Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

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On this edition of Parallax Views (recorded 11-11-24), self-described conservative Marxist Ralph Leonard joins the show to discuss the 2024 U.S. Presidential election and his article "Old-school Leftism is going extinct in the Democratic Party" about the passing of the Bernie Sanders moment and why he believes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Squad won't generate the same energy as Sanders' did in 2016 or 2020.

Much of the conversation will focus in on how President-elect Donald Trump managed to obtain the votes of a multiracial coalition that included black and latino men as well as white men and women. We'll delve into the nationalism underpinning Trump's coalition and how it is not explicitly ethno-nationalism but rather civic nationalist in a way that made a multiracial coalition possible for MAGA. We'll discuss the discourse Trump crafted around the border and Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Leonard also notes how horrible he finds Trump's deportation rhetoric but delves into why many voters opted for it. We'll also discuss the 2024 as the first "post-woke" election for the Democratic Party. That is to say that Kamala Harris did not run on a "woke" platform and actually ran away from it. We'll also discuss foreign policy, Israel/Palestine, Trump as a carny barker, the "Is Trump a Fascist?" debate, JD Vance, and more.

Additionally, we will delve into Ralph's views on Marx and Marxism, what people don't understand about Marxism, Marxism as an emancipatory project, and how both the Democratic and Republican Parties in the U.S. are creatures of the ruling class (or capital) rather than the working classes. All that and much more.

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On this edition of Parallax Views it's a double feature delving into the question of Donald Trump and U.S. foreign policy as we head into the 2nd Trump Presidency. In the first segment, the Cato Institute's Jon Hoffman return to discuss his Responsible Statecraft article "Trump now faces 'out of control' conflict in the Middle East". We'll delve into the problems that Hoffman argues at the heart of the bipartisan consensus in U.S. foreign policy and why a change of direction is needed, especially in regard to Israel/Palestine. We'll discuss Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon, Hezbollah continued stiff resistance to Israel despite the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, the return of Hamas in areas of Gaza that Israel has claimed to have cleared of its influence, Israel's stated objective of total elimination of Hamas and why some argue this objective is not achievable, the situation in the West Bank, the need for a new political equilibrium to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict and achieve peace, Iran and Israel's tit-for-tat exchanges with each other and the possibility of further dangerous escalation, the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia and what it may mean for the second Trump administration's foreign policy agenda, Trump's hawkish nominations (Mike Waltz, Pete Hegseth, etc.), reckless in both Israel and the U.S.'s policies in the Middle East, the Biden administration's approach to Israel and Gaza, the crisis of humanitarian aid being in relation to Gaza, U.S. arms to Israel, J.D. Vance's comments that American and Israeli interests do not always align (especially in relation to Iran), the role of policy inertia in how the U.S. approaches the Middle East, Jon's argument for U.S. disentanglement and de-prioritization of the Middle East, and more!

In the second segment of the show (starts around 36:16), Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative, joins the show to discuss what realism and restraint minded conservatives want out of the 2nd Trump administration's foreign policy agenda. In the beginning of the conversation will discuss the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy and how the realist viewpoint fell out of favor after the Cold War. In particular Curt will talk about the period of the Reagan years to the neoconservatives of the George W. Bush administration. We'll also discuss what realism & restraint in U.S. foreign policy thought entails and how the realist and restraint movement is a broad tent that's encompasses elements from both the right and the left.

Then Curt talks about "mixed bag" of Trump's nominations for his cabinet if you come from a realist and restraint viewpoint. He'll also talk about how there's been a shift, at least in tone, towards realism and restraint in Trumpian circles since the President-elect's first term in office and go over how realism and restraint conservatives are feeling about Trump's cabinet nominations thus far like Mike Waltz, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, and Matt Gaetz. Curt speaks about how, in his view, Hegseth could represent a break from business-as-usual in the Pentagon despite his hawkish views. He also discusses what realist and restraint proponents hope for with regards to U.S. involvement in Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine in the second Trump administration. We'll then delve into the idea of Trump as the heir to Richard Nixon and discuss the "madman theory" of U.S. foreign policy (and Curt will provide some International Relations 101 in the process that illustrates the differences between liberal internationalists and realists). How realist and restraint conservatives have differences in how they view how the U.S. should deal with Ukraine/Russia vs. how the U.S. should deal with either Israel/Palestine, Iran, China. All that and much more in a conversation that will hopefully illustrate what a good portion of "America First" and MAGA conservatives want out of Trump's foreign policy.

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On this edition of Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michae, journalist and political commentator Jeet Heer of The Nation returns for a deep dive into the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the failings of centrist Democrats, and the implications of a potential second Trump administration.

