Tag: politics

NRx and AltRight

Although a few people have attempted to shoehorn me into the “Dark Enlightenment” or classify me as a “Neoreactionary”, I’ve never considered myself part of NRx like I do the AltRight. That’s mostly because I don’t think NRx exists in the same material manner that the AltRight clearly does, and also because I find its preference for elevated Akademiesprache to be obscurantist faggotry, to put it in AltRight terms. And frankly, Butch Leghorn’s attempt to delineate the essential differences between the two doesn’t appear to be particularly meaningful, as he attempts to do so primarily on the basis of social class.

NRx is Middle Class

According to Curt’s table, NRx is middle class. Some might take offense and argue that it is upper-middle class. Sure, the leaders of NRx are likely upper-middle class, but the average NRxer is solidly middle class. Software engineering is a middle class profession. People who run teams of middle class professionals are upper-middle class (CTOs, CIOs, CEOs, Directors, etc). The middle class is not a salary range: it is an ability range. The middle class are those who have the ability to engage in the system of production. This is why the middle class seeks liberty: because given freedom to choose their means of production, they will choose and perform, because they can. As an aside, this is why working classes are less interested in liberty, because they simply can’t capitalize on it within the system of production to nearly the level of the middle class. And the lower and under classes have zero interest in liberty, because they are completely unable to capitalize within the system of production; they desire security, not liberty (and that’s what self-interested politicians trade them in return for votes).

We can argue about the parameters of classes, and we should. We should define them. We need to understand their roles and to define the behaviors that makes one a ‘good’ member of any class, because these behaviors and actors do exist in every class. We just need to incentivize them properly, which is why we must define and understand them.

The middle class has certain behaviors which make them middle class. They follow norms of propriety. I was right when I wrote that NRx is Right Brahmin Signalling. From the SJW encyclopedia: “Brahmin is a varna (caste) in Hinduism specialising as priests, teachers (acharya) and protectors of sacred learning across generations”. NRx is a group of teachers and priests, solidly middle class and exhibiting middle class mores and norms, such as the prohibition on ridicule, mockery, libel and slander.

AltRight is Working Class

The working classes do not share the middle class values and prohibitions on ridicule, mockery, libel and slander. I have seen very clearly the revulsion of NRx to the coarse meming of the AltRight. The NRx aspersions about ‘populism’ of the AltRight. This is simply the middle class reaction to working class norms.

The thing is: the middle class needs the working class. They will do the jobs that the middle class just won’t do. Say, for example, openly attack with vitriolic hostility the enemies of Western Civilization using Pepe and Le Happy Merchant memes. Or say, engage in ‘high energy’ physical activities which raise the cost of the status quo on the controlling elite. Once the cost of the status quo is high enough, then that controlling elite will accede to the demands of the Right. Who will formulate these demands? Ultimately, the aristocratic class will, with large input from the scholarly classes. Who will implement these demands at the local levels? Obviously, the people who organize all production, the middle class, under the direction of the upper middle class, with the ‘real’ work being done by the working classes at the direction of the middle class.

This strikes me as a failure to grasp the AltRight, much as various attempts by everyone from NPR to NRO have failed, albeit a considerably more friendly failure. Actually, to be fair, it’s considerably better than NPR managed, as NPR somehow managed to get itself so confused that it declared Milo and Allum to be the joint leaders of the AltRight, which was certainly a surprise to both of them as well as everyone else.

While Butch is correct to observe that AltRight is not beholden to conventional middle class concerns about niceness and etiquette and public approval from the authorities and goodthinkers, he fails to observe that the AltRight is, despite its exuberant vulgarity, every bit as intellectually formidable as NRx. Indeed, even the mainstream media has felt the need to warn the unsuspecting and the uninformed not to underestimate us simply because we utilize frog memes and some of the most appallingly crude forms of rhetoric.

I have nothing against NRx, and indeed, consider them to be more or less allies, but the idea that we need them in order to formulate a moral license to defend our nations or Western civilization is simply not the case. Butch himself says that “NRx will become an integral part in granting this moral license or it will fade into irrelevancy”, which is why I expect that the compatible elements of NRx will eventually be subsumed by the AltRight, while the incompatible elements – and I have no idea which elements are compatible and which are not – will become increasingly irrelevant over time.

The AltRight has high energy, it has enthusiasm, it has talent, it has brains, and most importantly, it has courage. It understands that it has very little, if anything, to lose, because if the West fails, the future is favelas as far as the eye can see. We have no need of delicate middle-class intellectuals to do our thinking for us because they daren’t soil their uncalloused hands with the necessary dirty work.

To paraphrase #GamerGate, stop pontificating, shut up, and meme.

