Tucker Carlson: "Our population is too big" and "past a certain scale, democracy can't function"

[RandySF]

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Media Matters
@mmfa
Tucker Carlson: “Our population is too big” and “past a certain scale, democracy can’t function”

[pbmus]

1. Ignorant FUCK...

[patphil]

2. And Mr. Carlson is doing what he can to insure his words are prophetic.

But, he's just pathetic.

[ecstatic]

3. Good point, tuckems. Rethugs should move to Russia

and leave us alone.

[Ocelot II]

4. Well, he's been doing his part to make the population smaller.

[Bev54]

9. Exactly!

[spooky3]

5. So that's why Faux is trying to kill off its viewership via COVID?

[mahina]

6. What a load of bullshit

What is the softening the ground for exactly

Breaking up into -stans or authoritarian domination?

Isn’t he wrapping himself in the constitution this afternoon? Kissing the flag?? No?

[Deuxcents]

7. Too top heavy?

Too many morons like you? Ok..bye. Ok..seriously..Really? WTF is he saying?

[I_UndergroundPanther]

8. Tucker why dont you do your duty

And kill off the extra humanity that are holding this country hostage to 1950's nostalgia by offing your miserable self. Put your money where your mouth is Fucker.
Why not take the billionairs with you..while your'e at it take the entire republican party with you too ,and dont forget every single magat terrorist,and all the uptight bigoted preachers too.Take the nazis and homo/transphobes.
The mysogynists and incels.
Get all the dark triads and bullies and every rapist and every last pedophile.

After you do that,I will say thank you and say you aren't a toxic hypocrite.

Leave this world to save the world,Tucker.

That would be a greatest service to America you could ever do.

[BootinUp]

10. I remember how stupid the RW was, to me,

During the first Reagan term. To be honest they are about the same. The difference is they have been chipping away at government for 40 years now with only limited periods of relief.

[Progressive Jones]

14. That was the beginning of this end we're at. I've been railing against the right since the '70s.

I'm not the only one. What kills me for years now is how politically ignorant and lazy the majority of Americans are. And this goes for "both sides of the aisle", although it seems to really affect the right, and "The Middle". It's maddening that so many Americans won't involve themselves.

Thankfully, The Left has the edge on intelligence and character.

[mzmolly]

11. ?

[Solly Mack]

12. Then Carlson must think it a good thing so many right-wingers are dying.

[Metaphorical]

13. Segmentation

I've come to believe that, if you look deep enough into organizations such as ALEC and other GOP "think tanks" (cough cough), the realization has set in that they can no longer keep control of the country through democratic means. The only alternative is to carve off a part of the country that they can completely dominate. Of course, each part of the they - corporate oligarchs, religious fundamentalists and libertarians - believe that they will be the ones in charge, which should get really interesting to watch if they actually pull off the deconstruction of the country.

I wouldn't be surprised if you hear growing calls from the RW for a new constitutional convention over the next decade, especially if the pesky Democrats remain in power.

[Progressive Jones]

16. They seem to be stuck at the 15 States they claim would go for a constitutional convention. nt

[Haggard Celine]

21. That's more or less what I think.

Of course Tucker is working for a hostile foreign power, trying to split this country up so that we're no longer a threat to their ambitions. And I also think we're going to see them call for a constitutional convention, only it'll be a lot sooner than 10 years, I think.

[zaj]

22. Yes, and *No*

Yes on the idea of "segmentation". Hell no on a constitutional convention. That will blow so many things wide open.

If we can create regional constitutions (like balkanized regions). with a smaller footprint federal government, then maybe. But in that order.

[Klaralven]

27. The political divide is not regional or state by state

The political divide is urban centers versus the rural and small city areas.

Upstate NY and Central Valley CA are politically similar to rural Texas and Kansas/Missouri, while the urban core of Houston and Kasas City are similar to New York City and Los Angeles.

The suburbs are the dividing lines.

[kysrsoze]

15. There are too many idiots... like him. Fucking nazi.

[zaj]

20. This is the most moderate (ratical idea) I've seen from him in a while.

[brush]

26. That's what I'm afraid of. Is he trying to set up his audience...

to accept a nazi-like "final solution" to rid the country of undesirable?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. What tucker is saying that democracy does not work if there are too many nonwhites voting

[zaj]

19. There's a reason that nordic countries are democratic socialist success stories

Democracy and diversity work against each other. Like it or not, 40-50% of voters want different things. We are forcing each other to accept a permanent loss of their own values.

We need to find a middle-way.

[Celerity]

30. We are NOT democratic socialists.

My dog, how many times is this false positing going to be tossed out here, month after month, year after year?