Key topics discussed include:

• Bernie Sanders' Warning: Jeet Heer echoes Bernie Sanders’ critique that Democrats have abandoned the working-class vote. The conversation explores how the party’s failure to promote antitrust actions, like those spearheaded by Lina Khan, and Kamala Harris’s outreach to billionaires such as Mark Cuban, have alienated voters.
• Trump’s Anti-System Appeal: Heer analyzes Donald Trump’s resonance with anti-system politics in contrast to Democrats’ status-quo messaging, which he argues doomed Harris's campaign. We also discuss the Harris campaign going after the votes of moderate Republicans and cozying up to Liz Cheney (and getting an endorsement from Dick Cheney).
• Shock-and-Awe Nominations: The discussion examines Trump’s picks for key positions—Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, Tulsi Gabbard as DNI, Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, and RFK Jr. at HHS—and their potential to destabilize the political landscape. Jeet also gives his view on the strategy undergirding Trump's picks
• Mafia Governance and NATO: Jeet predicts that a second Trump term would involve a governance style favoring loyalists, with significant repercussions for NATO and European allies.
• Freedom of Speech Under Siege: Heer warns that free speech could be the first casualty of a second Trump term, with centrists potentially supporting crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protesters.
• The MAGA Antiwar Mirage: Trump’s antiwar rhetoric is dissected as a façade, with Heer pointing out hawkish tendencies toward Mexico and Ukraine within MAGA ranks.

The episode opens with a reflection on Antonio Gramsci’s famous quote about living in "a time of monsters," setting the tone for a discussion on the political chaos of the present moment. Jeet also provides a historical perspective, linking Trumpism to the conspiratorial tendencies of the 20th-century Old Right and groups like the John Birch Society.

This thought-provoking conversation unpacks the stakes of 2024, from systemic political failures to the looming threats of authoritarianism and international instability under a second Trump administration.

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On this edition of Parallax Views, Robbie Martin, filmmaker behind the documentary A Very Heavy Agenda about the history of neoconservatism & co-host with Abby Martin of Media Roots Radio, returns to discuss the 2024 election and its fallout with a particular focus on what Robbie perceives as the psyop-ing or cognitive infiltration of so-called alternative media. Robbie expresses his annoyance with the state of alternative media and what he sees as alt media figures who claim to be antiwar and against the mainstream, but are smuggling pro-war, hawkish views into the political arena while claiming to be against U.S. militarism and interventionism. We'll also delve into the parallels between this cognitive infiltration of alt media and the trajectory of the 9/11 Truth movement. Robbie and I also discuss the state of conspiracy culture, RFK Jr.'s leaked call with Trump before he suspended his campaign in the 2024 election, the paranoid climate in the post-Jeffrey Epstein moment, antisemitism in alt media, nationalist sentiments in alt media, Trump's foreign policy record in his first term (arming Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, Ukraine and Russia, reneging on the JCPOA deal with Iran and assassinating Gen. Qassem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps., Latin America), the influence of Tucker Carlson, Trump's hawkish appointments (confirmed and unconfirmed at time of recording; Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Mike Waltz, et al.), antiwar Libertarians getting sucked into the right-wing's culture war, the mainstream media's turn on Joe Biden,

On this edition of Parallax Views, popular election analyst Josh Cohen aka Ettingermentum returns to breakdown the 2024 election, its outcomes, and just why exactly the Democratic Party lost the Presidency, House, and Senate. We'll look at where the Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party campaign went wrong in their race against Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Josh will discuss why he believes Joe Biden played a big role in the the defeat of Democrats along with Kamala Harris's inability to differentiate herself from Biden. We'll also talk about the Harris campaign as the Democrats' first "post-woke" campaign, the issue of inflation and the economy's role in the 2024 election, Gaza and the Uncommitted campaign, and what the future may hold for the Democratic Party (we'll talk about Gretchen Whitmer, Andy Beshear, and the wide-open field for Democrats as well as the emergence of the post-Obama Democratic Party in the aftermath of this election). Josh's main analysis: bottom line, Democrats were self-indulgent and arguably played things too safe in a time where they needed to creatively respond to the situation in America.

Some other issues covered in the course of our conversation include:

- Democrats trying to appeal to moderate Republicans (as seen by the Harris campaign cozying up to Liz Cheney) in this election cycle

- Comparing Trump's win to the victories for abortion rights at the state level; are we really seeing a cultural shift to the right-wing; why was the Dobbs decision not enough for Democrats to win nationally?

