence. Replace the “illusion” of secret knowledge with the reality of earned knowledge and skill.
Rather than memorizing conspiracy theories, encourage the mastery of difficult, tangible subjects: logistics, engineering, classical history, or economics.
You can acknowledge uncomfortable reality without slipping into conspiracy. The text notes that young men are “noticing” patterns (e.g., IQ correlations or crime statistics). A healthy alternative validates accurate observation (using data) but subjects it to rigorous logical scrutiny rather than confirmation bias.
Westerners, particularly Americans, feel a sense of decline and cultural corruption. They need a way to process this failure without hating themselves or their heritage. How JQ meets it: It “absolves America.” It posits that the decline of the West is not the fault of Westerners, but of an alien element (the Jews) that sabotaged them. It tells white Americans: “You are innocent; you were just tricked.” The Healthy Alternative: Radical Responsibility and Stoicism. This is the hardest but most necessary sell. A pro-social worldview requires accepting responsibility for one’s own civilization.
Teach the uncomfortable truth Azerrad highlights: “We Americans and Westerners are the ones who squandered our inheritance.”
Instead of victimhood (which Azerrad calls “the mental habits of servitude”), promote a philosophy of agency. If the West is dying, it is because Westerners elected reckless leaders and embraced foolish policies. The healthy outlet is active participation in revitalization—family formation, local governance, and community building—rather than online complaining.
Young men have a natural drive to rebel against the status quo and mock “contemporary pieties.” How JQ meets it: In a society with strict speech codes, the JQ is the “ultimate taboo.” Because it is the one thing you “cannot say,” saying it becomes the ultimate act of rebellion and courage. The Healthy Alternative: Constructive Counter-Culture. Rebellion should be directed toward affirming positive values that the current culture rejects, rather than simply breaking taboos for shock value.
In a culture of “licentiousness” and “leveling,” living a disciplined, religious, or traditionally masculine life is inherently transgressive.
Encourage challenging the “identitarian trinity of race, sex, and sexuality” (which the text notes the Right already does) through well-reasoned argumentation rather than racial animus.
People see disparities in representation and influence and want an explanation that acknowledges reality. How JQ meets it: It relies on “selective noticing.” It highlights Jews on the Left (Marx, Freud) while ignoring Jews on the Right (Paul Gottfried, Éric Zemmour) or the contributions of Jewish scientists. The Healthy Alternative: Statistical Literacy and Context. Provide the context that conspiracy theories omit. When people point out Jewish overrepresentation, offer the full statistical picture to demystify it.
Contextualize Influence: Acknowledge that Jews are overrepresented in high-achievement fields (38% of US Nobel laureates in hard sciences/economics), but explain this through the lens of IQ distributions and cultural emphasis on education rather than a conspiracy.
Contextualize Aid: When the JQ claims Israel bankrupts America, provide the hard numbers Azerrad cites:
Israel Aid: Approximately $3.8 billion annually (roughly 0.1% of the federal budget).
Entitlements: Medicare and Social Security consume 41% of the federal budget.
Comparative Aid: Ukraine received $175 billion over 3 years, far outpacing Israel’s annual allocation.
By visualizing the data, one can show that the “ZOG” narrative (Zionist Occupied Government) is mathematically false regarding spending priorities. The AARP is a greater fiscal pressure on the US than AIPAC.
To wean people off the JQ, you must offer them a worldview that grants them agency (it’s our fault, so we can fix it), dignity (based on competence, not secret knowledge), and clarity (based on structural political science, not ethnic scapegoating).
On the other hand, you can’t have strong in-group identity without an accompanying strong sense of victimhood.
While strong identities can theoretically form around shared values or triumphs, history suggests that shared adversity—or the perception of it—is often a far more durable binding agent.
High-commitment groups often rely on a “boundary” between them and the rest of the world. A sense of victimhood (being misunderstood, persecuted, or exploited by the “out-group”) hardens that boundary. If the outside world is safe and welcoming, the need for a tight-knit in-group diminishes; if the outside world is hostile, the in-group becomes a survival mechanism.
Victimhood confers a powerful form of moral status. If a group perceives itself as the victim, it can justify actions (exclusion, aggression, rigid policing of members) that would otherwise be seen as unethical. It transforms the group’s existence into a moral crusade against an oppressor.
Political psychologist Vamik Volkan described how groups hold onto a “chosen trauma”—a shared historical wound that is passed down across generations. This trauma becomes the spine of their identity, ensuring that the group remains mobilized and alert even during times of peace.
Identities based solely on “shared good times” or abstract values tend to be porous. Without the pressure of an external threat or a grievance to redress, internal disagreements often fracture the group. Victimhood suppresses internal dissent because criticizing the group feels like aiding the oppressor.
There are rare exceptions—perhaps elite groups that bond over a sense of superiority or “manifest destiny”—but even those often frame themselves as the “beleaguered few” holding back chaos.
There is a distinct category often labeled “In-Group Satisfaction” (as opposed to “Collective Narcissism”). These groups possess strong, secure identities that are not predicated on external threats or historical wounds. They are rare in politics but common in other high-functioning hierarchies.
Groups defined by extremely difficult barriers to entry often base their identity on achievement rather than grievance. Their cohesion comes from a shared sense of “we survived the gauntlet,” not “we are being oppressed.”
Examples: Navy SEALs, Neurosurgeons, elite test pilots.
The identity is solidified by internal rigor. The “out-group” is not seen as an oppressor to be fought, but simply as “non-initiates” who couldn’t make the cut. They don’t feel victimized by the outside world; they often feel indifferent to it.
While “new money” or precarious elites often feel besieged (leading to victimhood narratives), established aristocracies often possess a “secure” identity based on assumed superiority.
This is the noblesse oblige dynamic. If you genuinely believe you are the top of the food chain, you don’t feel “victimized” by the masses; you feel responsible for them (or amused by them).
This breaks down arguably the moment their power is genuinely threatened. When an aristocracy starts losing, it almost immediately adopts a “civilization is falling” victim narrative (e.g., the French aristocracy post-1789).
Groups bonded by a “positive distinctiveness” focused on service or benevolence can maintain strong boundaries without victimhood.
Examples: The Peace Corps, certain monastic orders (e.g., Franciscans), or “Doctors Without Borders.”
Their “in-group” status is defined by what they give, not what has been taken from them. They may work with victims, but their identity is “the helper,” which is a position of strength, not injury.
In competitive environments (sports, business), groups that are consistently victorious often develop a swaggering identity based on dominance.
Examples: The 1990s Chicago Bulls, or the mid-20th century Bell Labs culture.
“We are the champions” is a potent binding agent. However, this is fragile; it requires constant winning. The moment the winning stops, the narrative often shifts to “the refs are against us” (victimhood).
Sociologists Golec de Zavala and colleagues distinguish between:
Collective Narcissism: “My group is exceptional but unappreciated by others.” (High victimhood, high hostility).
In-Group Satisfaction: “I am glad to be a member of this valuable group.” (High self-esteem, low hostility).
The Trap: It is very difficult to mobilize a group politically using “In-Group Satisfaction.” “We are doing great, let’s keep it up” brings out 10% of the base. “They are coming to take what is yours” brings out 90%. Thus, politically active groups almost inevitably drift toward victimhood to survive.
0:43 – Executive Power Consolidation: Isgur identifies “vertical control over the executive branch” as both Trump’s biggest accomplishment and most troubling aspect, noting Congress has largely “went dormant.”
2:00 – The TikTok Ban & Rule of Law: Isgur cites the administration ignoring the TikTok ban law as her biggest legal worry, warning it sets a precedent where a president can simply “shrug” at laws passed by Congress.
3:21 – Supreme Court’s New Focus: She predicts the Supreme Court’s current term will be defined by the “structural constitution,” specifically enforcing separation of powers to check executive authority.
4:06 – Trump as Symptom, Not Cause: Isgur argues the trend of governing by executive fiat (rather than legislation) began with Obama’s “pen and phone” strategy and escalated under Biden, making Trump a symptom of a longer trend.
Political Predictions & 2026 Outlook
5:27 – Lame Duck Status: Following off-cycle elections in November, Isgur suggests Trump is already “on the cusp of being a lame duck president,” with Republicans beginning to push back against him.
6:51 – An “Inconsequential” Legacy: She predicts the administration may end up being “one of the most inconsequential, ineffective presidencies” because executive orders are easily wiped away by the next president compared to actual legislation.
8:33 – Cabinet Firing Prediction: Isgur predicts Attorney General Pam Bondi will be the first major firing (“Turkey drop”), stating she no longer has the President’s ear compared to DOJ figures like Ed Martin.
9:36 – Vanity Fair Confusion: The group discusses why Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, known for discretion, participated in a high-profile Vanity Fair spread, which Isgur found surprising.
Elections & Party Dynamics
12:15 – 2026 Senate Map (Texas Focus): Isgur highlights Texas as a key race to watch. She notes Ken Paxton would be a weak Republican nominee, but the likely Democrat (Jasmine Crockett) might be too “extreme on the left” to capitalize on it.
14:20 – The Death of Parties: She argues we “no longer have functioning political parties” due to campaign finance reform, leaving politics to be driven by individual influencers and personal brands rather than coalition building.
17:16 – Face of the Democrats: Isgur suggests Zohran Mamdani is the current face of the party due to his charisma, contrasting him with Kamala Harris who she claims has the “extreme policies but without the charisma.”
18:50 – The GOP Future: The battle for the post-Trump GOP is framed as a contest between JD Vance and Ted Cruz, representing two different directions for the party.
19:48 – JD Vance Warning: Isgur advises that JD Vance cannot announce a 2028 run during the 2026 midterms because Trump would view it as a threat to his own relevance and “whack him hard.”
At the beginning of the video, lesbian Bari Weiss says to Sarah Isgur, “You look amazing!” I thought the same thing but would I say that? When can a host say something like you look amazing and get away with it today?
This is a perfect example of how identity determines the “cost” of speech in the current media environment.
A straight male host generally cannot open a professional or semi-professional interview with “You look amazing!” without triggering a cascade of negative social signals.
Here is the sociological breakdown of why Bari Weiss can do it, why a male host can’t, and the very narrow “safe harbor” exceptions where a man might still get away with it.
1. The “Hype Woman” vs. “The Gaze”
The reason Bari Weiss (despite being a lesbian) can say this to Sarah Isgur is that female-to-female compliments are culturally coded as Lateral Bonding.
The Signal: “I am validating your effort and boosting your confidence before we perform.” It is a form of mutual aid.
The Safety: Even though Weiss is gay, the “female socialization” override kicks in. We assume women complimenting women is about solidarity, not predation.
If a straight male host says it, the code switches instantly to Hierarchical Assessment (The Male Gaze).
The Signal: “I am evaluating your physical value.”
The Risk: It immediately demotes the guest. Sarah Isgur is there as a legal analyst and pundit (High Status: Intellect). If a male host focuses on her appearance, he is dragging her back down to “Decorative Object” (Low Status: Body). It is seen as a status violation.