Donald Trump’s immigration plan

The 10-point Trump plan for immigration reform:

Number One: We will build a wall along the southern border

On day one, we will begin working on an impenetrable physical wall on the southern border. We will use the best technology, including above-and below-ground sensors, towers, aerial surveillance and manpower to supplement the wall, find and dislocate tunnels, and keep out the criminal cartels, and Mexico will pay for the wall.

Number Two: End ‘catch-and-release’

Anyone who illegally crosses the border will be detained until they are removed out of our country.

Number Three: Zero tolerance for criminal aliens

According to federal data, there are at least 2 million criminal aliens now inside the country. We will begin moving them out day one, in joint operations with local, state and federal law enforcement.

Beyond the 2 million, there are a vast number of additional criminal illegal immigrants who have fled or evaded justice. But their days on the run will soon be over. They go out, and they go out fast. …

We are going to triple the number of ICE deportation officers. Within ICE, I am going to create a new special Deportation Task Force, focused on identifying and removing quickly the most dangerous criminal illegal immigrants in America who have evaded justice. …. We’re also going to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents, and put more of them on the border, instead of behind desks. We will expand the number of Border Patrol Stations.

Number Four: Block funding for Sanctuary Cities

We will end the Sanctuary Cities that have resulted in so many needless deaths. Cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars, and we will work with Congress to pass legislation to protect those jurisdictions that do assist federal authorities.

Number Five: Cancel unconstitutional executive orders and enforce all immigration laws

We will immediately terminate President Obama’s two illegal executive amnesties, in which he defied federal law and the constitution to give amnesty to approximately five million illegal immigrants. … In a Trump administration, all immigration laws will be enforced.

Number Six: We are going to suspend the issuance of visas to any place where adequate screening cannot occur

According to data provided to the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, between 9/11 and the end of 2014, at least 380 foreign-born individuals were convicted in terror cases inside the United States. The number is likely higher, but the Administration refuses to provide this information to Congress.

As soon as I enter office, I am going to ask the Department of State, Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to begin a comprehensive review of these cases in order to develop a list of regions and countries from which immigration must be suspended until proven and effective vetting mechanisms can be put into place.

Countries from which immigration will be suspended would include places like Syria and Libya.

For the price of resettling 1 refugee in the United States, 12 could be resettled in a safe zone in their home region.

Another reform involves new screening tests for all applicants that include an ideological certification to make sure that those we are admitting to our country share our values and love our people.

Number Seven: We will ensure that other countries take their people back when we order them deported

There are at least 23 countries that refuse to take their people back after they have been ordered to leave the United States, including large numbers of violent criminals. Due to a Supreme Court decision, if these violent offenders cannot be sent home, our law enforcement officers have to release them into U.S. communities. …. Those released include individuals convicted of killings, sexual assault and some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, who went on to reoffend at a very high rate.

Number Eight: We will finally complete the biometric entry-exit visa tracking system

For years, Congress has required a biometric entry-exit visa tracking system, but it has never been completed.

In my administration, we will ensure that this system is in place at all land, air, and sea ports. …Last year alone, nearly a half a million individuals overstayed their temporary visas. Removing visa overstays will be a top priority of my Administration. If people around the world believe they can just come on a temporary visa and never leave – the Obama-Clinton policy – then we have a completely open border. We must send the message that visa expiration dates will be strongly enforced.


Number Nine: We will turn off the jobs and benefits magnet

We will ensure that E-Verify is used to the fullest extent possible under existing law, and will work with Congress to strengthen and expand its use across the country. …Those who abuse our welfare system will be priorities for removal.

Number 10: We will reform legal immigration to serve the best interests of America and its workers

…The time has come for a new immigration commission to develop a new set of reforms to our legal immigration system in order to achieve the following goals:

– To keep immigration levels, measured by population share, within historical norms

– To select immigrants based on their likelihood of success in U.S. society, and their ability to be financially self-sufficient. We need a system that serves our needs – remember, it’s America First.

– To choose immigrants based on merit, skill and proficiency

– And to establish new immigration controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first.

It falls well short of a complete Muslim ban, aggressive mass repatriations, and a stated goal of the restoration of the pre-1965 demographic balance, that is necessary in the long term, it is a damned good start and certainly much better than any US immigration policy since 1965. Furthermore, it makes it very clear that Donald Trump fully intends to put Americans first and build that big, beautiful wall.

The Netherlands belongs to us!

The Party for Freedom is Geert Wilders’s party and this is the election manifesto which is widely anticipated to lead it to victory this fall. Donald Trump could do a lot worse than to issue a similar manifesto for the Republican Party in the USA. Most of it was translated into English by an opponent here.