- Criticism of the analysis being provided by figures like Matthew Yglesias and James Carville in relation to the election; the role of figures like Yglesias in the tone of the Democrats' overall campaign in the election cycle

- The border and immigration in relation to the 2024 election

- Israel/Palestine and the Gaza crisis as a wedge issue for Democrats

- The shattering of Joe Biden's reputation in the past 4 years and his low-approval ratings

- Comparing Democratic candidates that won their election bids in 2024 to the ones that lost

- Josh addresses the criticism that the results of the 2024 election had nothing to do with the economy because "the economy is fine"; the average Americans dissatisfaction with the current macro-economic environment

- Democrats' loss of ground in New York

- And more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our post-mortem of the 2024 election with two separate and distinguished guests. In the first segment, Stephen Semler of the date-based political blog Polygraph joins the show to discuss his articles "A couple charts to explain a Harris loss" and the facetiously titled "'The economy is fine'". Stephen delves into how the economy played a role in this election, and addresses criticisms by some pundits that economic anxieties could not have played a role in the election because the economy is doing well by some metrics and statistics (for example: low unemployment, a booming stock market, etc.). We'll delve into the difference between the economy and average American's economic well-being, and we'll look at two graphs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Census Bureau that deal with food insecurity and poverty to further elucidate Stephen's analysis. We'll also delve into Biden's Build Back Better and American Rescue Plans and how certain elements of Bidenomics in spring of 2022 got sidelined in a way that may have led to economic whiplash for American voters.

In the second segment of the show, Daniel Bessner, known for his work at the Quincy Institute and Jacobin as well as co-hosting the left-leaning foreign policy/international relations podcast American Prestige, returns to the program to give his own analysis of the 2024 election's outcome and what he expects from a 2nd Trump Presidency. We'll discuss the feeling that there's been a more muted response to this election that in 2016, the question of Trump and fascism and why Danny prefers to discuss Trump as a reactionary populist with authoritarian inclinations, Trump as a PT Barnum-esque carny barker character mixed with shades of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, Trump and his promises of mass deportation, what Trump means for climate change, populism and anti-establishment backlash in the 2024 election, what Danny expects out of Trump's foreign policy (with regards to Ukraine and Russia, China, Iran, and Israel/Palestine), and, most significantly, the crisis of liberalism. In regard to the crisis of liberalism we'll mention Francis Fukuyama's "End of History" hypothesis, the decline of civic institutions since the 1960s (and maybe even before), Clinton-era liberalism (colored by the primacy of Third Way neoliberalism in the Democratic Party) vs. FDR's New Deal liberalism, the liberal international order and great power politics, and much, much more.

In this insightful episode of Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael, political economist Dr. Jack Rasmus joins J.G. to dissect the reasons behind Donald Trump’s unexpected victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The discussion is centered around Dr. Rasmus's article, "Why Trump Won—And Some Consequences," which explores the economic and political factors that led to Trump’s victory in both the electoral college and the popular vote. Rasmus presents an in-depth analysis of the socio-economic discontent that propelled Trump’s victory, offering a fresh perspective on the frustrations and disillusionment affecting American voters today.

Dr. Rasmus argues that economic policies affecting the middle and working classes, alongside concerns over inflation, job stability, healthcare, and childcare costs played a pivotal role in the 2024 election. Dr. Rasmus addresses the now already common retort the economy could not have driven the outcome of the 2024 election due to the stock market booming, low unemployment rates, lowering of inflation, and a good GDP. He argues that media accounts of the economy have often cherry-picked statistics and do not necessarily deal with the economic well-being of average Americans. He offers statistic in support of his claims and makes the case for why many Americans felt their economic well-being was under siege.

A key aspect of this discussion centers on why Kamala Harris lost, with Dr. Rasmus exploring what he terms “The Humphrey Effect.” Similar to Hubert Humphrey’s inability to distance himself from Lyndon B. Johnson’s policies during the 1968 election, Harris struggled to differentiate her platform from President Joe Biden’s. Rasmus argues that voters saw Harris as an extension of Biden’s policies rather than a fresh alternative, which weakened her appeal.

Additionally, Dr. Rasmus contends that Harris’s focus on issues like the January 6th insurrection and identity politics, though central to her campaign, did not resonate with a wide swath of voters. Many Americans, rightly or wrongly, felt these issues were disconnected from their immediate economic concerns. Instead, inflation, job instability, and healthcare affordability were front and center for voters struggling to make ends meet. According to Rasmus, Harris’s perceived failure to address these economic pocketbook issues head-on left many working-class and middle-class voters disillusioned and created an opening for Trump to campaign on issues like no-taxes on tipping, etc.

In a second Trump presidency, Dr. Rasmus expects sweeping economic and social policy changes that will impact Americans across various income brackets. Trump’s approach will likely center on increased tariffs, which, while meant to protect American industries, may raise consumer prices, impacting the pocketbooks of average Americans—though not as severely as some Democrats predict. Rasmus argues that while consumer goods prices will increase under the tariff agenda, he is more immediately concerned about inflationary pressures in the service sector as well looming recession in said sector, which could have far-reaching economic consequences.