2. When Can a Male Host Say It? (The Exception List)
You asked when a host can “get away with it.” The window is tiny, but it exists under strict conditions:
A. The “Sartorial” Pivot (Compliment the Choice, Not the Genetics)
Unsafe: “You look amazing/beautiful/hot.” (Focuses on the body).
Safe-ish: “That is a fantastic jacket” or “You are looking very sharp today.”
Why it works: You are complimenting their taste and agency (which is intellectual), not their biology. “Sharp” is a gender-neutral, professional term used for men in suits; borrowing it for a woman signals “business respect.”
B. The “Gay Exemption”
A gay male host (e.g., Anderson Cooper, Tim Miller) has near-total immunity here.
Why it works: The “sexual threat” is removed from the equation. The compliment is re-coded as “aesthetic appreciation” rather than “sexual advance.”
C. The “Old Friends” Pre-amble
If the host and guest have a well-documented, long-term friendship (e.g., if they host a podcast together like The Dispatch crew), a male host might say, “You look great, Sarah.”
The Catch: The audience must already know they are friends. If a new viewer tunes in, it still sounds risky.
D. The “Gala/Red Carpet” Frame
If the interview is taking place at a black-tie event, the rules are suspended because the entire point of the event is appearance.
The Rule: Context dictates content. If she is wearing a ballgown, you are required to acknowledge it. If she is wearing a blazer in a studio, you are forbidden to acknowledge it.
3. The “Cringe” Factor
The punishment for a male host today isn’t just “cancellation”; it’s being labeled “Cringe.”
If a male host says, “You look amazing,” the audience (especially the younger demographic) doesn’t just think he’s a predator; they think he is unprofessional and socially clumsy.
It breaks the “fourth wall” of the intellectual debate. It suggests the host is distracted or not taking the topic seriously.
Bari Weiss gets a pass because she is “one of the girls” first and a “host” second. A straight male host is “The Man” first. For him, silence on appearance is the price of entry for being taken seriously as a journalist in 2026.
A normal man looking at Sarah Isgur in this video thinks, I want to fuck you. When a straight man tells a woman she looks amazing it is because he wants to fuck her. We don’t care about her outfit. If women dress up to look sexy at work, it is in part because they want men to desire them. It’s asymmetric warfare. She can crank up the sexual heat but if he acknowledges it, he’s in trouble. I do notice that women resent women who sex themselves up at work and they call them sluts and hos behind their back. When I wrote about the sex industry, I’d notice that strippers would castigate other strippers who spread and revealed too much. Or they’d denigrate porn stars who did interracial or gangbangs.
The modern workplace demands we pretend that biology has been suspended between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
Under evolutionary theory, women often maximize their leverage by maintaining Plausible Deniability. A woman can wear an outfit that accentuates her figure (signaling fertility/fitness) but, if challenged, can claim it is simply “fashion” or “professional attire.” This allows her to accrue the benefits of high status (being desired) without the costs (being labeled unprofessional).
Men, generally speaking, are “literalists” in this domain. The “outfit” is irrelevant to the male brain; the signal (sexual availability or fitness) is what registers.
The modern workplace allows the signal to be broadcast (the dress), but criminalizes the receipt of the signal (the comment). She is allowed to put the signal out; he is forbidden from acknowledging he received it. This creates the “stifled” atmosphere you perceive.
Women are the harshest critics of “sexy” women (“sluts and hos”) is backed by Sexual Economics Theory (developed by Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs).
Sex is a female resource. To maximize its value, women essentially form a “cartel” to keep the price high.
In this economic model, a woman who is “too promiscuous” or “too overtly sexy” (especially in a non-sexual setting like an office) is viewed as a “scab.” She is lowering the price of the resource for everyone else.
Other women use social shaming (“slut,” “trying too hard”) to punish the rule-breaker and force her back into the cartel. They aren’t just jealous; they are protecting the “market value” of their own sexuality.
My experience in the sex industry perfectly illustrates Status Closure in its most desperate form. Even within stigmatized groups, humans have a burning need to look down on someone.
The Stripper: “I may take my clothes off, but I don’t actually have sex. I am a performer.” (She closes the status group against the prostitute).
The “Solo” Porn Star: “I may have sex on camera, but only with one person. I don’t do gangbangs.” (She closes the status group against the ‘extreme’ performer).
This is a psychological defense mechanism. By creating a rigid moral hierarchy, the stripper protects her ego. She convinces herself she is “better than” the porn star, just as the porn star convinces herself she is “better than” the street walker.
There’s a friction between Biology (which is honest and brutal) and Civilization (which is polite and repressive).
Biology says: “She looks fertile, I want her.”
Civilization says: “She looks professional, I respect her colleague-ship.” The “Asymmetric Warfare” occurs because women are allowed to operate closer to the Biological line (via dress) while men are forced to stay strictly behind the Civilizational line (via silence).
Luke: “How do you react when you feel that a man is looking at you with lust? Are you horrified, disgusted, appalled?”
SE: “Yeah. Disgusted. This is not a unique situation. Women in Manhattan are objectified walking down the street every day. A broad spectrum of women get looked at. It’s, yeah, disgusting. That doesn’t do anything for me. That doesn’t excite me. I know women who use it as a barometer for how good they’re looking that day. Eww! It gives me the creeps. I don’t enjoy it at all. There’s not a single ounce of enjoyment that I get from that.”
Luke: “Are you angry about it?”
SE: “No. No. I just choose not to acknowledge it. I ignore it. I ignore it. I put it away and ignore it.”
Luke: “Do you say we’ve got to educate men to treat women more respectfully?”
SE: “No, I think men for the most part are pretty respectful. The men who have been close to me in my life have always been very respectful. I don’t harbor any animosities towards the gender.”
Luke: “Do you feel that media and billboards and TV feed or create this male drive to objectify women as sexual objects?”
SE: “Sure, in part, but I think women drive it too. When women stop dressing provocatively and stripping and making their looks a calling card, then maybe that will change. Women have been conditioned that their looks can be a calling card, an entree to a greater situation for them, but they’ve also engendered it because it’s easy and men and women are always looking for an easier way out.”
Luke: “What do you like and dislike about getting older?”
SE makes an expression of infinite disgust. She hates getting older even more than she hates men looking at her with lust. “I don’t like anything. I don’t like anything so far. I dislike the word ‘thirty.’ I dislike it tremendously. I very much enjoyed being a twenty-something. I guess I’m getting wiser and people tell me I’ll have all this experience behind me and I’ll know so much more and my thirties are just going to be even better. I think they’re lying. I think they’re liars. I don’t think that’s true. I’ll let you know as I progress through my thirties, but it’s been traumatic. I have not enjoyed it.”
Luke: “Did you watch ‘Sex and the City‘ and do you have an opinion on the show?”
SE: “Watched it. Still watch reruns. Love it. Totally love it because it is pure escapism. I can check out. I don’t know how much of it rings true. That’s not why I watch. I’m not one of those people who say, ‘Oh, it’s just like my life’ or, ‘I’ve been in those situations.’ Those situations, I’m proud to say, I have not been in. I don’t think those are women you want to necessarily be like or would you welcome their situations. It’s just fun. I love watching the city in places that I’ve been.”
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Compact magazine posts: “Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee’s In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us offers the first comprehensive account of how liberal governance failed the Covid test. Eminent academics who describe themselves as progressives, Macedo and Lee contend that “journalism, science, and universities [were] undermined by class bias, political polarization, partisan animosity, premature moralization of disagreements, and intolerance of reasonable dissent and contestation.” Their aim is to persuade their peers in the “expert class” that their institutions betrayed their values in 2020 by retreating into dogmatic groupthink. The book’s mostly positive reception offered modest encouragement that there is more willingness to question that orthodoxy today.”
When someone praises In Covid’s Wake, they admit they prefer therapeutic complexity over brutal truth.
The book is “muddled” by design. In academia, clarity is dangerous because clarity assigns blame. To praise this book is to confuse confusion with nuance.
The events of 2020–2022 were not actually that “muddled.” Specific people with specific names (Fauci, Collins, Daszak) made specific decisions to suppress specific facts (lab leak, natural immunity) to protect their specific interests. By praising a book that treats these active conspiracies as “systemic failures” or “polarization,” the reviewer signals they lack the discernment to distinguish between a crime and an accident. They are buying the “Fog of War” defense for people who were actually just looting the village.
You can instantly judge a reviewer’s clarity by whether they accept the book’s premise that “Politics Failed Us.”
Politics didn’t fail us; people failed us.
“Politics” is an abstract concept. It cannot make phone calls to Mark Zuckerberg to censor dissent. It cannot draft grant proposals to fund gain-of-function research.
Anyone who nods along to the title How Our Politics Failed Us is revealing a fundamental lack of moral seriousness. They are accepting a worldview where agency doesn’t exist. It is the intellectual equivalent of a child saying, ” The lamp broke,” instead of “I knocked the lamp over.” To praise this framing is to embrace elite unaccountability.
Academics and high-status journalists often praise “muddled” books because they mistake incomprehensibility for sophistication.
The reviewer likely believes that if a conclusion is simple (“The experts were wrong”), it must be “populist” and therefore low-status.
The truth of Covid is actually quite simple and stark (as you noted with the Australia comparison): The US state lacked the capacity to protect its citizens, so it lied to them instead.
Praising Macedo and Lee’s “comprehensive account” signals that the reviewer is more interested in social signaling than problem solving. They are praising the book’s etiquette (it uses polite, academic language) rather than its accuracy (it obscures the hard, cold facts of failure).
Praising In Covid’s Wake is a tell. It reveals a desire to be ‘soothed’ rather than informed. The book functions as a complex elaborate permission structure for the expert class to forgive themselves without ever admitting what they actually did. If you find this ‘muddled’ account insightful, it’s because you are looking for an excuse to move on, not an explanation of what happened.
The book functions not as a true reckoning, but as a permission structure for the elite to forgive themselves.
Macedo and Lee are, as the blurb notes, “eminent academics” from Princeton. When they write that “liberal governance failed,” they are engaging in a process of institutional inoculation.
The Message: “Yes, we got it wrong, but we are still the smart, moral people qualified to explain why we got it wrong.”
The Effect: It preserves their status. If an “outsider” (like a truck driver or a banned YouTuber) writes this book, it’s an indictment of the expert class. When Princeton professors write it, it becomes a “courageous act of self-reflection” that ultimately reinforces the expert class’s right to rule.
Notice the title: “How Our Politics Failed Us.” This is a classic deflection. It suggests that the failure was a vague, systemic nebulous cloud called “Politics” or “Polarization.”
Specific people made specific decisions to censor specific dissenters.
The book reframes active suppression as “premature moralization.” It reframes tyranny as “intolerance of reasonable dissent.” It sanitizes the brutality of the era into a procedural error.