We have an extremely vibrant capitalist economies (also very well regulated) that work synergistically with expansive social welfare states and large unionisation rates to provide an extremely high standard of living, including very low wealth inequality, the lowest in the world for any region, by far.

In Sweden, the actual socialists and/or communists have NEVER once been in power. In fact they have never even been an official ruling coalition partner in any government with the Social Democrats, who are the largest single party here for going on a century now. At most they (the socialists) have entered into a confidence and supply scheme with the Social Democrats at times.

Also we, (especially Sweden, where I live), are far more diverse than we were 20, 30 years ago. Sweden's population has a higher percentage of first and second generation non Western European descent immigrants than the US does. We will pass 30% in a couple years. Malmö, (across the Oresund Bridge from Copenhagen, Denmark) our third largest city and metro area, is the biggest city in the EU that has a majority non native-decent population, well over 50% now.

[machoneman]

33. Exactly! Too many non-white, poor, underprivileged voters mess up the rich white man's vision...

of a totalitarian's Republican total dominance of government.

Fool!

[Irish_Dem]

23. This has been Putin's goal all along.

Tucker is mouthing those talking points. Laying the groundwork for the US to break up into smaller units.

The demise of the United States.

Right now, I think it will go state by state.
Various states are already refusing to follow federal law.
States refusing to honor federal election results.

[zaj]

25. Yep, but what other actionable solution will work?

Putin wants a weakened EU and a weakened US.

He's used social media, propaganda, and real divisions to threaten democracy. It's working, because our divisions are not fleeting. They are fundamental.

[Hortensis]

29. One authoritarian state now, of course. The balkanization

you envision might occur over time, decades. But only if the authoritarian government currently being planned couldn't maintain control. With Russia (11 time zones) and China (1.4 B people) in mind, I believe the assumption that "balkanization" is our future should be reexamined.

The RW traitors and Putin are pushing the same lie to the same people: that democracy is proven to fail and needs to be replaced by authoritarian government that is proven to succeed. Like Russia's.

This "balkanization" nonsense is just keeping the Kool-Aid topped up. It's also hugely racist in appeal. Most of those it's most aimed at (their hardcores a significant 8% of Americans) have bought into the great replacement conspiracy theory, that minorities are replacing whites, who will lose their rights. It offers the "appealing" solution of white nationalist segregation. But first, their very own white nationalist leader.



It should be helpful about now to touch ground and remember that:

1. ALL the authoritarian states, RW, LW or hybrid, created early last century either destroyed themselves dreadfully or survive as underdeveloped/troubled nations with a few people controlling and exploiting impoverished and oppressed populations.
2. ALL of the planet's advanced, prosperous states whose people enjoy great wellbeing and freedom are western liberal democracies. Those include the United States.

No coincident in any of that. It's baked into the form of government.

[Irish_Dem]

31. Both Putin and Beijing desire western democracies weakened.

Perhaps Saudi is also in the mix, who knows?

China is set to be a 21st century superpower, and needs the US in a weakened state to achieve its short and long term goals.

In a typical military/CIA psy-ops program, the target country's greatest weaknesses are used to bring down the country. Racism is America's original sin and Putin is using it to damage our democracy and country.

Yes Putin is hitting the US with every psy-op KGB trick at his disposal. It was like taking candy from a baby, it was so easy. The GOP enthusiastically lined up as his field troops. The GOP has been waging a war against democracy and Dems for decades. Putin just upped the ante.

Humans seem to have an innate deep seated distrust and fear of "the other." It is easy for maniacal leaders to exploit this fear to create division and hatred. Once that is done, it justifies all kinds of atrocities and power consolidation.

The US is in a civil war. Civilian casualties mount by the day (covid and gun violence.) Putin and the GOP continue to put civilians at risk by promoting conspiracy theories and other propaganda. All done to gain political and personal power and wealth.

I found your first post rather profound, spot on and chilling. Of course that is the end game. We can see it now. Each GOP state drawing the battle lines. Refusing to recognize the outcome of elections when they lose. Refusing to follow federal law, becoming their own country. Spouting the Putin/GOP party line. State governors/congress grabbing more and more power. Refusing to accept federal law or elections, but always with their hand out for federal help and dollars.

And then as you suggest, these states will band together to form regional groups.

I have been studying WWII in hopes of gaining some insight into our current situation. The Japanese and German people believed their leaders' propaganda and lies. Believed they were racially superior to others, and were firm in their beliefs that there was an enemy to be eradicated at any cost. They were also firm in their belief they would win the war and were shocked and devastated when they lost. It took the total destruction of their countries for them to accept reality.