THE NETHERLANDS BELONGS TO US!

Millions of Dutch have had enough of the Islamization of our country. Enough of the mass immigration, asylum, terror, violence and lack of safety.

Here is our plan: instead of financing the entire world and the people we do not want here, we give our money back to the common Dutch person.

This is what the PVV will do:

1) de-islamize the Netherlands

  • Zero asylum seekers and no more immigrants from Muslim countries: we are closing our borders.
  • Withdrawal of all residence permits already granted to asylum seekers; asylum seeker centers closed down.
  • No more Muslim veils in public functions
  • Ban of overall Muslim expressions that are against the public order
  • Preventive incarceration of radical Muslims
  • Criminals with double nationality stripped of their Dutch citizenship and deported
  • Syrian fighters not allowed back in The Netherlands
  • All Mosques and Muslim schools are to be closed and the Koran banned.

2) The Netherlands will reclaim its independence. Therefore, we leave the EU.

3) Direct democracy: binding referendums, citizens have the power.

4) Deductible/excess in healthcare insurance is eliminated

5) Rents to be lowered

6) Age of retirement back to 65 years old. Pensions for everyone.

7) No more money for foreign aid, windmills, art, innovation, public broadcasters, etc.

8) Past budget cuts involving care will be reversed.

9) Plenty extra funds for defense and police

10) Lower income taxes

11) 50% reduction for vehicle ownership taxes

Financial benefits per point

  1. + 7.2 billion Euro
  2. to be calculated at a later date
  3. to be calculated at a later date
  4.  — 3.7 billion Euro
  5.  — 1 billion Euro
  6.  — 3.5 billion Euro
  7. + 10 billion Euro
  8.  — 2 billion Euro
  9.  — 2 billion Euro
  10.  — 3 billion Euro
  11.  — 2 billion Euro

This is a wonderful example of #AltRight transnationalism at work. The Party of Freedom manifesto is a uniquely Dutch nationalist program, but it has, I suspect intentionally, taken the motto of the young Sweden Democrats “Salute to the European Youth” as its inspiration and title. The Party of Freedom is expected to become the most popular party in the Dutch elections this fall, and although the other parties vow not to work with it, that refusal will only ensure the eventual dominance of the Dutch nationalists in the subsequent election.

So, to whom does America belong?

An actual Alt Right take

Richard Spencer contemplates why Hillary appears to be intent on increasing the Alt Right’s media profile:

Hillary is trying to push the GOP into permanent minority status by empowering the Alt Right—and, believe me, she will be empowering us today. The Alt Right is, in a way, what people wrongly accuse the GOP of being: a nationalist party for White people. Hillary’s Alt Right speech will try to force the GOP to become what it is.

At Milo’s party last month, I made an outlandish self-fulfilling prophecy: “We’ve taken over the Right.” The fact is, the mass media—and now none less than Hillary Clinton—want us to take over the Right.

In fact, they are going to help us do it, if only we would let them.

It’s an interesting take, although I’ve been saying that the GOP needed to become the White Party if it was going to survive. Otherwise, if it insists on trying to continue pretending to play ideological politics as the junior partner in the bi-factional ruling party, it will rapidly go the way of the Whigs in the new identity politics system.

In any event, we’ll find out if he’s right or not soon enough.

UPDATE: If you haven’t re-upped for Brainstorm yet, now is definitely the time. Invites will go out as soon as we can confirm the time, but Richard and I will be debating white nationalism, white supremacy, and whether there is room in the Alt Right for non-whites at a closed Brainstorm session tomorrow night, tentatively scheduled for 7 PM Eastern.

The r/K perspective

Anonymous Conservative is dubious that the anti-Alt-Right campaign will have legs:

Now Hillary is calling attention to the most K-selected corner of the internet, at the very moment that the nation is increasingly turning K. Turning more people into Stefan Molyneux fans, or exposing more people to Castalia House Publishing, just as the nation is turning K, is not going to help Hillary. I think it a good sign that her persuasion specialists are so blinded by the rabbit-like psychology of the r-strategy that they are so completely out of touch with both the nation and reality.

Even better, it is a process that is accelerating. What they don’t realize is that as the nation’s rejection of them drives them more leftward, the psychologies of the nation are undergoing the natural shift toward K that was programmed in by nature. That is making the left vastly more repellant to everyone, the alt-right much more attractive, and leaves the left ever less able to understand the reality they need to understand to succeed. The political polarization created as the extreme left splits farther from the norm due to panic and the rest of the nation heads farther right on a K-shift, do not bode well for leftism’s ascent.