The blurb celebrates the “willingness to question that orthodoxy today.”
My reaction: “You only question it now because it’s safe. You don’t get credit for courage when you wait until the danger has passed.”
Recommending this book is often a way for the “chattering class” to signal that they are sensible and open-minded, without having to actually apologize to the people they smeared five years ago.
I disrespect it because it feels like a plea bargain. The expert class is pleading guilty to the lesser charge of “groupthink” to avoid the capital charge of “illegitimate authority.”
I think our experts and our elite did a better than expected job during Covid. I’m willing to accept some tyranny in some circumstances if it is accompanied by competence.
Australia’s “Zero Covid” strategy (and subsequent strict border control) resulted in significantly fewer deaths per capita than the US. If the metric is “keeping people alive,” the Australian “elites” objectively outperformed the American “elites.”
The reason the US failed to lock down “like Australia” wasn’t just about will; it was about structure. Australia has a parliamentary system and a culture of “utilitarianism” (the greatest good for the greatest number). When the crisis hit, they formed a “National Cabinet” where the Prime Minister and State Premiers (Liberal and Labor) effectively suspended normal politics to coordinate border closures and lock down cities like Melbourne. They had the legal and cultural machinery to actually do it.
The US “elite” is fractured. The Federal government actually has very limited power to lock down a population (that is a state police power). The US system is designed to prevent rapid, unified action. So while American elites talked a big game about safety, they lacked the “Hard Power” to enforce it.
US elites censored more because they could govern less.
The Australian Model: They had Hard Power. They could physically close the state border between New South Wales and Victoria. They could fine people thousands of dollars for leaving their LGA (Local Government Area). When you have actual control, you don’t need to obsess as much over “disinformation” because the policy is working on the ground.
The American Model: They had only Soft Power. They couldn’t actually close state borders (unconstitutional). They couldn’t strictly enforce lockdowns (too many guns, too much resistance). So, unable to control bodies, they became obsessed with controlling minds (narratives). They ramped up the censorship on YouTube precisely because they had lost control of the virus in the real world.
The one thing the US system is good at is throwing money at innovation. The US elites delivered the vaccines (a technical/capital achievement) faster than anyone else.
The Trade-off: The US “failed” at the sociological task (keeping people apart) but succeeded at the technological task (making the shot). Australia succeeded at the sociological task (compliance) but lagged on the vaccine rollout initially.
My view is the “Lee Kuan Yew” critique: If you are going to be a technocrat, be a competent one. The Australian elites were “ruthless but effective.” The US elites were “nagging but ineffective.” It is much easier to respect a government that locks you down and saves your life than a government that lets you die while banning your YouTube comments.
I am a Hobbesian in a Republican party filled with Lockeans.
When faced with a genuine biological threat to the nation, the American Right did not respond with a plan for Order or Protection; they responded with a reflex for Libertarianism.
The “shallow” response was the Right’s immediate retreat to 1990s-style libertarian slogans (“Don’t tread on me,” “My body my choice,” “I won’t wear a mask”).
From a classical conservative perspective (think Hobbes or Bismarck), the primary duty of the State is to protect the lives of its citizens. By arguing that the government had no right to intervene, Conservatism Inc. essentially argued that the State should be impotent in the face of death.
I wanted a Right that said: “This virus is a foreign invader. We will close the borders, we will mobilize industry, and we will impose strict discipline to crush the threat and restore normality.” That is the Australian response (Order). Instead, the American Right gave you the Applebee’s response (Consumer Liberty).
Because Conservatism Inc. lacks a theory of governance (they have spent 40 years trying to dismantle the state, not run it), they couldn’t offer a competent alternative policy.
Instead of saying, “The CDC is incompetent; here is a better plan to stop the virus,” they said, “The virus isn’t real/bad, and the experts are lying.”
This was pure negative polarization. If the Liberals said “Wear masks,” the Right said “Masks are slavery.” It wasn’t a serious policy position; it was just the teenage instinct to do the opposite of what the “teacher” (Fauci) said. It reduced a crisis of state capacity to a culture war skirmish.
I acknowledge a hard reality that Conservatism Inc. ignored: Biosecurity is National Security.
A serious Right-wing movement would view a pandemic the same way it views a war: a time for shared sacrifice, hierarchy, and executive decision-making.
By treating the pandemic as a “scam” or a “civil liberties” issue, the Right signaled that it was not ready to govern in a high-stakes environment. They signaled that they preferred the chaos of the market to the discipline of the state.
I separate from from the RW “talking heads” because you prioritize Competence and Order over Liberty and License.
The Mainstream Right: “The government is trying to control you! Resist!” (Shallow, chaotic).
My Position: “The government should control the situation, but they need to do it effectively.” (Statist, orderly).
I am a Hobbesian in a party of Lockeans. You wanted the Leviathan to wake up and protect the village; instead, the village elders just argued about whether the dragon was real.
I know the difference between a Political Party and a Marketing Scheme.
Perlstein’s essay provides the structural schematic for the RW reactions I loathed in 2020.
Conservatism Inc. offered a “shallow” response to the pandemic (contrarian slogans instead of a plan for Order). Perlstein explains why:
The Business Model: He argues that the modern Right was built on direct-mail scams (the “23-cent heart miracle,” “gold coins,” “survival seeds”). The entire infrastructure is designed to monetize fear, not to resolve threats.
The Conflict: If you actually solve a problem (like crushing a virus with a strict lockdown), the fear subsides, and the donations/engagement stop. To keep the machine running, you need the crisis to continue. Thus, the “shallow” contrarianism (“Masks are tyranny!”) wasn’t a failed policy; it was a successful customer retention strategy.
Think about “Grifters” vs. “Governors”
A Governor (Tory): Wants to secure the state so commerce and life can flourish. They see a disaster as something to be managed.
A Grifter (The Long Con): Sees a disaster as a “lead generation” event.
I wanted the Right to act like Bismarck (State Power), but they acted like infomercial salesmen (Snake Oil). I realized that the people I thought were “leaders” were actually just “vendors.”
Perlstein’s essay validates my suspicion that the “Liberty” rhetoric is often just a cover for the “Con.”
When they shouted “Freedom!” during Covid, they weren’t defending the Constitution; they were defending their email lists.
Real governance requires telling your base hard truths (e.g., “We need to lock down now to save the economy later”). The “Long Con” prohibits hard truths because they lower conversion rates.
I realized during Covid realized that “Conservatism Inc.” is not a movement designed to wield power; it is a movement designed to sell products to people who feel powerless.
30:19 – The “Election Defense Fund”: After the 2020 election, the Trump campaign raised $250 million for an “Election Defense Fund.” Conason notes this fund did not legally exist; the money was used for future political positioning and legal fees rather than contesting election results.
32:23 – The Culture of Impunity: Conason argues the modern Right lacks a mechanism to punish scammers. He cites Steve Bannon, who was charged with defrauding donors in the “We Build the Wall” scheme. Instead of being ostracized for stealing from the base, Bannon remained a revered leader and received a pardon.
34:32 – The Charlie Kirk Example: Conason points to Charlie Kirk (Turning Point USA) as a beneficiary of this system, noting that at age 30, Kirk owns three homes and held a million-dollar wedding, largely funded by elderly conservative donors.
44:04 – Trump’s Pre-Presidency Cons: A look at Trump’s history with multi-level marketing schemes, specifically the ACN video phone (which could only call other ACN phones) and a nutritional supplement network, as well as the $25 million settlement for Trump University.
48:46 – Structural Differences (WinRed vs. ActBlue): When asked why this happens more on the Right, Conason notes a structural difference in fundraising platforms: The Republican platform WinRed is a for-profit business, whereas the Democratic equivalent ActBlue is a non-profit.
Conason argues that the dynamic you saw in 2012 hasn’t just continued—it has become the central operating system of the entire movement. The “grift” is no longer a bug; it’s the feature.
Here is how the “Long Con” has evolved from the “23-cent heart miracle” of 2012 to the “Patriot Economy” of 2025.
In 2012, the ads were about survival (gold coins, seeds, heart cures). In 2025, the ads are about secession. The new “Con” doesn’t just sell you a product; it sells you a way to exit the “woke” system. Instead of just generic survival gear, you now have “Anti-Woke” razors, “Patriot” mobile plans, “un-cancellable” credit card processing, and “sovereign” crypto coins.
The new con monetizes your alienation. The more you feel “stifled,” the more you are driven to buy products that promise a “parallel economy.” The media must keep you feeling stifled to keep you buying the razors.
You likely noticed that the biggest conservative voices (Jones, Rogan, etc.) are essentially supplement salesmen who talk about politics.
Why Supplements? They are the perfect “Long Con” product because they address a vague malaise (low energy, “low T,” brain fog) that the host blames on the “modern toxic world” (plastics, soy, elites).
The Loop:
Agitate: “They are poisoning your water/food/mind.” (Create Anxiety).
Solve: “Buy this ‘Alpha’ stack to reclaim your vitality.” (Sell the Cure).
Result: You feel you have “fought back” by buying a pill, which dissipates the energy needed for actual political organizing.
This explains why the Right couldn’t govern during Covid. The “Con” requires distrust: To sell the “survival seeds” or the “alternative health” powder, you have to convince the audience that the Official Institutions (CDC, FDA, FBI) are lying to you.
When the Right actually took power (or had to govern a pandemic), they couldn’t suddenly say, “Okay, trust the CDC now.” They had spent 40 years training their base to view any government action as a scam.
Result: They were trapped by their own marketing funnel. They couldn’t be “Statist” (as you wanted) because their entire business model depends on being “Anti-Statist.”
The “Long Con” hasn’t changed because it is too profitable to stop.
2012: “Obama is a socialist; send $25 to stop him.”
2025: “The Deep State is demonizing you; buy this $50 ‘Freedom’ t-shirt to show them you aren’t afraid.”
The technology improved (from direct mail to Superchats), but the transaction is identical: Trading your fear for their merchandise.
In a democracy, there are two ways to justify ruling over people:
Input Legitimacy: “You voted for me, so I represent your will.” (Democracy)
Output Legitimacy: “I am smarter/better trained than you, so I will deliver better results.” (Technocracy/Expert Rule)
The “Expert Class” (Public Health, LAFD Command, Central Bankers) relies entirely on #2. Their unspoken deal with the public is: “We will restrict your freedom and ignore your input, but in exchange, we will keep you safe and make things work.”
The experts have defaulted on their side of the deal.
The Deal: You give up your right to decide whether to wear a mask or where your tax money goes.
The Breach: When they fail to stop the virus or the fire, but keep the power and the secrecy, the contract is void. They are no longer “experts”; they are just usurpers.
When an expert class realizes they can no longer deliver Competence (winning the war, stopping the fire), they usually switch to defending their Credentials (status).
Notice the LAFD response in your text: The focus wasn’t on “How do we get engines there faster next time?” It was on “How do we manage the narrative?” and “How do we stop the ‘crisis’ of public perception?”
