Zachary A Mueller

The Middle Squeeze Naming the organizing story of America’s authoritarian nationalist movement

From @zacharyamueller.bsky.social:

Naming the organizing story of America’s authoritarian nationalist movement

open.substack.com/pub/zacharya...

The years long coordinated effort to mainstream the “invasion” lie wasn’t incidental nor campaign hyperbole it was intentional. Built for this moment, the invasion lie becomes the public justification for authoritarian mobilization, eroding the functioning of democratic society.

"Three down arrows" is being widely interpreted as an antifa logo. But the full description of the inscription is "up right down down down," and the other inscription, "Hey fascist, catch!" both come from the game Helldivers 2.

Online culture is such a morass of symbols/meanings. Watch your step.

have any Latino or immigration groups pushed this idea on the hill yet?

They could also be pushing for Dems to claw back the $170 billion Stephen Miller got in GOP ugly bill to finance kidnapping, profiling and concentration camps - it's clear people hate what they're seeing. Make it an issue

Yesterday, Charlie Kirk posted what amounts to an AI summary of the white nationalist novel “The Camp of the Saints” - a fan favorite of Steve Bannon & Stephen Miller - that pushes the replacement theory lie that has inspired multiple mass murders.

This is their movement, it’s what they believe.

you and your @newdems.bsky.social colleagues focus on that 2024 border bill like it's the magic bullet. But, we're dealing with mass deportations now

how can your plan not even mention ICE or the $50 billion Stephen Miller just got to build concentration camps? what's your plan for that?

Charlie Kirk isn’t just some freak on the internet, he is, but he is also a major player of the American right and a leading figure in the neonationalist movement seeking to bring about a 21st-century American authoritarianism.

This is their movement, and what it is about.

The language of “cockroaches” is nothing other than explicit racism.

What is happening here is what happened in Charlottesville in 2017, a racist march with replacement theory chants. Just this time it is coordinated from the White House not just with the stamp of approval afterwards.

The propagandists running the @DHSgov account are deliberately pushing thinly-veiled neo-Nazi material through the official communications channels of the U.S. government. Their goal is stirring outrage (to which they will express fake outrage) and signaling to their followers where they're going.

Joe Kent’s record is clear:
❌ Smears human rights advocates
❌ Labels protesters as terrorists
❌ Pushes deportations w/out due process

The Senate must reject his nomination to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. Voters already rejected him twice. Your senators should do the same.

(⬇️ LINKS ⬇️)

Good Skews: How Public Opinion Is Turning Against Trump’s Immigration Agenda with Zachary Mueller Why the Far Right’s Billion-Dollar Deportation Agenda Is Losing Ground with the American Public

Good Skews with Matt Hildreth: How Public Opinion Is Turning Against Trump’s Immigration Agenda with @zacharyamueller.bsky.social
weeklyskews.substack.com/p/good-skews...

I think I've figured out the game that Dems bashing "The Groups" are playing. It creates a way for them to adopt cautious, risk-averse, extremely-poll-tested positions while simultaneously posing as daring and courageous. A clever move. It gets NYT to quote you!

www.offmessage.net/p/the-wrong-...

Lots of Dems, their consultants and savvy pundits have not caught up with the public. They are stuck in their 2024 CW

Stephen Miller has forced a reckoning and the overwhelming majorly reject it

That Dems should lean in seems like a no-brainer but that hill group-think can be impenetrable

JD Vance: Some Americans Are More American Than Others The day after President Trump signed a bill that throws unprecedented amounts...

In a speech to the far-right Claremont Institute, VP JD Vance tried to push a dramatically reduced vision of American citizenship.

This, combined with the vast new resources for ICE, is a 5-alarm moment.

JD Vance: Some Americans Are More American Than Others talkingpointsmemo.com/news/jd-vanc...

Over the last several cycles politicians exploited the fentanyl crisis for their own selfish ends - see JD Vance - they offered a toxic brew of bad nativist "solutions." We need to get familiar with a better workable alternative, @kfrydl.bsky.social is the place to start.