My guess is they will abandon this effort quickly, as soon as they realize that the nation has a large swath within it that will think this alt-right movement espouses a lot of commonsense things they find attractive, and the colorful personalities are very appealing. The alt-right hasn’t gotten this far for nothing.

Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Team Clinton was already rethinking the wisdom of this approach given the Alt-Right’s gleeful reaction to the news that they’d be coming under media assault. After all, we all know how the anti-GamerGate campaign worked out for Gawker.

The Narrative shifts

Let us all share a moment of silence for the previous “the Alt-Right is a small group of irrelevant teenagers in their parent’s basements” Narrative. Hillary Clinton is running as the American Angela Merkel.

Hillary Clinton will deliver a speech Thursday linking Donald Trump to the “extremism” of the “alt-right” movement. Clinton’s campaign announced Tuesday morning that her Reno, Nev., speech would focus on Trump and his aides’ “embrace of the disturbing ‘alt-right’ political philosophy.”

“This ‘alt-right’ brand is embracing extremism and presenting a divisive and dystopian view of America which should concern all Americans, regardless of party,” her campaign said.

The alternative right, or so-called alt-right, movement has generally been comprised as those opposed to multiculturalism and immigration, according to The Washington Post, and has gained mainstream attention during this year’s presidential campaign as Trump seeks to maximize support among white voters.

Notice how, in nine months, the Alt-Right has scared the Democrats more than the entire conservative movement has since Ronald Reagan left office. This is for several reasons:

  1. The Alt-Right is already a potent force embedded in rising political parties in Europe.
  2. Multiculturalism and immigration are winning issues for the first party to embrace white American identity politics. Throw in gun rights, tax cuts, debt write-offs, and a credible anti-war stance, and you’ve suddenly got a party that is playing for keeps on the national stage. 
  3. The Alt-Right does not consist of professional politicians more interested in their Washington careers than their nations.
  4. The Alt-Right is not a Potemkin opposition, it is a genuine one.

How PACs murdered the Tea Party

Keep the demise of the Tea Party in mind as the Alt-Right grows in popularity. Many, if not most, of these PACs are little more than scams with a political brand.

The Tea Party movement is pretty much dead now, but it didn’t die a natural death. It was murdered—and it was an inside job. In a half decade, the spontaneous uprising that shook official Washington degenerated into a form of pyramid scheme that transferred tens of millions of dollars from rural, poorer Southerners and Midwesterners to bicoastal political operatives.

What began as an organic, policy-driven grass-roots movement was drained of its vitality and resources by national political action committees that dunned the movement’s true believers endlessly for money to support its candidates and causes. The PACs used that money first to enrich themselves and their vendors and then deployed most of the rest to search for more “prospects.” In Tea Party world, that meant mostly older, technologically unsavvy people willing to divulge personal information through “petitions”—which only made them prey to further attempts to lighten their wallets for what they believed was a good cause. While the solicitations continue, the audience has greatly diminished because of a lack of policy results and changing political winds.

I was an employee at one of the firms that ran these operations. But nothing that follows is proprietary or gleaned directly from my employment. The evidence of the scheming is all there in the public record, available for anyone willing to look…. According to Federal Election Commission reports between 80 to 90 percent, and sometimes all the money these PACs get is swallowed in fees and poured into more prospecting. For example, conservative activist Larry Ward created Constitutional Rights PAC. He also runs Political Media, a communications firm. The New York Times reviewed Constitutional Rights’ filings and found: “Mr. Ward’s PAC spends every dollar it gets on consultants, mailings and fund-raising—making no donations to candidates.” Ward justified the arrangement by saying Political Media discounts solicitations on behalf of Constitutional Rights.

Let that sink in. Ward takes his PAC’s money and redistributes it to his company and other vendors for more messaging and solicitations, but suggests critics should rest easy since the PAC gets a discount on Political Media’s normal rate. Constitutional Rights PAC may be extreme but it’s hardly an outlier.

POLITICO last year reviewed the activity of 33 conservative PACs for the 2014 cycle. Combined, they raked in $43 million dollars, according to the POLITICO report. Of that, $39.5 million went to overhead including $6 million to entities owned by PAC operators; candidates got $3 million. Another report analyzed 17 conservative PACs from the 2014 midterm. It came up with different numbers than POLITICO, finding that the bottom 10 PACs in terms of the ratio of spending to actual candidate support received $54,318,498 and spent only $3,621,896 supporting candidates.

Don’t even think about supporting any big-money Alt-Right PACs that come into being in the next 2-5 years. If the real Alt-Right figures want your support, we’ll not only request it directly, but we’ll do so for specific purposes and projects whose progress you can track for yourself. We don’t play the “overhead” game.