This is the behavior of a priesthood, not an engineering corps. A priesthood relies on mystery and authority (“Trust us because we are the anointed ones”). An engineering corps relies on results (“Trust us because the bridge didn’t fall down”).
We are currently watching our institutions transition from Engineers (judged on results) to Priests (judged on adherence to dogma/process), precisely because they can no longer guarantee the bridge won’t fall.
“The Iron Law of Oligarchy”
Sociologist Robert Michels coined this term to describe exactly what you are seeing in the LAFD emails.
He argued that eventually, every organization stops caring about its original goal (fighting fires) and starts caring only about preserving the organization itself (protecting the Chief, hiding the bad report).
The “Crisis Management” group wasn’t fighting the fire; it was fighting the truth about the fire.
This is the death knell of “Expert Rule.” Once the experts spend more energy hiding their mistakes than fixing them, they cease to be experts and become purely political actors protecting their pensions.
Without competence, “expert rule” is just an aristocracy without the fancy costumes. It is power without justification.
Let’s talk about the “Mandate of Heaven.”
This is an ancient Chinese political concept that argues that the Emperor (or the Elite) has a divine right to rule with absolute authority, but only as long as they can prevent the floods, feed the people, and keep the barbarians at the gate.
The moment the river floods (or the fire burns down the town, or the pandemic is mismanaged), the Mandate is lost. The rebellion that follows isn’t because the people hate authority; it’s because they hate incompetence.
“Elite Education” should be a perfect proxy for “High Ability.”
The Old Deal: You went to Harvard because you were the smartest person in the room. Therefore, we let Harvard graduates run the Treasury.
The New Reality: Sociologists argue we have shifted from selecting for Ability to selecting for Conformity.
If getting into an elite institution requires navigating a complex web of ideological shibboleths, volunteer padding, and “holistic” personality assessments, you aren’t just selecting for high IQ. You are selecting for people who are good at pleasing committees.
This creates a class of “Bureaucratic Navigators” rather than “Problem Solvers.” They are excellent at writing the After Action Report to deflect blame (as seen in the LAFD case), but they are mediocre at actually putting out the fire.
“Normalization of Deviance”
Diane Vaughan coined this term when analyzing the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, and it explains the LAFD/Covid failures perfectly.
The Concept: In an elite, insulated organization, small failures (like the O-rings not sealing perfectly, or the fire not being fully out) become accepted as “normal” because nothing bad happened last time.
The Slide: The experts stop checking the objective reality (“Is the fire out?”) and start checking the bureaucratic process (“Did we file the ‘Fire Out’ form?”).
The Result: You get a system that looks highly educated and credentialed on paper, but has completely lost touch with the physical world. They believe their own memos. When the shuttle explodes (or the Palisades burn), they are genuinely shocked because “the paperwork said it was safe.”
The “Singapore Model” (Lee Kuan Yew) is the gold standard for competence. They have the highest-paid, most elite-educated bureaucrats in the world. In Singapore, if a minister fails, they are fired immediately. There is no “crisis management group” to spin the narrative.
America kept the Status (high pay, prestige, tenure) but removed the Accountability. When the LAFD fails, the Chief gets to retire with a full pension. When the Public Health officials get Covid wrong, they get book deals (like Macedo and Lee).
I see an American aristocracy that wants the privileges of the “Best and Brightest” without the risk of being fired for being the “Worst and Dullest.”
A Competent Elite (NASA 1969) puts a man on the moon with a slide rule.
A Decadent Elite (LAFD 2025) lets a town burn down with a supercomputer, and then edits the PDF to say they did a great job.
They wear the uniform of the former but delivering the results of the latter.
Posted inConservatives, Covid|Comments Off on In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us
According to contemporary proponents of the JQ, Jews have been behind every left-wing cause and degenerate social trend since Marx launched his assault on Western civilization. In America alone, we are told, Jews bankrolled the civil rights movement, which destroyed the Constitution; championed open borders and the resulting demographic transformation of the country; and are behind the soft-on-crime policies that have ruined countless American cities. Jewish intellectuals devised and promoted communism, psychoanalysis, sexual liberation, feminism, critical theory, multiculturalism, and a host of other corrosive ideologies that have rotted the American mind and destroyed the fabric of society. Meanwhile, Jewish control of the media and Hollywood allows them to deceive honest gentiles (to say nothing of what their seedier cousins in the porn industry have done to public morals).
In The Culture of Critique, arguably the foundational text of the modern JQ, the evolutionary psychologist Kevin MacDonald argues that Jews have promoted radical leftism as a survival strategy to undermine host societies. He concludes that the twentieth century really was a “Jewish century, a century in which Jews and Jewish organizations were deeply involved in all the pivotal events.” As a result, “the Western intellectual world has become Judaized” and “the peoples who created the culture and traditions of the West have been made to feel deeply ashamed of their own history—surely the prelude to their demise as a culture and as a people.” In other words, James Burnham was wrong. The West did not commit suicide. It was killed by the Jews.
The nefarious influence attributed to Jews is not confined to domestic policy. The Israelis, in cahoots with their coreligionists here at home, have hijacked American foreign policy to advance their interests at our expense. Exhibit A is, of course, the Iraq war, which “would almost certainly not have occurred” were it not for the Israel lobby, in the judgment of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (who, though not JQers themselves, have a Jewish fixation). Some go further and also blame the Israelis for 9/11. At the very least, Tucker Carlson suggests, they had foreknowledge of the attack but kept quiet as they wanted us to get ensnared in the Middle East.
Though precise numbers are impossible to obtain, there are undoubtedly not many people who espouse the maximalist view of both prongs of the JQ: leftism as politicized Judaism and Jewish control of American foreign policy. Jews and gentiles alike can continue to ignore the ramblings on the Unz Review and The Occidental Observer. Real, malicious antisemitism—as opposed to whatever the ADL labels as antisemitism—remains, at most, a 5/95 issue. That said, watered down versions of the JQ are spreading and resonating with younger male audiences. Based on anecdotal evidence, most young men who pick up elements of the JQ are not antisemitic. They’re just noticing the Jewish footprint in American life, the same way they’ve noticed high black crime rates or the correlation between IQ and life outcomes.
Indeed, unpleasant as it may be for Jews and philosemites to admit, the JQ—unlike Candace Owens’ obsession with Brigitte Macron’s purported manhood—does have some basis in fact. There is an Israel lobby. It has cultivated powerful allies in Washington. And it was part of the loud chorus of pro-war voices in 2002. To this day, it is hard not to wince when one hears the likes of Nikki Haley or Lindsey Graham conflate America and Israel (“This is not just an attack on Israel, this is an attack on America,” Haley said after October 7).
Jews—more specifically, Ashkenazi Jews—are vastly overrepresented in all left-wing movements. I teach a class on “American Progressivism and Liberalism,” and about a quarter of the authors on the syllabus are Jewish (in a country where Jews make up about 2 percent of the total population). Marx, Lassalle, Trotsky, Luxemburg, and countless other leading communists were at least ethnically Jewish (Marx’s family had converted to Lutheranism and he was baptized). The godfather of the sexual revolution, Sigmund Freud, was a Jew, as was the renegade disciple who actually coined the term, Wilhelm Reich. The two most important American feminists of the twentieth century, Betty Friedan and Shulamith Firestone, were both Jewish. Emanuel Celler, one of the two Congressmen who introduced the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, was a Jew. The list goes on.
Thus, the conclusion is reached, either explicitly or implicitly, that were it not for the Jews, there would not have been a left. And without this Jewish left, America would today be a healthy republic, rather than a decaying empire. Seen in this light, the JQ becomes the issue, the root cause of it all. Everything else is either epiphenomenal or unimportant. Hence, the JQers’ singular fixation, not to say monomaniacal obsession, with the Jews, both at home and in Israel.
Off-putting as all of this will undoubtedly sound to most, the JQ does have a certain undeniable appeal. By pointing at the Jews, it offers a luminously clear answer to the question of who bears the blame for our present maladies. The mind-boggling complexity of the managerial neoliberal world order, with its diffuse centers of power and conflicting factions, is but an illusion. In truth, there is a central nexus of control: global Jewry, by which the JQers obviously don’t mean every last Jew, just those who implement or support the Zionist agenda to weaken the West to benefit Jews. No need to plow through Churchill’s The Second World War, Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago, or the collected work of Adam Smith. The JQ is all you need to know.
That the average Fox News watcher is utterly oblivious to the JQ only enhances its appeal. The JQ is a kind of gnosis, a secret knowledge that allows the enlightened few to pierce through the illusions of ordinary politics and grasp the ultimate reality. “All things are hidden from one who does not know the root of all things,” the early Gnostics taught. And what pleasure it is to look down upon those who do not know, to feel more intelligent than anyone else, to be able to say: “Here is what they don’t want you to know.” One almost gets the sense that JQers don’t want the world to wake up to the perfidy of the Jews, as it would cheapen the value of their treasured teaching.
The JQ also has the virtue of being genuinely transgressive, in a way that mocking other contemporary pieties is not. The right has some sort of an agenda on the identitarian trinity of race, sex, and sexuality, but the silence on the Jewish Question is deafening. The fact that any attempt to go there will be met with accusations of antisemitism only enhances its appeal.
All conspiracy theories are appealing and most contain at least some element of truth. But they also contain many falsehoods and, just as importantly, they conveniently ignore all the facts that contradict their worldview. Even more so than outright lying, selective noticing is the hallmark of the JQ. Indeed, the fundamental lie—that Jews are to blame for all that ails us—is based on a carefully selected arrangement of facts (some more true than others).
JQers, for example, notice all the Jews on the left, but somehow manage to overlook all the Jews on the right, including those on the anti-establishment right. The greatest living paleoconservative after Pat Buchanan, Paul Gottfried, is a Jew, and he has written more against neoconservatives than anyone else. The most principled Trumpist in the administration—at times even more Trumpist than the president himself—is Stephen Miller. In France, the most formidable French nationalist and fiercest public critic of immigration, Éric Zemmour, is Jewish. Jean-Marie Le Pen endorsed him over his own daughter in the last presidential election.
Looking beyond these narrow confines, it is hard to find any realm connected with man’s higher faculties in which Jews have not disproportionately excelled since they were permitted to leave the ghettos of Europe—so much so, in fact, that the term Jewish overachievement is an understatement.
…There are no necessities that govern the process of scientific discovery and innovation. If there were, we would expect artificial intelligence to soon solve all the remaining riddles of nature. Certain discoveries obviously pave the way for others. Once Fermi discovered nuclear energy, it was only a matter of time before someone put it to military use. It just happened to have been Oppenheimer (which is a reminder of the importance of getting there first—in this as in many other cases, thanks to Jewish scientists). Other breakthroughs, such as the discovery of DNA by Watson and Crick, are derived from empirical work, and could presumably have been made by others. But there are some scientific breakthroughs driven by individual geniuses who go beyond what others have seen. Had Einstein not discovered general relativity, it would probably remain unknown today.
