Republicans love it when a liberal says something vaguely conservative, or even expressly so. It immediately is tweeted, retweeted or straight out stolen by content thieves desperate for engagement clicks for cash and goes viral. People get excited and elevate the person who said it, they’re praised on cable news and talk radio, maybe even invited to speak at various conservative conferences. It’s stupid, damaging to the cause and needs to end.
It's great clickbait, and who doesn’t love that, but it’s not helpful. It’s not helpful because it never works out to our benefit.
I enjoy Bill Maher’s comedy and show, even though I largely disagree with his politics. I do wish he’d have conservatives on with content in the front of their underpants, but that’s a matter of style. He is a committed liberal, having donated $1 million of his own money to reelected Barack Obama in 2012. That he occasionally says something sane is more of a bug, not a feature.
When Maher says something on teenage genital mutilation or the progressive left’s embrace of anti-Semitism, it is cheered on the right. I get it, it’s good to hear someone articulate common sense conservative principles to an audience that doesn’t normally hear them. But make no mistake, that’s all it is. It is not the makings of a change in Maher’s philosophy or thinking. He has pledged his unwavering support for reelecting Joe Biden, so whatever disagreements he has on some policies don’t matter, he hates you more.
Joe Rogan, same thing. He’s the most popular podcaster on the planet and, sometimes, says things that conservatives agree with. That doesn’t make him a conservative. He may well vote for Donald Trump, but even that won’t make him a conservative. He will, and already has if you listen, say something that will make you recoil. If you don’t elevate him, as a person, only what he says, then you won’t be let down or disappointed.
Also, when you elevate someone for saying something you agree with, you elevate everything they say. If you just elevate the one thing they say, that happens to much lesser degree. The right tends to embrace “celebrities” who say things moderately conservative because there are so few celebrities who are openly conservative that people or organizations flock to anyone who even expresses common sense.
This is a mistake.
Separate the person from what they say. Anyone can say something right on occasion. But if you praise them rather than what they said with the caveat that they’re generally wrong otherwise, you give the left the ability to kneecap your argument with something else they’ve said.
It’s not, however, only celebrities conservatives do this to, it’s sometimes the very young. There have been people who’ve been given prime speaking slots at events like CPAC – the Conservative Political Action Conference – in the past because they had a video where they said something conservative that went viral. Then, when they’ve finished puberty and went to college, they turn into left-wingers because that’s what happens to some kids. They’re then weaponized by the left against the right because the left will use anything and anyone.
In reality, the sentiments should have been elevated, not the person, especially kids. They don’t know what the hell they’re doing or think about much yet, their worldview is formed by Legos.
It’s too tempting, however, for far too many on the right to play is smart. Rather than point out what Bill Mahar says that is true, you praise Bill Maher and then he smacks you upside the head. You cheer Joe Rogan for a conversation he had, then watch as he gets stoned and calls for universal health care. Elon Musk sees the insanity of open borders, opposes mutilating the genitals of children, and is a champion of free speech, and should be praised as such, but he is not a champion of conservatism beyond that. He might become one at some point, they all might, but they aren’t now. They’re just popular and rich, and popular and rich people will never lack in others sucking up to them to either bask in reflected glory or pick change out of couch cushions.
If you embrace someone, you’ll have to answer for everything they’ve said. If you embrace ideals, you can use anything anyone says to make your case. The former is easier and more popular, the latter is much more effective in the long run.
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.