106: Episode 77: TikTok Ban, MAGA Violence, & Right Wing Cognitive Dissonance

Here's Episode 77 of Michigan's premier progressive podcast!Vote on this week's Left of Lansing Online Poll via Twitter or X: Does Social Media help or hurt the political process?On this week's show, Pat talks about how Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt's ridiculous and disturbing State of the Union response showed how the White Christian Nationalist movement dominates the Republican Party. Pat compares her speech to that of Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's SOTU response in 2020, and the differences could not be starker. Even more, Britt's speech was designed to not just show how women "love kitchen," but it was designed to also stoke fear. That's a reliable aspect in the right wing playbook, and Pat explains how his time in right wing talk radio taught him how fear is vital in the right wing's propaganda strategy.Which then leads Pat to criticize Democrats in Congress for going along with Republicans to vote on banning TikTok. Democrats went along with the Republican xenophobic games to get rid of a platform that connects millions of young voters across the country. Michigan Democrats took over the state legislature, re-elected Gov. Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson because young voters showed-up at the polls in 2022! And we also enshrined abortion rights in our state's constitution! How did that happen? Progressive groups, Gov. Whitmer's campaign, and the state Democratic Party's social media outreach via TikTok! And now, Democrats in Congress want to ban the platform that helps their voter outreach. Make it make sense!Pat's "Last Call" focuses on one of his favorite parts of the weird, warped, right wing world: Cognitive Dissonance. Please, subscribe to the podcast, download each episode, and give it a good review if you [email protected]