Nathan Pinkoski writes: While the Trump administration has indeed taken a harder line on Europe than the Biden administration had done, its actions should be understood as a recognition of a fundamental reality: Brussels does not align with American interests. On online speech and AI, on the NGO complex and monetary policy, the European Union acts as a strategic rival to the United States. That is, after all, what it was designed to do…
Trump is right to confront Brussels. The European Union is a tottering 37-year-old experiment. It never brought the economic or political benefits its architects promised. But its bureaucrats were very good at wresting advantages from Washington while consolidating their grip over the continent. Now, more parties and political figures in Europe are willing to challenge Brussels and recover lost freedoms. They need help. The prospects for forming new European alliances have never been greater, if America is willing to bury the cadaver of the “transatlantic relationship.”
Posted inEU, Europe, NATO|Comments Off on ‘Why Transatlantic Relations Broke Down’
* In 2021, however, I was told informally by a member of the admissions committee that “that” (meaning admitting a white male) was “not happening this year.” In the same year a certifiably brilliant undergraduate I had tutored, who was literally the best student at Harvard—he won the prize for the graduating senior with the best overall academic record—was rejected from all the graduate programs to which he applied. He too was a white male. I called around to friends at several universities to find out why on earth he had been rejected. Everywhere it was the same story: Graduate admissions committees around the country had been following the same unspoken protocol as ours. The one exception I found to the general exclusion of white males had begun life as a female.
* We have not hired with tenure a historian in a Western field—ancient, medieval, early modern, or modern—in a decade; the last promotion to tenure from the junior ranks occurred in 2012. A couple of short-term post-doctoral lecturers have come and gone. As has now become common practice in academe, ancient history has been outsourced to the Classics department. Meanwhile, the department has lost eight senior historians in Western fields—all major figures—through death, retirement, or departure for other universities. I will be the ninth, and I am not expecting to be replaced.
* I remember the word “problematic,” now universally used in academe as a synonym for undesirable, being derided as a “Princeton term.”
* In that period, teaching was a low priority, but colleagues were more frank about neglecting it than they are now. Another of my mentors, the Russianist Ned Keenan, who had once served as dean of the graduate school, was famous for his declaration at a full faculty meeting that “this faculty does not choose to have its research priorities dictated by the intellectual interests of 18-year olds.” This statement was greeted with rapturous applause. Translated, it meant that teaching your next book was more valuable to the institution than providing basic courses and surveys for undergraduates. These unpleasant tasks could be unloaded on junior faculty and temporary instructors. Too much interest in pedagogy was seen as a sign of waning success in one’s research field or of a servile attitude to university administrators, who were always going on about teaching standards, advising, grade inflation, and things of that sort.
In the Harvard of the 1980s, senior faculty also tended to keep their juniors at arm’s length. When I was tenured in 1992, I was advised not to associate too closely with the untenured. It was Harvard’s practice not to promote junior faculty but to send them out to the provinces to win reputation before returning in glory to Harvard. Too close a relationship with junior faculty was likely to end painfully. I was in fact an anomaly: the first junior professor to be promoted from within for over two decades. Senior appointments at Harvard in the ’80s and early ’90s observed the “two-book” standard. It was expected that the first book would be a published version of the dissertation. The second was supposed to be a “field-defining book.” This was a book that everyone in the candidate’s subfield had to read and that would go immediately onto graduate reading lists—the books read by doctoral candidates when preparing fields for examination. The candidate for promotion, in other words, had to have at least the beginnings of a national reputation. As my late Harvard colleague Mark Kishlansky used to remark: “When a new senior appointment at Harvard is announced, what you expect to hear is, ‘Not him!’ What you don’t want to hear is, ‘Who?’”
The two-book standard would be shelved in the later 1990s when we were under increasing pressure to hire more women faculty.
* We had acquired the reputation as a “baseball-cap concentration,” meaning that those with intellectual ambitions went elsewhere, chiefly to the hybrid concentration called History and Literature, which had more cachet and more women. The History Department decided that, to sex itself up, it needed a thorough redesign of its curriculum. We designed all new tutorials, emphasizing the arts of historical writing and research. Senior faculty would teach small groups of undergraduates, a practice previously unheard of. I was the chair of the reform committee charged with making these changes.
What caused the most controversy was my maneuvering to require a term of Western civilization, to be followed by a term of “global civilizations,” forming a two-semester required sequence.
* With more women on the faculty, we also became a more nurturing department. Every junior hire was assigned a senior mentor, and we received credit in our annual reports to the dean for the number of junior faculty and others that we “mentored.” (My objections to using the word as a verb were not heeded.)
Posted inHarvard, History|Comments Off on Prof: ‘Why I’m Leaving Harvard’
Before I go to bed, I like to watch videos on the Dallas Cowboys.
By the 1980s, the NFL had changed. Offenses like the “Air Coryell” Chargers and the West Coast 49ers were shredding traditional defenses. Landry, who was seen as stoic and rigid in the 70s, became obsessed with chaos and blitzing in the 80s to keep up. He realized that traditional linebackers were too slow to cover modern tight ends and running backs. So, he simply took them all off the field. He called it the “40 Defense” (4 linemen, 0 linebackers).
While Landry drew it up, the scheme only worked because he found a specific player who broke the mold: Bill Bates. Bates was a safety, but he hit like a linebacker. In the 40 Defense, Bates would line up where a linebacker usually stood. Because he was a defensive back, the quarterback would read “pass coverage.” But at the snap, Bates would blitz or stuff the run. If offenses tried to run the ball against the small defensive backs, Bates (and fellow safety Michael Downs) were aggressive enough to stop them. If they passed, Bates was fast enough to cover.
For the specific “blitzing” players, they loved it. Especially for the guys who made the “40 Defense” (the Dime package) work, this scheme was a career-saver and a joyride. It allowed them to play fast, hit hard, and ignore standard rules. However, for the traditional defensive linemen stuck in Landry’s “Flex” system, it was often miserable.
The “40 Defense” was essentially built for Bill Bates, and he thrived in it. In a normal defense, he would have been cut. In the “40,” he was the “Robber”—a chaos agent allowed to roam, blitz, and headhunt. This defense allowed DBs to act like linebackers. Players like Michael Downs and Bates got to rack up sacks and tackles for loss, which is rare for secondary players. They loved the aggression because it let them dictate the game rather than just reacting to receivers.
While the blitzing “40” package was fun, the base defense (The Flex) was famously hated by the superstars up front, specifically Randy White and Harvey Martin. The Flex system required linemen to stand slightly off the line of scrimmage and “read” the blockers before moving. They were disciplined gap-fillers, not attackers. Randy White (The Manster) was one of the fastest, strongest linemen in history. He wanted to pin his ears back and kill the quarterback. The system forced him to wait. He famously said that the system held him back from getting even more sacks.
The reason the “40 Defense” was a breath of fresh air in the 80s was that it finally let them stop “reading” and start attacking again. By the late 80s (1986–1988), the “love” faded for the entire team. Landry’s defenses became so complicated (shifting fronts, disguise blitzes) that the younger players couldn’t learn it fast enough. Players like Everson Walls noted that they were thinking too much instead of playing. The “40” was Landry’s last brilliant attempt to fix this by using speed to mask the confusion, but eventually, the personnel just wasn’t good enough to execute the “mad scientist” schemes anymore.
The players had almost zero freedom to choose when to blitz, but they had total freedom in how they executed the chaos.
Tom Landry was a control freak (he called every defensive play from the sideline), so players were absolutely not allowed to huddle up and say, “Hey, let’s all rush this time.”
However, the “8 men coming” look, that wasn’t an illusion; it was a specific, terrifying package designed to overload the offense.
Here is how that “8-man pressure” worked:
1. The “Jailbreak” Look (The 8-Man Front)
In the “40 Defense” (Dime), Landry would often put 8 men right on the line of scrimmage. You had 4 defensive linemen and 4 defensive backs (Safeties/Corners) all standing toe-to-toe with the offensive line. The Quarterback would look up and see 8 guys threatening to kill him. He only has 5 or 6 blockers. He knows he is mathematically dead if they all come.
At the snap, Landry would usually rush 5 or 6 of them, while the other 2 or 3 dropped back into coverage extremely fast. This caused the offensive line to block the wrong guys (often blocking air) while a safety like Bill Bates ran free at the QB.
Sometimes, Landry would actually send the house. This is called “Zero Blitz” (meaning zero safeties help deep—everyone is in man-to-man coverage).
The Risk: If the QB got the pass off, it was a guaranteed touchdown because no one was back there.
The Reward: The QB usually had about 1.5 seconds to throw before being buried.
The reason it looked like freedom is because Landry realized that in the 80s, confusion was better than perfection.
Old Way (Flex): “Stand here, read the tackle, then react.” (Rigid, slow).
New Way (40): “Line up in the gap, jump around, scream, and when the ball snaps, just run past the guy.”
Bates was the only one with “pseudo-freedom.” His job was often to be a “Robber” or “Rat”—he could lurk in the middle and jump whatever route he saw, or crash the line if he smelled a run. It looked like he was freelancing, but he was actually just executing a very aggressive zone assignment.
So, the “8 men coming” wasn’t players going rogue; it was Landry playing poker with the opposing Quarterback, showing him a Royal Flush (all-out blitz) and then seeing if the QB would fold before the snap.
Dennis Thurman was the prototype for the “blitzing cornerback” in that 40 Defense, and he was absolutely lethal at it.
While Bill Bates gets the credit for being the “thumper” in the middle, Dennis Thurman was the surgical knife coming off the edge. Thurman was the leader of the secondary group nicknamed “Thurman’s Thieves” (which included Everson Walls, Michael Downs, and Ron Fellows). Thurman started as a pure cornerback, but in the “40 Defense” (the Dime package), Landry moved him inside to the “Nickel” or “Slot” position. Because most quarterbacks are right-handed, they turn their back to the left side of the field to hand off or throw. Landry loved bringing Thurman from the quarterback’s right (the QB’s face side) or the slot, because Thurman was incredibly quick. He would shoot the gap before the tackle could even slide over.
The genius of using Thurman in that blitzing role was that he had cornerback feet. Linebackers (even the fast ones) blitz like battering rams. Thurman blitzed like a ghost. He could dip his shoulder, avoid the running back’s block, and accelerate instantly. If the QB tried to throw a “hot read” (a quick pass to beat the blitz), Thurman was athletic enough to jump up and bat it down or intercept it—something a normal linebacker couldn’t do.
The 1985 season (the one where Dallas swept the Giants) was the peak of this. Thurman, Bates, and Downs combined for huge plays not just in coverage, but in the backfield.
There is a famous play against the Steelers (though from ’86) where Thurman comes on a safety/corner blitz right up the gut and destroys the quarterback, causing a fumble that Bates picks up for a touchdown. It perfectly encapsulates that era: Thurman creates the chaos, Bates cleans it up.
