CPAC Conference Returns to Authoritarian Hungary

Plus: Right Wing Pays a Price for its Perfidy, Bidenomics is Working, and Canceling LGBTQ Pride Encourages Bullies

“Hungary is actually an incubator where experiments are done on the future of conservative policies. Hungary is the place where we didn’t just talk about defeating the progressives and liberals and causing a conservative Christian political turn, but we actually did it.”

— Viktor Orban, Hungary’s Autocrat Speaking at CPAC

The most beloved figure in America’s toxic conservative movement is Hungarian dictator Viktor Orban. This detestable Putin-loving autocrat has crushed independent media in his country, weakened democracy and regularly riles his base by trotting out homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic tropes.

If you want to know the endgame for Republicans, look to Hungary. American conservatives are so enthralled by Hungarian hate and its system of autocracy, that CPAC is hosting its conference in Budapest this week, the second time it has done so in two years. This is nothing short of a love affair with fascism.

At CPAC, Orban called liberalism a “virus” and attacked “woke” culture and LGBTQ rights. A sign that read, “No Country for Woke Men”, hung at the entrance to the conference. The dictator predicted that what he refers to as his nation’s “illiberal democracy” will be exported to the rest of the West, particularly the United States.

“Hungary is actually an incubator where experiments are done on the future of conservative policies. Hungary is the place where we didn’t just talk about defeating the progressives and liberals and causing a conservative Christian political turn, but we actually did it,” Orban said to thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

The idea of an illiberal democracy is incoherent and contradictory. The notion that a country can be free, yet push a particular faith is anathema to religious freedom. Progressivism can’t be “defeated” because it represents ideas held by many Hungarian citizens.

What Orban is really saying is that he has rigged the system—particularly crushing the independent media--to ensure that his rigid, backward ideas have hegemony over competing viewpoints. That’s not real democracy, nor is it genuine victory. It is simply orchestrating state-sponsored force to suppress dissent.

What Orban is really saying is that he has rigged the system—particularly crushing independent media--to ensure that his rigid, backward ideas have hegemony over competing viewpoints. That’s not real democracy, nor is it genuine victory. It is simply orchestrating state-sponsored force to suppress dissent.    

The type of “Christianity” touted by Orban has little in common with the teachings of Jesus Christ. New York Times columnist David French perfectly captured the imminent danger caused by such aggressive forms of faith:

If you infuse an issue or set of issues with religious intensity but drain a movement of religious virtue, then profound religious conflict — including violent conflict — is the inevitable result.

The more the Christian right latches on to cruel men, the more difficult it becomes to argue that the cruelty is a bug, not a feature.

Unfortunately, if Republicans regain control of the White House and the Senate, Orban’s words may be prescient. He is the inspiration for America’s leading conservatives and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” law was modeled on similar anti-LGBTQ legislation in Hungary.

CPAC is led by Matt Schlapp, who shares Orban’s approach to banning legitimate media. Most real news outlets were prohibited from covering the CPAC conference. Why is the conservative movement so afraid to answer questions?  

In an interesting aside, Schlapp was credibly  accused by a male former staffer from Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign of groping him. While Schlapp is dealing with the fallout of a gay scandal, Orban delivered anti-LGBTQ bromide from stage.   

“The woke movement and gender ideology are exactly what Communism and Marxism used to be,” he said. “They artificially cut the nation into minorities in order to spark strife among the groups.”

It’s difficult to comprehend the level of Schlapp’s self-loathing, or Orban’s soulless opportunism. Schlapp is working to replace America’s system of government with Hungary’s – which ensures that LGBTQ people are second-class citizens. Orban, for his part, is fine speaking at a conference hosted by an alleged gay groper. This entire stinking scenario highlights the sickness of Schlapp and the insincerity of conservative politics, which is consumed with manipulation to amass raw power.   

To describe the Republican descent into madness as a rabbit hole is no longer sufficient. A rabbit crater is what’s necessary to contain the eruption of conspiracies, lies and demagoguery that define modern conservatism.

The fact that CPAC looks to Hungary as a model for the Republican Party shows the GOP’s post-January 6 commitment to destroying democracy and eliminating civil liberties.

When the conservative movement is bowing down to a totalitarian tyrant like Viktor Orban–it’s time to admit that the Republican Party is a menace to America and our largest national security challenge.  

Right Wing Pays a Price for its Perfidy

Republican leaders have repeatedly incited their base to spew fallacies or commit felonies. Each time their followers are egged on, they end up with egg on their faces. This week, Republicans paid dearly for their misdeeds.

Exhibit A is Clarence Thomas and his treasonous wife, Ginni, who were publicly humiliated and exposed as frauds. For years, they preened as morally righteous when their only loyalty is to personal pleasure and profit.