In terms of actionable solutions to prevent all of this from happening here in the US, the first step is to recognize what is happening. I think the American people, over the decades have been desensitized to the GOP machinations as just "politics as usual." It is time now to see more clearly. Perhaps it is time for a reality/truth psy-op program. To see if we can combat the GOP/Putin lies and propaganda. I think the Lincoln Project was trying to do that, but they seem to have gone silent for the time being.

[Hortensis]

34. A lot of thinking is being affected by anxiety and uncertainty.

Threats require focus and focus magnifies. It's not that they aren't real, but.

Maybe study what happened DURING AND AFTER WWII to all involved nations. The winners. The losers.
And the losers who became winners.

Democracy won. And where it didn't, people suffered under the results.

Germany, which brought destruction on itself and caused enormous harm to the rest of the planet, 15 years later was largely rebuilt as a western liberal democracy (CRITICAL factor in its success) and beginning a long period of prosperity that was unimagined before and continues to this day.

Notably, Germany was helped on this successful course by western liberal democracies that it had tried but failed to destroy.

Government of, by and for the people is not just the most desirable form by far, it's powerful. All others have so far been losers in comparison. Typically very tragic losers.

[Irish_Dem]

36. But we paid a terrible price. 80 million dead and destruction

of entire countries. The suffering and death toll was horrific.

And we could have lost the war, victory was not certain.

Democracy is much more fragile than we thought.

[Hortensis]

41. WE paid a price for fighting authoritarian takeover by the Nazis?

Emotional capitulation, as in premature acceptance of loss, is a way of dealing with fear, but it risks paying a genuinely "terrible price."

Time to reboot perhaps?

Btw, it's not on point, but I just happened to remember one way people faced the threat of a Nazi takeover of America without capitulating to the possibility in any way: the "who's a Nazi" game? People would look around at the people they knew and guess which of them would fit right in with a Nazi dictatorship. It didn't require anyone to accept it but was a way of examining a worst case. And it was a form of resistance by identifying who was us and who wasn't.

I find myself doing that these days, although by definition those who are still friends with us are not that type. Nevertheless, although the situations are different, the traits of people who would be "nazis" then and now are the same.

Which is different from collaborating in general. That's be most of us because apparently virtually everyone collaborates with authoritarian governments. Going along is required to be allowed to get along, and everyone accepts that as normal and sensible and doesn't expect anything else from even their friends.

[viva la]

24. The Fox Newsers are all setting up for the denial of democracy

Rupert and Trump want an oligarchy, and the big step is insisting democracy is impossibl e.

[malaise]

28. India?

Hmmmmmmmmm!

[dsc]

32. There is a problem with large populations but it isn't what he says

Other than India, we have the largest population of any representative democracy. We also have the largest districts of any representative democracy. That is an actual problem that is made worse by us not increasing the size of the House. We have fewer members in the House than the UK, Germany, France, or Japan all of which have smaller populations than we do. We should increase our House to at least 1001. This would solve, or at least lessen, two problems. It would make our districts more able to be represented and our representatives more local. It would also lessen the EC issue of small states being over represented.

[machoneman]

35. Yes, more House, less Senators (or a re-alignment. Look, ND, SD, ID, MT alone have 8 senators...

...while these states have far more farm animals than people! This while liberal CA has almost 40 million people yet has only 2 senators! Revise the alignment to say 2 senators (8-6=2) for the aforementioned Red states and give CA the other 6 (2+6=8). Yeah, yeah it would require a Constitutional change but hey, it would end up far more representative of a true democracy.

[uponit7771]

38. +1

[Baitball Blogger]

37. And, God heard him and sent us Covid?

Be careful what you wish for.

[durablend]

39. Sounds like win win

They catch COVID, end up in the ground where they can't vote. Doesn't seem to be a negative here

[peggysue2]

40. This is warming the audience

Warming them to let go of the democracy idea and embrace authoritarianism for their own good.

Carlson is a fanboy of Hungary's Viktor Orban, as is Donald Trump and his goons. White Christian Nationalists who are not afraid of calling themselves an illiberal democracy which, of course, is no democracy at all, simply the quaint trappings and title. Elections are held but the results are fixed to ensure continued power. Religious institutions (in this case the Catholic Church) are on board as are the police and military. Scapegoats are everywhere: immigrants, the gay/trans community, minorities and anyone who disagrees. Freedom of the press is nonexistent, the media turned into mouthpiece and stroker of the powers that be. Think Fox News on steroids, 24/7. Think Putin's Russia, another favorite of Carlson et al.

This is why we fight. This is why we must fight.