Quo Vadis GOP?

[The Minsky Moment]

I would see it being gauche to cheer his death if the right was just treating it as a sad death. But even before anything was known about the killer, the were bleating about how Dems were evil and the left wants to kill all conservatives. You make it that kind of deal and I think fair to present the other side.

Not to mention GOP politicians have spent the last week, 24 hours/day, raising up a rather mean spirited and often dishonest podcaster and political organizer into a heroic figure of truth and justice, utterly whitewashing his true record.  No one is permitted to question this?  It's absurd

[garbon]

I would see it being gauche to cheer his death if the right was just treating it as a sad death. But even before anything was known about the killer, the were bleating about how Dems were evil and the left wants to kill all conservatives. You make it that kind of deal and I think fair to present the other side.

Not to mention GOP politicians have spent the last week, 24 hours/day, raising up a rather mean spirited and often dishonest podcaster and political organizer into a heroic figure of truth and justice, utterly whitewashing his true record.  No one is permitted to question this?  It's absurd

Yeah like this fired reporter.

My
The Golden Hour by Karen Attiah
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The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.
I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.
Karen Attiah
Sep 15, 2025
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Democracy Dies in Darkness, but some of us will still carry on the light.
Last week, the Washington Post fired me.

The reason? Speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America's apathy toward guns.

Eleven years ago, I joined the Washington Post's Opinions department with a simple goal: to use journalism in service of people.

I believed in using the pen to remember the forgotten, question power, shine light in darkness, and defend democracy. Early in my career, late Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt told me that opinion journalism is not just about writing the world as it is, but as it should be. He told me we should use our platform to do good. That has been my north star every day.

As the founding Global Opinions editor, I created a space for courageous, diverse voices from around the world — especially those exiled for speaking the truth. I was inspired by their bravery. When my writer, Global Opinions columnist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered by Saudi Arabia regime agents for his words, I fought loudly for justice for years, putting my life and safety on the line to pursue accountability and defend global press freedom. For this work, I was honored with global recognition, prestigious awards and proximity to the world's most powerful people.


David Ignatius and I receiving the George Polk Award, in 2019 for commentary on Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

In the aftermath of Jamal Khashoggi's murder. Seated next to Jeff Bezos at the 2019 Gridiron Dinner.
As a columnist, I used my voice to defend freedom and democracy, challenge power and reflect on culture and politics with honesty and conviction.

Now, I am the one being silenced - for doing my job.

On Bluesky, in the aftermath of the horrific shootings in Utah and Colorado, I condemned America's acceptance of political violence and criticized its ritualized responses — the hollow, cliched calls for "thoughts and prayers" and "this is not who we are" that normalize gun violence and absolve white perpetrators especially, while nothing is done to curb deaths.

I expressed sadness and fear for America.




My most widely shared thread was not even about activist Charlie Kirk, who was horribly murdered, but about the political assassinations of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman, her husband and her dog. I pointed to the familiar pattern of America shrugging off gun deaths, and giving compassion for white men who commit and espouse political violence. This cycle has been documented for years. Nothing I said was new or false or disparaging— it is descriptive, and supported by data.


I did my journalistic duty, reminding people that despite President Trump's partisan rushes to judgement, no suspect or motive had been identified in the killing of Charlie Kirk — exercising restraint even as I condemned hatred and violence.

My journalistic and moral values for balance compelled me to condemn violence and murder without engaging in excessive, false mourning for a man who routinely attacked Black women as a group, put academics in danger by putting them on watch lists, claimed falsely that Black people were better off in the era of Jim Crow, said that the Civil Rights Act was a mistake, and favorably reviewed a book that called liberals "Unhumans". In a since-deleted post, a user accused me of supporting violence and fascism. I made clear that not performing over-the-top grief for white men who espouse violence was not the same as endorsing violence against them.

My only direct reference to Kirk was one post— his own words on record.

https://karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-washington-post-fired-me-but

[garbon]

Oddly it made me copy first whole part of article not just key excerpt...

[DGuller]

Here's a very real concrete example

An associate at the Perkins Coie law firm wrote the following:

Charlie Kirk got famous as one of America's leading spreaders of hatred, misinformation, and intolerance. The current political moment — where an extremist Supreme Court and feckless Republican Congress are enabling a Republican President to become a tyrant and building him modern-day Gestapo for assaulting black and brown folks — is a result of Charlie Kirk's "contributions" to American media and politics.

That said, no one in this country should be murdered for their political speech. Wishing comfort to his wife and children in this difficult time.

Maybe this will be the event that gets MAGA to be serious about gun control. Dead school children haven't been enough.

This was posted on a private social media account, with no connection to the firm.

The associate was summarily fired by the law firm.

Appropriate response or no?  Because this is by no means an isolated incident, this person is just one of many being targeted by the gangs of social media vigilantes hunting for those they deem insufficiently respectful to the exalted memory of Charlie Kirk.