Prior to this week, we knew that Clarence Thomas had a generous Sugar Daddy, Harlan Crow, who collects Nazi memorabilia. He had provided the Thomas family with a half million dollars in free vacations on luxury yachts and private planes. Crow also bought the house Clarence Thomas’ mother lives in and refurbished it. It’s sort of like HGTV for crooks and grifters.

This week, ProPublica reported that the Sugar Daddy had paid $6,000 per month in private school tuition for Thomas’ teenage grandnephew Mark Martin.

Crow responded with an absurd statement:

“Harlan Crow has long been passionate about the importance of quality education and giving back to those less fortunate, especially at-risk youth.”

Yes, that poor, neglected young man living at the home of a wealthy Supreme Court justice. It’s practically one step removed from being a hobo. The only thing that Mark Martin was ever at risk of, was learning ethics and morality from the bribe inhaling Thomas family.

If that weren’t bad enough, we learned that right wing activist Leonard Leo funneled at least $25,000 in clandestine payments to “Ginni” a decade ago. He knew that his payments were wrong, so Leo instructed “No mention of Ginni” on the hidden documents.

The same year this obvious bribe occurred, the Judicial Education Project, the nonprofit Leo used to funnel the money to Ginni Thomas, filed a brief to the Supreme Court in a key voting rights case.

No conflict of interest to see here.

In a perfect world, Clarence Thomas would resign in disgrace from the Supreme Court and his sleazy family would repay Crow for his bribes.  But for now, at least we can exult in the fact that the Thomas family’s bogus mask of morality has fallen, and the world can see Clarence and Ginni Thomas for the corrupt, two-bit hucksters they truly are.

Exhibit B: Leaders of the Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy. They were found guilty on 31 of 46 counts. Donald Trump’s January 6 foot soldiers will now be trading in their brown shirts for orange jumpsuits.

I hope the judge sentences the defendants to 20 years in prison. He should show the same mercy the Proud Boys offered police officers defending the capitol on January 6. Maximum prison sentences will give them plenty of time to “stand back and stand by” in their prison cells.  

Attorney General Merrick Garland reminded Americans that his January 6 criminal investigations have netted more than 600 convictions. Of course, the Justice Department’s work won’t be complete until Donald Trump and his inner cabal of coup plotters are behind bars.

In Arizona, the lying lawyers for failed gubernatorial candidate, Kari Lake, were sanctioned.  Arizona’s Supreme Court fined Lake's attorneys $2,000 for making "false factual statements to the Court."

A more appropriate penalty would have been $20,000 and disbarment. But, at the very least, the truth was put on trial, and it won. This fine won’t make everything fine within a GOP that thrives on conspiracy theories. But perhaps it will dissuade future attorneys from ruining their reputations by acting disreputably for clients that put personal power over patriotism.

The only way to stop Republican criminality is by ensuring that there are consequences. This week served a healthy dose of comeuppance that hopefully puts future right wing goons and hustlers on notice.

Bidenomics is Good for America

Bidenomics continues to deliver results for the American people. The Labor Department announced that employers added 253,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate was down to 3.4 percent, matching the lowest since 1969.

If you have a new job, thank Joe Biden.

Conservatives are thrilled with the news, because they want Biden to succeed for the good of the country. That was a joke.

President Biden followed through on his promise to create an economy that works for everyone. Wages at the bottom end of the pay scale increased faster than they had in decades. The unemployment rate for African Americans reached its lowest point on record in April, at 4.7 percent.

The New York Times reports:

The gap between the unemployment rates of white and Black people was also the smallest ever measured. The share of working-age people participating in the labor market reached 83.3 percent, matching a level not seen since 2008.

The economic success of a Democratic president should not surprise anyone. A New York Times analysis found:

Since 1933, the economy has grown at an annual average rate of 4.6 percent under Democratic presidents and 2.4 percent under Republicans. In more concrete terms: The average income of Americans would be more than double its current level if the economy had somehow grown at the Democratic rate for all of the past nine decades. If anything, that period (which is based on data availability) is too kind to Republicans, because it excludes the portion of the Great Depression that happened on Herbert Hoover’s watch.

The six presidents who have presided over the fastest job growth have all been Democrats. The four presidents who have presided over the slowest growth have all been Republicans.

The main issue inhibiting our economy today are Republican attacks on immigration. Contrary to their propaganda, hardworking immigrants are good for the economy. The Labor Department found:

A rebound in immigration eased labor shortages, especially in fields like leisure and hospitality and health care, allowing those to continue to grow quickly.

Republicans are reacting to Biden’s economic success by threatening to not raise the debt ceiling. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is demanding Joe Biden cut trillions of dollars, or Republicans will crash the world economy.