Tariffs can’t defeat the fentanyl problem in the US Forget tariffs. Another tool of economic statecraft is far better suited to the problem of illegally manufactured fentanyl.

"All told, fentanyl border adjustments provide an exit strategy away from counterproductive tariffs; an off-ramp from the failure of militant supply-side counternarcotics policy; and a much-needed complement to evidence-based interventions designed to address the demand for illegal drugs."

Tariffs can’t defeat the fentanyl problem in the US Forget tariffs. Another tool of economic statecraft is far better suited to the problem of illegally manufactured fentanyl.

There is a case to be made against tariffs imposed in the name of fentanyl...

...that is also a case against the counterproductive drug war.

To do better, we must do differently.

New from me:

Instead, they should truly lean into what their name implies calling for a revival of American democracy because what is broken will not be fixed by border policy reforms and we should be honest about that fact. We need a revitalizing to achieve a responsive democracy.

The conclusion: the immigration ‘debate’ is not one about boarder policy but it’s the politcal battleground between American democracy versus American authoritarianism it. Dems shouldn’t respond to this moment with policy and head nods to the new nationalists who say our neighbors are a threat.

Working people understand our system is broken their concerns are not heard and more important responded to will the real fixes, democracy is malfunctioning and Miller and the like are filling that gap with a story that makes our immigrant neighbors, the villain.

They tell our neighbors ‘if there are less un-Americans around wages will go up crime will go down and you will have a community where you feel like you belong’ - this is a convincing story. It just so happens to be an authoritarian lie.

3. What Miller, Bannon and the new nationalist movement understand is that the American democracy is broken, its not working for working people, and are offering authoritarianism its place (which is why they actively helped sabotage American democracy). Their vehicle for ‘selling’ this is nativism.

The talk of making great again isn’t backward focused but future focused unlike the conservative Dems that currently dominate the leadership of the party. Working people are struggling have been struggling and realize something is deeply broken. We don’t want the status quo but a better future.

This new nationalist movement - championed by the likes of Miller - are effective at foiling policy because he understands politics. But this leads to point 2: conservative Dems are still only offering the status quo a going back to the days of Bill Clinton, missing the very appeal of Trump.

Good policy means nothing without the power to implement it. Dems have called for largely the same policy for decades but haven’t been able to deliver because there is a social movement that has out maneuvered them to block reform because they belief immigrants are a threat to “real” Americans.

1. We cannot solve a political fight with a policy debate.

The whole part of this challenge is framed as a question of a policy question about managing forced global migration - a change yes, but one where the policy is clear, effective, and know to issue experts - but the problem is political.

Can Democrats Find Their Way on Immigration?

I have 3 comments & a conclusion about this lengthy NYTimes piece - but to be clear it less about the piece itself then the ‘debate’ about immigration between anyone left of Stephen Miller. 🧵👇

NYT, lots of Dems, Dem consultants look solely thru 2024 election lens. That's not the world we're in

Stephen Miller is enacting his mass deportation agenda that many didn't think was real. Growing majorities are opposed as they see it up close

Miller has forced a reckoning. Dems need to seize it

Why aren't Democratic Leaders, their party institutions talking about all of this? They should hammer home the point re devastating cuts to healthcare causing millions to lose healthcare and thousands dying.

But, this is also beyond dire. Why the general silence? (1/2)

Opinion: Missouri Sen. Schmitt shouldn't be employing a Nazi apologist Missourians of all races, places, and backgrounds believe in pitching in to make our communities thrive. In the wake of the recent tornado devastation across greater St. Louis, so many

“Someone with Hochman’s hateful ideas has no place advising on the policy that is best for Missouri families.

If Sen. Schmitt truly wishes to represent all Missourians, he must replace Nathan with someone who actually represents our values to protect our families, our freedoms, and our futures.“