Hypocrisy goes both ways.  The left seemed to have no problem with "freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences of speech", and using that to single out people for unemployment and unemployability.  I'm glad to see they now understand what a dangerous dynamic that can be, and that freedom coupled with intolerable consequences is not freedom at all, but I kind of wish that light bulb turned on before they legitimized the concept, and not after it was turned on them.

[The Minsky Moment]

Yes hypocrisy goes every which way but right now the GOP is in power and unlike Biden, Obama, etc., the Trump administration has specifically used executive power to target private businesses and institutions. That is unprecedented. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris didn't call for wide ranging witch hunts to root out and fire people insufficiently respectful to left wing icons.  JD Vance is doing so. That is unprecedented. 

The current administration campaigned for office explicitly AGAINST the idea of cancel culture and insisted they would defend free speech.  They are doing the exact opposite and putting the full weight of Executive power to back it.  This is neither the time or place to try to "both sides" the question. If the Democrats retake power and act similarly, they can and should be put under the microscope.  But right now the GOP holds the whip hand, and you have to make the call: right or wrong?

[Jacob]

DGuller, you were so vehemently against cancel culture when it is targeted against the reactionary right.

Seems to me that if you want to be consistent you should also be against it when it's wielded by the reactionary right as well - even before you consider Minsky's point.

[Valmy]

DGuller, you were so vehemently against cancel culture when it is targeted against the reactionary right.

Seems to me that if you want to be consistent you should also be against it when it's wielded by the reactionary right as well - even before you consider Minsky's point.

I just don't see how the two are comparable. Cancel culture was of course very bad when done via social media bullying but this is...just not that. This is a systematic use of state power to control speech which is 100x worse.

[Valmy]

Hypocrisy goes both ways.  The left seemed to have no problem with "freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences of speech", and using that to single out people for unemployment and unemployability.  I'm glad to see they now understand what a dangerous dynamic that can be, and that freedom coupled with intolerable consequences is not freedom at all, but I kind of wish that light bulb turned on before they legitimized the concept, and not after it was turned on them.

I don't know if the left was as universally in favor of cancel culture as you are presenting here. After all tons of leftists were cancelled. Nor do I think the concept was ever considered that legitimate. People were rightly outraged by it, at no time did I see it was universally legitimized.

But in any case I don't think anybody was in favor of the government doing it. So to act like this is an equivalent situation is a little...disingenuous.

[Neil]

'The government'?  I thought Joan's example was a lawyer at a private firm? 

[Valmy]

'The government'?  I thought Joan's example was a lawyer at a private firm? 

Yes hypocrisy goes every which way but right now the GOP is in power and unlike Biden, Obama, etc., the Trump administration has specifically used executive power to target private businesses and institutions. That is unprecedented. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris didn't call for wide ranging witch hunts to root out and fire people insufficiently respectful to left wing icons.  JD Vance is doing so. That is unprecedented.

The current administration campaigned for office explicitly AGAINST the idea of cancel culture and insisted they would defend free speech.  They are doing the exact opposite and putting the full weight of Executive power to back it.  This is neither the time or place to try to "both sides" the question. If the Democrats retake power and act similarly, they can and should be put under the microscope.  But right now the GOP holds the whip hand, and you have to make the call: right or wrong?

  Yeah he never fucking once mentioned the current administration or the Trump administration here.

[DGuller]

DGuller, you were so vehemently against cancel culture when it is targeted against the reactionary right.

Seems to me that if you want to be consistent you should also be against it when it's wielded by the reactionary right as well - even before you consider Minsky's point.

Why in the world would you think that I'm not?  I'm just frustrated at this most predictable development.

[HVC]

'The government'?  I thought Joan's example was a lawyer at a private firm? 

Pete Hegseth tells Pentagon staff to hunt for negative Charlie Kirk posts by service members Several people have already been relieved of their jobs because of their posts on social media, defense officials told NBC News.

[Valmy]

DGuller, you were so vehemently against cancel culture when it is targeted against the reactionary right.

Seems to me that if you want to be consistent you should also be against it when it's wielded by the reactionary right as well - even before you consider Minsky's point.

Why in the world would you think that I'm not?  I'm just frustrated at this most predictable development.

Well nothing is more unsatisfying than being right about something that turned out to be predictably disastrous.

[Neil]

DGuller, you were so vehemently against cancel culture when it is targeted against the reactionary right.

Seems to me that if you want to be consistent you should also be against it when it's wielded by the reactionary right as well - even before you consider Minsky's point.

Why in the world would you think that I'm not?  I'm just frustrated at this most predictable development.

There was never any going back.  Just as Trump is all about settling scores, so are the Movement Conservatives. 

[garbon]

It always strikes me as funny that at the end of the day it is the fault of the left as though Republicans needed help considering a course of action legitimate. But I guess similar to how voters had to vote for Trump because lefties made them feel bad.