Former Progressive Stars Who Attacked Democrats from the Left, Now Right Wing Shills

[TomCADem]

Tulsi Gabbard, Ed Schultz, RFK, Jr., Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, Jonathan Turley, etc.

These were once prominent "progressive" figures who were frequently quoted in progressive media, including this board, to attack and criticize Democrats from the "left" for not being progressive enough. Of course, they have since become fixtures on right wing or Russian media, if not members of the Trump administration.

There is always a temptation for progressives and Democrats to take advantage of the propaganda focused algorithms of social media by attacking Democrats from the left. Thus, whenever Trump or Republicans take any unlawful or racist action, rather than focusing on the actions of Trump or Republicans, the statements that go "viral" are the ones that blame Democrats, who do not control any branch of government, for not doing enough to stop the Republicans.

Not too long ago, Tulsi Gabbard used this opportunistic approach to attack Hillary Clinton from the "left," and you had pro-Tulsi progressives in social media attacking Hillary Clinton and other "establishment" Democrats, which helped lead to Trump's first victory. Now Tulsi Gabbard is a partner in crime with Donald Trump. Glenn Greenwald was also once widely quoted on DU for attacking Democrats from the "left," but is now shilling for Trump on Fox News. You also have Matt Taibbi, who was once a progressive who was known for attacking prominent Democrats for not being progressive enough, but now spends more time attacking "groupthink" on the left. Jonathan Turley is once respected law professor who went from cautioning against Dubya's Constitutional over reach and voting for President Obama to being a paid Fox News commentator who rails against activist judges blocking Trump's agenda.

So, beware of Democrats and progressives who begin to gain social media traction for attacking or blaming the Democratic "establishment even as Trump engages in more extreme right wing actions. It could just be a matter of time before another "progressive" star who rides a wave of social media popularity gets groomed to become a right wing mouth piece.

[MineralMan]

1. So You Noticed That, Too...

Hard to miss. And yet...

[TomCADem]

6. Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left

One of The Nation's writers wrote a book about the whole phenomena. It is sock puppetry through manipulation as you groom and reward progressive voices by liking and boosting their statements that attack Democrats while criticizing and ignoring posts that attack Trump and other right wingers.

https://www.amazon.com/Owned-Billionaires-Bought-Loudest-Voices/dp/1645030466/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PSJYRREYRR19&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oSooqcjhwMzA4t48n4rtLw.2fcZVzK5wUvoHmnr2homru3J4SRjm0BiAsFnK6qno1o&dib_tag=se&keywords=owned%3A+How+Tech+Billionaires+on+the+Right+Bought+the+Loudest+Voices+on+the+Left&qid=1743270091&sprefix=owned+how+tech+billionaires+on+the+right+bought+the+loudest+voices+on+the+left%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1

A “devastating” (Nation) examination of how a cabal of tech-billionaires is colluding with once-idealistic journalists to create an entirely new media landscape

Owned is the story of the underreported and growing collusion between new wealth and new journalism. In recent years, right-wing billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and David Sacks have turned to media as their next investment and source of influence. Their cronies are Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi—once known as idealistic and left-leaning voices, now beneficiaries of Silicon Valley largesse. Together, this new alliance aims to exploit the failings of traditional journalism and undermine the very idea of an independent and fact-based fourth estate.

Owned examines how this shift has allowed spectacularly wealthy reactionaries to pursue their ultimate goal of censoring critics so to further their own business interests—and personal vendettas—entirely unimpeded while also advancing a toxic and antidemocratic ideology.

[MineralMan]

10. People like Greenwald and Taibbi are not really progressives.

They are far closer to being libertarians. Sometimes, libertarian ideas can seem progressive, but only if not examined closely.

Elon Musk has strong libertarian tendencies, too. However, he can render a Nazi salute with the worst of them. Still, there are points at which his philosophies cross paths with the Greenwalds and Taibbis.

Fascinating stuff. Pointing it out, though, can get a guy in trouble from many different directions.

[question everything]

2. Self centered individuals need constant attention. When no more is coming, or not adequate

they “take the ball and go home.”

[ismnotwasm]

3. Yup

That’s why particular, and noticeable methods of criticizing Democrats are always a red flag.

[Sneederbunk]

4. Ed Schultz has not been shilling much since he died in 2018.

[elocs]

5. Well I hope he died because they done buried him. n/t

[TomCADem]

9. But Before He Died, He Had a Very Lucrative Gig at RT

Of course, through the use of social media algorthms, you can be much more subtle in influencing progressive influencers then simply hiring them to anchor a Russian propaganda outlet.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/05/media/ed-schultz-death/index.html

A longtime resident of Minnesota, Schultz distinguished himself from other liberal pundits with his gruff, blue collar style. His broadcast career took off with a radio show in Fargo, North Dakota, but he rose to national prominence at MSNBC, where he hosted a show for six years until it was canceled in 2015.

Schultz was hired by the network at the outset of Barack Obama's presidency, and -- true to his staunchly pro-labor ethos -- he used his program to drive up support for the effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in 2012. But Schultz left MSNBC three years ago as the network reshuffled its programming lineup, ultimately landing at RT America in 2016. It was at the Russian-funded outlet where Schultz's career took a turn.

Once a strong critic of Vladimir Putin, Schultz turned dismissive of the allegations that the Russian government was involved in hacking the 2016 election, echoing the argument from many on the left that it's simply an excuse for Hillary Clinton's defeat. In 2017, a month in Donald Trump's presidency, Schultz even spoke on a panel at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, an event he once compared to Nazi Germany.

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. Worth noting Taibbi spent several years in Russia

He called the allegations that there was Russian tampering in the 2016 election "mostly bullshit". How exactly would he know? Like Bill Maher, I used to like Taibbi, but now I find both of them just arrogant white guys with a strong stench of misogyny. They like to fuck women, but they don't respect them.

[SnoopDog]

8. If you are not allowed to criticize your party...

How will the party ever grow?

I am a progressive FDR Democrat. FDR won 4 presidential elections. People loved him. He brought Social Security to America. I will ALWAYS fight for progressive values like Medicare for All, taxing the obscene rich, addressing climate change, ensuring fair and accurate elections, Social Security, unions, clean energy just to name a few.

So-called 'progressive' Democrats like in your examples (e.g. Gabbard) were NEVER progressive otherwise they would never go to the dark side. These people were/are opportunists getting their name and face in the lime light so to speak.

The Democratic Part is made up of every type of political persuasions. Yes, I will criticize 'corporate Democrats' and democrats who won't vote for Medicare for All, or the Manchins' and Sinema's who are traitors to the Dem Party.

And I still don't see the Democratic Party Leadership doing anything to fight the take over of our country.

[Prairie Gates]

11. Greenwald, Taibbi, Gabbard, and Schultz all Putinites

Unfortunately there's one more that Cannot Be Mentioned.

Ahem.

[betsuni]

12. Tulsi, Kennedy, Nina Turner, Cornel West, Greenwald & Snowden, The Young Turks -- those types.

The most vicious lies, slander, conspiracy theories about Democrats but they were nice "progressives" speaking truth to power simply because they said so, right up until there were no more excuses and embarrassingly obvious.

And the purposefully divisive attacks on Democrats as both sides establishment/centrist/roadblocks to progress vs the pure righteous anti-establishment populist "progressives" continues to help Republicans.