A new study by the White House Council of Economic Advisers found that if McCarthy holds the economy hostage, the results could be devastating. The report warned:

The nightmare scenario of a “protracted” standoff over the debt limit — or one that lasts about three months — would lead to a 6 percent contraction in the size of the economy…The stock market would also fall by an estimated 45 percent… failing to increase the nation’s borrowing limit could wipe out more than 8 million jobs.

Republicans would rather sabotage the economy than acknowledge Biden’s success. They would wreck the economy at the moment of recovery.

McCarthy is so focused on Republican power, that he seems prepared to drive us into poverty. The modern Republican Party is depressing enough, without leading America into the next Great Depression.  

Earlier this week, my op-ed was published in the Fort Lauderdale newspaper, The Sun-Sentinel. You can read it online here or see my reprint below.

Op-Ed: Florida’s LGBTQ community must resist rollback of our rights

In the aftermath of Florida expanding legislative attacks on its LGBTQ population, the community is struggling with how best to respond. Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast reacted to the uncertainty by announcing Pridefest would only be open to those over 21 years old and they canceled what they called their “beloved” Port St. Lucie pride parade.

This is precisely the wrong action to take. What is needed is courage, not cowardice, in the face of state-sponsored persecution. In the fighting spirit of Stonewall, the LGBTQ community must stubbornly resist efforts to silence students, strip transgender Floridians of health care and falsely label comedic drag shows “obscene.” Canceling our events only appeases bullies like Gov. Ron DeSantis and encourages further attempts to limit our freedom.

Organizing is our only path to overcoming these politically manufactured moral panics. Instead of canceling Pride, what if we reinstated the Port St. Lucie parade and called it Florida Pride, flooding the city with 50,000 marchers from around the state? This would send a powerful message that we have the courage to fight and refuse to be cowed.

The language regarding measures to cancel drag shows is deliberately vague with the goal of creating a climate of uncertainty and fear. We must not succumb and allow the ambiguity to create political paralysis. Let’s challenge such equivocal laws that are likely an unconstitutional attack on free expression.

If police or state agencies show up with the goal of shutting down a drag show, we must vigorously contest their false claims of obscenity. Most performances by female impersonators are comedic and intended to bring joy. One cannot claim they are inherently “sexual” or titillating unless one has an excessively prurient mind. We must ask: Why are DeSantis and his allies lusting at drag shows while the rest of us are innocently laughing?

We must inquire why it’s OK to take kids to overtly sexual venues like Hooters restaurants to order off the children’s menu while it’s forbidden to take kids to drag shows. So much for the right-wing mantra of parental rights.

It is critically important to force Republicans to specifically define “drag” before they enforce laws against it. How do they intend to prove when one crosses the arbitrary and capricious line from gender nonconforming to drag queen? How much make-up must one wear for it to officially be drag? If one covers up a small blemish with concealer, does that constitute drag? Is a kilt a dress? If a woman wears blue jeans and a trucker shirt, is it drag?

This year, Pride committees should consider dropping the term “drag” and rebrand these events “Pride Fashion Balls.” If law enforcement shows up, the performers should stand firm and say, “define drag queen. I identify as a fashionista.”

Of course, Republicans would counter that drag is “a man wearing the clothes of a woman or a woman wearing the clothes of a man.” But the moment they go down this rabbit hole, they open a perilous legal and cultural can of worms. In essence, they are creating a new regime of oppressive state-approved uniforms that strictly divide the sexes in Florida. Let them explain to voters how it’s liberty when a bunch of old men in Tallahassee get to choose what is acceptable attire for men and women in our state.

Will they next raid unisex clothing stores? Will they decide the “appropriate” length of men’s hair or decree that women must wear one-piece bathing suits at the beach to enforce modesty? Once the authoritarian door is opened, it’s a slippery slope of state control. They’ve already decided to ban abortion at six weeks, forcing Florida women to give birth, so it seems a bad bet to believe that Republicans are capable of moderation on issues of social control.

Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast may have been well intentioned, but canceling pride parades doesn’t offer increased “safety.” It simply encourages our foes to take further steps to intimidate and harass us into choosing invisibility. We must reject the idea of cooperating with state and local officials to voluntarily strip ourselves of dignity and human rights.

Our homes might be in DeSantistan, but we are Americans first, and our rights are constitutionally protected. The LGBTQ community has overcome far worse, from Anita Bryant to AIDS discrimination and battles over marriage equality. We have prevailed every time, and we should commit ourselves to doing so again, by lifting this contemporary dark cloud of bigotry that hangs ominously over the Sunshine State.

Wayne Besen is the executive director of Delray Beach-based LGBTQ nonprofit organization Truth Wins Out. He is the former spokesperson of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights organization. 

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