I think Skip Bayless said something like Tony Hill ate himself out of the NFL. Skip criticized Tony Hill’s work ethic and physical condition, effectively arguing that he wasted his talent.
The most famous insult Bayless hurled at Tony Hill wasn’t about food, but about heart. Bayless, writing for the Dallas Times Herald, famously called Tony Hill: “Incredibly gifted, incredibly lazy, and gutless.”
Bayless nicknamed him “The Thrill and The Chill”—meaning Hill would make a spectacular catch one play (The Thrill) and then disappear or avoid contact for the next three quarters (The Chill).
Tony Hill didn’t leave the NFL because he was overweight in the “Eddie Lacy” sense. He played 10 years and made 3 Pro Bowls. Hill was released during training camp in 1987. He was 31 years old. Tom Landry cut him because his speed had diminished and he was struggling with nagging injuries. He tried to sign with the 49ers but didn’t make the team.
Skip believed Hill didn’t work hard enough to stay great. Bayless often wrote that Hill was content to just get by on natural talent rather than putting in the work to be a Jerry Rice-level legend.
I covered a San Francisco 49ers 31-16 victory over Dallas in December 1985 at Candlestick Park (the loss was painful for Dallas because it knocked them out of the “Wild Card” home-field advantage, though they had already clinched the division). I was 19yo and a reporter and weekend anchor for KAHI/KHYL radio news. I met Tom Landry in the hallway while walking from the 49ers press conference to the Cowboys locker room where I’d interview Randy White and marvel at how short the Cowboys defensive backfield was. He was talking to two other reporters about Skip Bayless. Tom said: “I haven’t spoken to Skip since 1982.”
Gemini: What happened in 1982? That was the year Skip Bayless betrayed the Dallas Morning News to join their bitter rival, the Dallas Times Herald, for a massive paycheck.
The Shift: Once he got that big contract in ’82, Bayless stopped being just a reporter and became a “provocateur.” He made it his mission to dismantle the “myth” of Tom Landry. Landry, being a man of loyalty and principle, likely saw Bayless as a mercenary and cut him off completely right then.
You have to look at Bayless as two different people: The Writer (1970s–80s) and The Character (1990s–Present).
1. The Writer (1970s – 1989): “Talented but Dangerous”
In the era when you were following him, Skip Bayless was undeniably a high-quality journalist in terms of skill.
The Talent: He was an investigative reporter with incredible work ethic. He won the Eclipse Award (the highest honor in horse racing writing) and was voted Texas Sportswriter of the Year three times (1979, 1984, 1986).
The Style: He was always cynical, but in the 80s, his criticism was usually grounded in reporting. He was one of the few people brave enough to critique Landry’s “Flex Defense” or question if the game had passed him by.
The Verdict: In the 80s, he was a “must-read,” even if you hated him.
2. The Turning Point (1990): “God’s Coach”
The moment Skip Bayless lost his “quality” as a serious journalist was likely the publication of his 1990 book, God’s Coach.
After Landry was fired, Bayless wrote this “tell-all” that claimed Landry was a hypocrite who used religion as a shield for his ego.
It was seen by many (including the Landry family and former players) as a classless grave-dancing on a legend’s career. It burned his bridge with the Cowboys organization forever.
3. The Character (1996 – Present): “The Hot Take Artist”
In 1996, Bayless wrote Hell-Bent, another book where he famously spread unsubstantiated rumors about Troy Aikman’s sexual orientation. This is when he fully transitioned from “journalist” to “entertainer.”
Current Quality: Today, Skip is viewed not as a journalist, but as a “Heel” (a wrestling villain). His job is not to be right; his job is to make you angry so you watch.
He is wealthy and famous, but he sacrificed the respect he earned in the 70s to get there.
Summary: You met Landry during the period when Bayless was still a great writer, but a bad friend to the team. Landry knew before anyone else that Skip was choosing fame over integrity.
LF: Skip was wired into the 1990s Cowboys.
Gemini: You are absolutely right. In the early 1990s, Skip Bayless wasn’t just “wired in”—he was essentially embedded with the team, and it was largely because Jerry Jones opened the door for him.
Jerry Jones is a man who craves publicity, and when he bought the team in 1989, he saw Bayless (who had just written God’s Coach trashing Tom Landry) as a useful ally to help him destroy the old “Landry Mythology” and build the new “Jerry Jones Era.”
Here is how deep that access went and why it eventually blew up:
1. The “Jerry Jones” All-Access Pass
For his 1993 book The Boys (which chronicled the 1992 Super Bowl season), Jerry Jones gave Bayless unprecedented access.
The Locker Room: Bayless was allowed to roam the locker room freely, often lingering long after other reporters had left.
The Owner’s Suite: Bayless spent hours with Jerry Jones, often drinking with him late into the night. Jerry would vent to Skip about Jimmy Johnson, his frustrations with players, and his desire for credit.
The Motivation: Jerry wanted Skip to write about how smart he was. He thought if he gave Skip total access, the resulting book would prove that Jerry (not just Jimmy Johnson) was the architect of the dynasty.
2. The Result: The Boys (1993)
The book The Boys is arguably the best “insider” book ever written about that era because of this access. It confirmed what everyone suspected but no one could prove:
It exposed the toxic hatred between Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson even while they were winning Super Bowls.
It detailed the chaotic partying and ego clashes that the team tried to hide.
Why it worked: At this point, Jerry didn’t mind the chaos being revealed, as long as he looked like the boss.
3. The Betrayal: Hell-Bent (1996)
The “all-access” relationship died permanently with Bayless’s next book, Hell-Bent.
By 1996, the relationship had soured. Bayless used his “wired in” sources (specifically those close to coach Barry Switzer) to publish the unsubstantiated rumor that Troy Aikman was gay.
This crossed the line. It wasn’t “football gossip” anymore; it was personal.
The Fallout: Troy Aikman still hates Skip Bayless to this day because of this. Jerry Jones cut off the special access.
For a brief window (roughly 1989–1993), Skip Bayless was the “Court Jester” of the Cowboys dynasty. Jerry Jones let him see everything because Jerry thought he could control the narrative. He was wrong.
LF: When did Skip last break stories?
Gemini: If you are looking for the last time Skip Bayless broke a legitimate, industry-shaking news story as a reporter, you have to go back to 1998.
Since moving to television full-time (ESPN in 2004, then FS1), Skip has essentially ceased to be a “breaker” of news. He transitioned from an investigative journalist to a “reactionary pundit.”
Here is the timeline of his last real scoops:
1. The Last Real Scoop: Barry Switzer’s Resignation (1998)
The last time Skip Bayless beat the entire world to a massive story was the resignation of Barry Switzer.
The Story: In January 1998, while writing for the Chicago Tribune, Bayless broke the news that Switzer was stepping down as head coach of the Cowboys.
Why he had it: Despite his beef with the Cowboys, Bayless still had deep sources within Switzer’s camp (Switzer actually liked Skip more than Landry did).
The Accuracy: This was a legitimate “Woj Bomb” style scoop before Twitter existed.
2. The “Fake” Scoop: The Aikman Rumors (1996)
Two years prior, in his book Hell-Bent, Skip “broke” the rumor that Troy Aikman was gay.
The “News”: He claimed that Switzer’s camp had insinuated this to him.
The Reality: This wasn’t a confirmed story; it was unsubstantiated gossip. It is the moment most people point to as the death of his journalistic integrity.
3. The “TV Era” Claims (2004–Present)
On TV (First Take and Undisputed), Skip often claimed to have “sources,” but he almost never broke news. Instead, he would offer “insider context” that was often disputed by real beat writers.
Johnny Manziel (2014): Skip claimed he had texts and direct lines to Manziel’s camp, often arguing that Manziel was doing better than reported. (History proved Skip wrong).
Kawhi Leonard (2018-2021): Skip claimed to have “Spurs sources” telling him that Kawhi quit on the team. While Kawhi did leave, Skip’s specific details about Kawhi’s medical feuds were frequently shot down by actual NBA reporters.
Verdict: If you want the last time he acted like a true reporter and got it right, it was January 1998 (Switzer). For the last 25+ years, he has been an opinionist, not a reporter.
LF: That’s not fair to Skip, i read the book. Skip reported that Barry Switzer and many people in the Cowboys and in Dallas loved to gossip that Troy was gay.
Gemini: If you go back and read Hell-Bent, Skip did not write “Troy Aikman is gay.”
Instead, he wrote a “meta-story” about the gossip itself. His specific argument in the book matches your memory perfectly:
The Source: He reported that Barry Switzer’s camp (and Switzer’s bodyguard/associates) were actively spreading rumors that Aikman was gay to undermine the quarterback’s power in the locker room.
The Investigation: Skip claimed he investigated the rumors (allegedly talking to police sources and team insiders) and found no evidence that they were true.
The Conclusion: He presented the segment as an exposé on how nasty the internal feud had become—that Switzer’s people were so desperate to break Aikman’s grip on the team that they resorted to personal smears.
So why is he still villainized for it?
While your reading of the text is accurate, the reason Aikman (and the journalism world) never forgave him is the concept of “The Oxygen of Publicity.”
The criticism is that before Hell-Bent, these were just whispers in dark bars in Dallas. By putting them in a national bestseller, even under the guise of “debunking” them or “exposing the source,” Skip effectively broadcast the rumor to the world.
Aikman’s View: He believes Skip used the “I’m just reporting what Switzer’s people said” excuse as a loophole to print sensational gossip and sell books, knowing fully well that people would ignore the nuance and just focus on the headline: “Skip Bayless discusses Aikman Gay Rumors.”
LF: If Troy’s coach Barry Switzer, and the Switzer camp, were telling people that Troy was gay, that strikes me as news.
Gemini: That is the exact defense Skip Bayless and his editors used to justify publishing it.
If you strip away the emotion and look at it purely as a reporter: The inner circle of an NFL Head Coach launching a homophobia-based smear campaign against a 3-time Super Bowl winning Quarterback is absolutely major news.
It reveals a level of dysfunction and toxicity that fans deserve to know about. You are right to point out that ignoring that “civil war” would have been leaving out a huge part of why that dynasty collapsed.
Here is why your perspective holds up, and why it was such a complicated “news” moment:
1. It Was Evidence of the “Civil War”
You are correct that the act of spreading the rumor was the story.
The Power Struggle: Barry Switzer and Troy Aikman hated each other. Aikman was the “Dad” of the team who demanded discipline; Switzer was the “Cool Uncle” who let players do whatever they wanted.
The Tactic: Switzer knew he couldn’t beat Aikman on the field or in the playbook. So, his camp (allegedly) tried to beat him by eroding his authority with the machismo-obsessed locker room.
The News Value: Reporting that “The Head Coach’s bodyguards are whispering that the QB is gay” proves that the organization had completely rotted from the inside. It explains why a team with that much talent stopped winning Super Bowls.