Rasmus anticipates that Trump will implement further austerity measures, reducing social spending on programs. In this regard we discuss what to expect out of Trump when it comes to social security. Rasmus also discusses the likely tax cuts for the wealthy that can be expected under this second Trump administration. Additionally, we delve into what Trump's second term may entail for climate change, tensions with China, foreign policy in the Middle East, and much, much more.

In this episode of Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael, J.G. sits down with Tyler Joseph, co-host of the Rabble Report YouTube show, to examine the surprising results of the 2024 election, where Donald Trump achieved a historic victory over Kamala Harris, becoming the first Republican in 20 years to secure the popular vote. Tyler delves into the anti-politics phenomenon—an intensifying public disillusionment with political institutions that’s shaping how Americans vote. They discuss how figures like Trump and Obama have harnessed this discontent to their advantage, tapping into an electorate increasingly skeptical of political institutions. Beyond just examining the 2024 election, Tyler explores the role of anti-politics in the decline of civic institutions and the rise of social atomization, as communities fragment and people become more isolated. Join the conversation as J.G. and Tyler assess how anti-politics and the erosion of civic trust are reshaping America’s political and social landscape in the wake of this unprecedented election. We also delve into the overlap between anti-politics and anti-corruption rhetoric, the difference between anti-politics and anti-politicians, the pandemic, Bernie Sanders, abortion protections being won in many states despite the victory of the GOP at the national level, Joe Rogan and politics, the American voter and ideological incoherence, Jimmy Carter's "great malaise" speech, the American public and the immigration debate, New Jersey's Senate-elect Andy Kim's recent references to anti-politics, culture wars and politicians trying to game anti-politics to their own ends, the Ross Perot Presidential campaign in the 1990s and its relationship to anti-politics, George Galloway's The Worker's Part of Britain, and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance party in Germany, and more

I'll be back with the fallout from the election next week. But until then here's a Halloween Hangover episode of the show that consists of my appearance on Jason Myles' Pop Life. Toure Reed also joined the program. We talked about teen-campers in the woods horror movies from FRIDAY THE 13TH and SLEEPAWAY CAMP franchises to more obscure titles like THE BURNING, MADMAN, and CHEERLEADER CAMP. Toure gave his thoughts on Joss Wheadon's CABIN IN THE WOODS and its tongue-in-cheek "meta" approach to horror.

Realize everyone is burned out from the election, so hopefully this episode will be some type of reprieve.

For the grand finale of this year’s Parallax Views Halloween-themed series, host J.G. Michael dives deep into the world of horror comics with none other than Stephen Bissette, legendary artist and penciler from Alan Moore’s iconic Saga of the Swamp Thing. In this episode, Bissette reveals the eerie origins and turbulent history of horror comics, starting with the foundational impact of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and its most well-known cover artist, Basil Gogos, which captivated a generation of horror enthusiasts. From there, the conversation explores the 1950s moral panic that vilified horror comics, leading to the creation of the restrictive Comics Code that effectively snuffed out horror comics for decades.

Bissette and Michael delve into the legendary horror tales published by Warren with Creepy and Eerie, as well as EC Comics' iconic titles like Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror. The conversation highlights artists who shaped the genre, including Wally Wood and Gene Colan, whose work on Tomb of Dracula remains a horror classic. We also delve into the connection between the 60s/70s counterculture, underground comix, and horror comics by discussing the way in which horror comics were available in places like headshops in the 70s and how artists like the great Richard Corben of Heavy Metal fame worked in both the underground comix and horror comics spaces.

Moving into his own groundbreaking work, Bissette discusses his boundary-pushing horror anthology series Taboo, a space where comics could embrace uncensored horror storytelling. They also explore Bissette’s acclaimed run on Swamp Thing, with a particular focus on the legendary issue "The Anatomy Lesson." Bissette recounts how the eerie villain Jason Woodrue, aka the Floronic Man, came to feature as the main antagonist in the first arc of his Swamp Thing and shares how he modeled the character's unsettling look on Peter Cushing’s portrayal in Hammer’s Frankenstein films.

The conversation also covers the rebirth of gothic horror in the late 1950s, the cultural fascination with giant monster sci-fi films in the early 50s, and the impact of censorship in comics, drawing fascinating parallels to contemporary book bans by Christian nationalist groups. With an exploration of censorship's effects, the genre's evolution, and chilling themes still relevant today, this episode is packed with rich insights for horror lovers and comics fans alike.