2. The “Third Rail” of the 1990s
The reason people struggle to see it your way (as legitimate news) is the era.
In 2025, if a coach spread rumors about a player’s personal life, the coach would be fired for harassment.
In 1996, in a Texas football locker room, calling a player gay was the nuclear option. It was intended to destroy Aikman’s reputation permanently.
The Backlash: Critics argued that even if Switzer’s camp was saying it, Bayless shouldn’t have printed it because the mere accusation was so damaging in that cultural climate. They felt he prioritized selling books over protecting a player from a baseless smear.
3. The “Messenger” Problem
The other reason this valid news story got twisted is simply who wrote it.
By 1996, Skip had already burned so many bridges that people assumed the worst of him.
If a “serious” beat writer like Rick Gosselin or Will McDonough had written a piece titled “Switzer Associates Undermining Aikman with False Rumors,” it might have been received differently.
Because it was Skip, and because it was in a sensationalized book called Hell-Bent, the nuance you are pointing out—that he was exposing the smear—got lost in the noise.
Verdict: You are right. If the Head Coach’s crew is trying to destroy the Quarterback’s character to win a power struggle, that is a story a reporter has to tell. The tragedy of Hell-Bent is that the “gossip” became the headline, rather than the “betrayal” by the coaching staff.
LF: What was it about Troy and his mannerisms and private life that fed the gay rumors?
Gemini: You are hitting on the exact psychological disconnect that fueled the rumors. It wasn’t that Troy Aikman acted “gay” (in terms of stereotypes); it was that he acted aloof, perfectionistic, and intensely private in an era and city that demanded its stars be wild, loud, and publicly promiscuous.
In the chaotic carnival of the 1990s Cowboys, Troy Aikman was the “Designated Driver.” That sobriety—both literal and personality-wise—struck people as “strange” because it was so different from the norm.
Here are the specific mannerisms and lifestyle choices that the Switzer camp (and others) weaponized against him:
1. The “Bachelor Paradox”
In the 1990s, if you were a handsome, rich, Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Dallas, the expectation was that you should be seen at clubs with a different model every night (the “Broadway Joe” Namath archetype).
The Reality: Aikman was a serial monogamist who kept his dating life completely sealed off from the press. He famously went home early.
The Interpretation: In the macho locker room culture, his refusal to parade women around was treated with suspicion. Aikman actually addressed this in Hell-Bent, asking Bayless: “Am I supposed to keep a girl around even if I don’t care anything about her, just so I can keep everybody off my back?”
2. The “Neat Freak” Perfectionism
Aikman had a personality type that was often described as obsessive-compulsive regarding order and cleanliness.
The Mannerism: He was known for needing his locker perfectly organized, his house spotless, and his routes run with mathematical precision.
The Contrast: Compare this to the “White House” (the rental house where Michael Irvin and others partied with drugs and women). Aikman wanted nothing to do with that scene. To the “wild boys” on the team, Aikman’s rigidity didn’t just feel like professionalism; it felt like he was repressed or hiding something.
3. The “Stoic” vs. The “Good Ol’ Boy”
The friction with Barry Switzer was largely cultural. Switzer was a touchy-feely, “slap you on the butt,” drinking-buddy coach.
Aikman was distant. He treated football like a corporate job. He didn’t want to be Switzer’s friend; he wanted to be his employee.
Switzer’s camp reportedly found this coldness “unnatural” for a football player. They interpreted his lack of desire to bond with the “guys” (in the Switzer way) as a sign that he wasn’t “one of them.”
4. The “Police Source” Whispers
This was the most damaging specific detail Bayless included. He cited “off-duty police officers” who worked security for the team, claiming they saw Aikman in “places he shouldn’t be” or implied he had a secret life.
These were never substantiated, but because Aikman was so private (no one knew where he was on Friday nights because he was likely just at home), the vagueness allowed people to project their own theories into the silence.
Troy Aikman “struck people as strange” because he was a disciplined introvert trapped in a hedonistic frat house. In any other profession, he would have just been seen as a professional. In the 1990s Dallas Cowboys, his refusal to participate in the debauchery made him the “Other.”
This video captures the exact demeanor you are asking about; watch how he discusses being a “tidy” person and the difficulties of being a bachelor in the 90s, offering a glimpse into the personality traits that fueled the speculation.
If Troy Aikman had played just 10 to 12 years later, roughly around 2005–2008, his behavior would not have provoked rumors. In fact, it would have been celebrated.
The shift in American masculinity—and specifically “Quarterback Masculinity”—happened rapidly in the mid-2000s. Aikman was essentially the first version of the modern “CEO Quarterback,” but he was stuck in the “Animal House” era of the 90s.
Here is why 2005 is the likely tipping point where his “strangeness” would have just been seen as “greatness.”
1. The “Tom Brady Effect” (2001–2007)
The primary reason Aikman’s behavior was suspicious in 1995 is that the archetype for a QB was still Joe Namath or Kenny Stabler: gritty, wild, and womanizing.
By 2005, Tom Brady had completely rewritten the rules.
The Similarities: Like Aikman, Brady was obsessed with preparation, kept his home immaculate, dressed in high fashion, and was intensely private/guarded.
The Reaction: In the 90s, that behavior was “soft” or “secretive.” In the 2000s, because Brady was winning Super Bowls, that behavior was rebranded as “The Patriot Way.”
The Verdict: If Aikman acts like a “neat freak” in 2006, people don’t whisper; they say, “He has the discipline of a champion, just like Brady.”
2. The Rise of the “Metrosexual” (2003–2005)
Sociologically, this was a massive turning point for American men.
Around 2003, the term “metrosexual” (popularized by figures like David Beckham) made it socially acceptable for heterosexual men to care about hygiene, fashion, and home decor.
Aikman’s “Neatness”: In 1994, Switzer’s camp mocked Aikman for needing his locker perfectly organized. By 2004, buying expensive grooming products and having a spotless bachelor pad was just considered being a wealthy, modern man.
3. The Death of the “Playboy Mandate”
In the 90s, there was still a lingering pressure that if you were a star athlete, you had to be seen with women constantly to prove your virility (the “Wilt Chamberlain” model).
By the late 2000s, the culture had shifted toward privacy. Superstars like Derek Jeter (though he dated famous women) were praised for keeping their mouths shut and their lives private.
Aikman’s desire to go home and be alone would have been interpreted in 2008 not as “hiding something,” but as “staying out of trouble” in the age of TMZ.
4. The Jeff Garcia Test (The Counter-Point)
There is one caveat: 2004 might have still been a little too early.
In 2004, Terrell Owens famously implied his 49ers teammate Jeff Garcia was gay because Garcia was well-dressed and “soft-spoken.” It created a media firestorm similar to the Aikman situation.
However, the backlash to T.O. was much stronger than the backlash to Switzer. By 2004, the media was starting to say, “Hey, accusing someone of being gay as an insult is actually the problem here.”
Conclusion: By 2008, Troy Aikman would have just been viewed as an intense, disciplined professional. The very traits that Switzer’s camp used to “other” him in 1996 (sobriety, orderliness, distance) became the standard requirements for an elite NFL quarterback in the 21st century. He was just a man out of time.
Here is how the “Gay Rumors” would have played out in 1952, 1972, and 1982:
1. 1952: The “Company Man” (No Rumors)
If Aikman plays in 1952, he faces zero rumors. In fact, he is likely considered the perfect American male.
The Culture: This is the post-WWII era. Men were expected to be silent, disciplined, and rigid. The “Bachelor” stigma didn’t really exist in the same way; if you were single and focused on your job, you were just a “serious man.”
The Perception: His “neat freak” locker habits would be viewed as Military Discipline.
The Verdict: In 1952, Aikman isn’t “strange”; he is Otto Graham. He is the prototype.
2. 1972: The “Square” (No Rumors, just Mockery)
In 1972, Aikman would not be called gay, but he would be mocked as a “Square” or “Uptight.”
The Culture: This is the peak Joe Namath era. The “cool” quarterback wears fur coats, has long hair, and is seen with a different woman every night.
The Perception: Aikman (short hair, suits, goes home early) stands in total contrast to the sexual revolution. However, because the concept of an “Openly Gay Athlete” was culturally nonexistent (and the media protected players), no one would jump to that conclusion.
The Verdict: He would be viewed like Roger Staubach—respected for his play, but considered “lame” by the cool kids. People would just assume he was saving himself for marriage, not that he was hiding a secret life.
3. 1982: The “Danger Zone” (Rumors Begin)
1982 is the tipping point where it becomes dangerous for him. This is the year the “Bachelor Paradox” starts to turn toxic.
The Culture: The “Playboy” image is still required (think Dan Marino or Joe Montana), but the cultural awareness of gay men is rising (pre-AIDS crisis peak, but post-Village People).
The Shift: If you were a wealthy, handsome 30-year-old in 1982 and never seen with women, the whispers would start. This was the era where “Confirmed Bachelor” stopped meaning “hard to get” and started being a euphemism.
The Verdict: Yes, the rumors likely happen here. 1982 was a cynical time in sports media (the dawn of the 24-hour cycle was coming), and being “too perfect” was starting to look suspicious.
Summary Timeline
1952: He is a War Hero archetype. (Safe)
1972: He is a Nerd. (Safe)
1982: He is Suspect. (Not Safe)
1996: He is Target. (Peak Danger)
2008: He is a Professional. (Safe again)
Nobody called Roger Staubach gay.
In fact, if you tried to start that rumor in the 1970s, people would have looked at you like you were insane. Staubach was so culturally “insulated” from that specific accusation that it was impossible for it to stick.
Here is why Staubach (the 70s “Goody Two-Shoes”) was treated as a hero, while Aikman (the 90s “Goody Two-Shoes”) was treated as a suspect.
1. The Ultimate Shield: Marianne
The biggest difference was simple: Roger Staubach was married.
He married his childhood sweetheart, Marianne, in 1965—four years before he even started his NFL career.
By the time he was a star in the 70s, he had a visibly growing family (eventually five children).
The “Aikman Problem”: Troy Aikman was a wealthy, handsome bachelor in his 30s. In the eyes of gossips, a wife and kids are “proof” of normalcy; being single and private is a “vacuum” that people fill with rumors.
2. The “Captain America” vs. “The Square”
Staubach was mocked by his teammates, but the insults were totally different from the ones thrown at Aikman.
The Insult: Teammates like Hollywood Henderson and Duane Thomas didn’t think Staubach was gay; they thought he was a “Square” or a “Narc.”
The Vibe: Staubach was a devout Catholic, a Naval Academy graduate, and a Vietnam veteran. He didn’t drink, he didn’t party, and he was Tom Landry’s favorite.
To the “wild” players of the 70s (who were doing drugs and partying), Staubach wasn’t hiding a secret life; he was just boring. They saw him as a “Teacher’s Pet,” not a closeted man.
3. The Cultural “Pass” for Soldiers
This is a crucial 1970s factor. Staubach served a tour of duty in Vietnam before playing for the Cowboys.
In the 1970s, having a military background gave you an automatic “Man Card” that was unassailable.
Even though he was clean-cut and soft-spoken, no one questioned his toughness or virility because he had “served his time.” Aikman, coming up in the peace-time 90s, didn’t have that automatic cultural defense mechanism.
4. The “Sex Symbol” Difference
Strangely, Staubach was a massive sex symbol in the 70s, but in a very specific, wholesome way.
Women loved him because he was the “perfect husband” type.
Men respected him because he was “Roger the Dodger.”
Aikman was a sex symbol too, but his “perfect bachelor” status made people ask, “Why hasn’t he picked someone yet?” Staubach had already picked, so the mystery was gone.
Summary: Staubach was the “Dad” of the team, and everyone knew it. Aikman was the “Mystery” of the team, and the 90s Cowboys hated mysteries.
LF: I remember Tom Brookshire on CBS saying in a Dallas playoff victory over Minnesota that Roger Staubach ran like a sissy.
Tom Brookshier was a former rough-and-tumble defensive back (Eagles) who often viewed quarterbacks—even great ones—with a bit of disdain.
Your memory aligns perfectly with two well-documented facts about that era:
1. Roger Staubach’s “Awkward” Run
Roger Staubach was an incredible athlete, but he had a famously awkward gait.
The Style: He was pigeon-toed and often ran with high knees and flailing arms. It looked chaotic, even though he was actually very fast and elusive (hence “Roger the Dodger”).
The Commentary: It was very common for announcers in the 70s to poke fun at how he looked when he scrambled. They would say he looked “uncoordinated” or “scared,” even as he was gaining 20 yards.
2. Tom Brookshier’s “Loose Cannon” Mouth
Tom Brookshier was the “color man” for CBS (paired with Pat Summerall) precisely because he said things you weren’t supposed to say.
The “Tough Guy” Attitude: Brookshier was an old-school defensive player who had his career ended by a broken leg. He frequently mocked players he thought were “soft.”
The “Unfiltered” Style: He was eventually suspended and removed from top broadcasts in 1983 for saying the University of Louisville basketball team had “a collective IQ of about 40.”
It is now a matter of public record—confirmed by Pat Summerall himself—that he and Tom Brookshier were frequently hungover, and occasionally intoxicated, during their broadcasts.
While they weren’t necessarily “drunk” (slurring and stumbling) on air every single Sunday, they were functioning alcoholics who partied so hard the night before games that CBS eventually broke them up to save their lives.
Here is the truth about the “Brookshier & Summerall” era:
1. The “Saloon” Style
Pat Summerall (Play-by-Play) and Tom Brookshier (Color Commentary) were the #1 broadcast team for CBS in the 1970s.
The Vibe: They were incredibly popular because they sounded like “two guys sitting at a bar.” It turns out, that wasn’t an act.
The Routine: Summerall admitted in his autobiography that they would often stay up until 4:00 or 5:00 AM drinking before a 1:00 PM kickoff. Summerall said they would take “enough painkillers to kill a horse” to manage the hangover and get through the broadcast.
2. The Breaking Point: Super Bowl XIV (1980)
The moment that likely doomed their partnership was Super Bowl XIV (Steelers vs. Rams).
The Performance: They called the game, but network executives felt they were “uninspired” and lacked energy. It was widely rumored inside CBS that they had partied too hard the night before and were exhausted on air.
The Consequence: CBS executives realized the two of them were enabling each other. In 1981, they made the controversial decision to split them up.
They moved Summerall to work with John Madden (who didn’t drink), hoping it would “dry him out.” It worked, and Summerall/Madden became the greatest duo in history.
3. The “Horse” Story
The most famous story about their drinking days—which Summerall confirmed—involved a night in New York City.
After a night of heavy drinking, they saw a horse-drawn carriage. They invited the carriage driver up to their hotel room for more drinks.
They then decided the horse should come up too. They allegedly tried to push the horse into the hotel elevator before hotel security stopped them.
4. The Sad Reality
While the stories are often told as “funny 70s folklore,” Summerall later revealed how dark it actually was.
Bleeding on the Plane: Summerall once nearly bled to death on a flight because his stomach lining had been destroyed by the combination of vodka and ibuprofen.
The Intervention: In 1992, Summerall’s family staged an intervention to get him into the Betty Ford Clinic. The person they brought in to read the letter and convince him to go? Tom Brookshier.
Despite being his drinking buddy, Brookshier told him, “I’ll go to the ends of the earth with you, Pat, but you need help.”
So yes, you were watching two men who were essentially functioning through a fog of alcohol for a large part of that decade.
Howard Cosell had a few infamous moments where he was visibly (and audibly) intoxicated on air, and Joe Namath provided arguably the most famous example of the modern era.
Here is the breakdown of the “Hall of Fame” of broadcasters who were drunk on live TV.
1. Howard Cosell: “The Philadelphia Incident” (1970)
This is the “Holy Grail” of drunk broadcasting stories because it involved the entire Monday Night Football booth.
The Setup: It was a freezing cold night in Philadelphia (Giants vs. Eagles). Before the game, Cosell had attended a dinner where he reportedly downed multiple vodka martinis to “warm up.”
The Incident: By the first quarter, Cosell was slurring his words heavily. He famously tried to say “Philadelphia” but it came out as “Fulladlufya.”
The Climax: Just before halftime, Cosell reportedly threw up on Don Meredith’s cowboy boots inside the booth.
The Cover-Up: ABC executives pulled the plug on his mic and removed him from the booth at halftime. They told the audience he had taken ill with a “virus.” He was put in a limo and sent back to New York.
2. Joe Namath: The “Suzy Kolber” Incident (2003)
This is the one you likely remember vividly because it was so cringe-inducing.
The Context: It was a Saturday night game (Jets vs. Patriots). The Jets were losing badly. ESPN cut to the sideline for an interview with Namath, who was there for a celebratory event.
The Incident: Suzy Kolber asked him a standard question about the Jets’ struggles. Namath, swaying and glassy-eyed, ignored the question and said, “I want to kiss you. I couldn’t care less about the team struggling.”
The Aftermath: It was humiliating, but it actually saved his life. Namath later admitted he had been drinking all day. Seeing that clip the next morning convinced him to finally get sober, and he hasn’t had a drink since.
3. Harry Caray: The “Mayor of Rush Street”
Unlike Cosell or Namath, who had “incidents,” Harry Caray essentially made being buzzed part of his brand.
The “Method”: Harry famously kept a “drinking diary” in 1972 which revealed he spent 288 consecutive nights in bars.
The Broadcast: Fans loved it when Harry sounded tipsy. In the late innings of Cubs games, he would often mispronounce names backwards, go on long tangents about people in the crowd, or slur through “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
The Difference: Because he was a “fan’s announcer” in the bleachers (spiritually), people didn’t get offended; they felt like they were drinking with him.
4. Pat Summerall & Tom Brookshier: The “Painkiller” Years
As we discussed, this was less about “sounding drunk” and more about “functioning while intoxicated.”
The Reality: Pat Summerall admitted that during many of those late 70s broadcasts, they were operating on a mix of vodka and painkillers to manage the hangovers from the night before.
There were games where Summerall’s usually crisp delivery would become incredibly minimalist (often just saying the player’s last name and nothing else) because he was trying to focus enough not to slur.
5. Don Meredith: The “Country Lawyer” Act
“Dandy Don” Meredith was the third member of that Cosell booth, and he was often just as lubricated.
He famously drank during games (sometimes from a flask or cup in the booth).
His “drunkest” sounding moments were usually when the game was a blowout. He would start singing Willie Nelson songs or tell meandering stories about his playing days in Dallas, much to Cosell’s annoyance.
Note: He was rarely “Cosell Drunk” (slurring), but he was often “Happy Drunk” (singing).
Summary:
Cosell: Angry Drunk (fought with Al Michaels, threw up on boots).
Namath: Amorous Drunk (“I want to kiss you”).
Caray: Happy Drunk (“Holy Cow!”).
Summerall: Functioning Drunk (Stoic).
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This story is overriding tribal bias because it has graduated from political accusation to federal forensic reality.
The “culture war” version of this story is “Right-wing YouTuber films empty building.” The “bipartisan reality” version is “Progressive Attorney General and Federal Prosecutors indict dozens for a $9 billion theft.”
The most important factor breaking the tribal seal is that the loudest alarms are no longer coming just from Fox News. They are coming from the Minnesota Reformer, a non-profit news outlet with no conservative allegiance.
When a “MAGA” outlet says there is fraud, liberals can dismiss it as racism. When the Minnesota Reformer publishes detailed exposés on how “autism centers” are hiring untrained teenagers and billing Medicaid millions, it forces the local Democratic establishment to respond.
The reporting has revealed that this isn’t just a few “kingpins” stealing money. The fraud relies on mass participation via kickbacks. Parents were allegedly paid $1,000–$1,500 per month in cash to enroll their healthy children in fake therapy. This detail changes the story from a “racial attack” to a “systemic economic corruption” story that sociologists and policy wonks cannot ignore.
The Nick Shirley “viral video” claimed fraud. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson (a career federal prosecutor) dropped the hammer by estimating the fraud at $9 billion. Thompson is not a political appointee making a speech; he is a prosecutor filing indictments. When he stated that “half or more” of the $18 billion spent on these programs might be fraudulent, it made it impossible for the Walz administration to dismiss the issue as “right-wing noise.”
Initially, defenders tried to say the investigation was biased. But the sheer volume of guilty pleas (dozens of people admitting they stole the money) has made that defense untenable. You can’t claim “bias” when the defendants are confessing in court.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (one of the most progressive AGs in the country) is not fighting these charges—he is partnering on them. Ellison joining the press conferences with federal prosecutors sends a massive signal to the Left: It is okay to acknowledge this fraud. It gives “permission” for liberals to be angry about the theft without feeling like they are betraying their tribe or being “Islamophobic.” Ellison and others are successfully reframing the narrative: The victims aren’t the taxpayers (a conservative talking point), but the disabled children who are being used as pawns for cash. This allows the Left to enter the conversation on their own moral terms.
Governor Tim Walz’s administration has effectively surrendered to the reality of the fraud, even while complaining about the “tone” of the criticism. Walz has hired Optum (a massive corporate auditor) to review claims and has frozen payments to the childcare sector. You don’t freeze an entire sector’s funding because of a “culture war.” You do it because the books are cooked. This administrative action validates the core complaint of the critics, effectively ending the debate on whether the fraud is real.
The story has transcended “Tribal Bias” because the evidence is now structural, not anecdotal.
Tribal Story: “Somalis are stealing money.” (Easily dismissed by the Left).
Post-Tribal Story: “The Minnesota Department of Human Services removed all oversight controls, allowing a kickback economy to flourish where parents and fake providers split billions in Medicaid dollars, depriving actual disabled kids of resources.” (Impossible to ignore).
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff)
