Crash Course: Why the GOP is obsessed with "woke" — but can't define it

MAGA can't explain what "woke" is, but that's the point — it's a "choose your own bigotry" term for Republicans [View in browser](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMveWZkdGdyMXd2Zy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3VXA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Your daily update from [Salon](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdmpqajV5ZW80dy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Why the GOP is obsessed with "woke" — but can't define it "Woke" is currently the favorite word of the right. Republican politicians can't go more that 5 or 6 words without peppering "woke" into their sentences. Turning on Fox News, you'll hear the word "woke" repeated ad nauseam, like a record skipping, but for hours at a time: "woke woke woke woke woke." Everything is "woke": [Banks](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvYXA5enh6bDhrcy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). [Children's books](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvcGw1anBrdGxucy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). [The military](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZnlwbHh3ODJhZC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). [Disney](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvM3ducDJtZXh5aC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). [M&Ms](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvM3U3dWRmZWxsNi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). [Super Bowl performances](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdWQ2dDlvNm00OS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). To be a Republican in the year 2023 is to spend every waking moment outraged and terrified by "woke," certain its wokey tendrils will snake their wokeness into your brain and woke-ify you into wokeitude. [Read the rest from Amanda Marcotte.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdWprdGxkNjk4aS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) The myth of "liberal" news: How the New York Times does the work of fascists There is no such thing as the liberal news media. In reality, there is a corporate news media that polices the limits of approved public discourse and privileges the voices and agenda of the powerful over those of everyday Americans. In a time of ascendant neofascism and other great crises this is a great betrayal of the American people and the sacred responsibility that the Fourth Estate has in a democracy. "The liberal media" (and its conjoined twin "liberal media bias") is language that was invented by the American right-wing in the 1980s and 1990s as a way of training and bullying the American news media into serving its agenda. [Read the rest from Chauncey DeVega](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMDNmeDNybXl6OC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) - Imprisoned “Tiger King” star, [Joe Exotic](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvazh4MmhhOXJvNi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo), is running for president - [Republicans](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdnptaDFsMHNwMC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) who rolled back bank regulations got donations from SVB — now they "want to go further" - The joy of [achar butter](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMHl2bHoydGNtZC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) and tiny cooking wins - [Dennis Quaid](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvYjF5bTZicmE5cS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) on his Hollywood long game: "I never cared about having a Tom Cruise-type of career" - “His defense is a confession”: Ex-prosecutor says [Trump’s cover story](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbHU3NTAyd3ZqNy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) is actually an “admission” - Right-winger rails against ["woke"](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbnF6NGRqN2Uyci8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) — then struggles when asked to define what it means - Tracing water's path through a young star system could provide clues as to how [alien life](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvcGhuM3FpY21rOS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) might form - [Trump lawyer](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvam4zNHJ2NXNmZy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) lunges to grab documents from MSNBC host after he’s called out over “lie” - Trump Media probed for possible [Russia-linked money laundering](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN284OGR5bG9ybS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) over loan approved by Don Jr.: report - The ["Ted Lasso"](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN2RmOGl3MGhnaC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) way gets tested in the beloved show's third season - This [asteroid](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbmRkOHUycGhrcy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) is most likely to hit Earth, with a possible impact on Valentine's Day 2046 If you found yourself here without subscribing, sign up for [Crash Course](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvOG1zMXQ1YXR2Ny8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo), so you don't miss anything! Ron DeSantis is caught between MAGA and Donald Trump You know the presidential primary campaigns have begun in earnest when political reporters start trudging around Iowa and hanging out in [diners](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvY2RjYnQ3eDBtNS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) to find out what the Real Americans are thinking. This week we got our first dose of this quadrennial ritual when both Donald Trump and his closest rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis showed up to give speeches and mingle with the hoi polloi. [Read the rest from Heather Digby Parton.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvd2hxZ3c1cHgyeS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) - "Ryan Reynolds Sells His Wireless Company for More Than $1 Billion," [People](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdnVzZjdjNTR4ay8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3VXA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Workers dismantle Florida ride where teen fell to death," [AP News](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvYnoxcDEzMWFxOC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3VXA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Christina Ricci says she was threatened with a lawsuit after refusing to do a sex scene a certain way," [Entertainment Weekly](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbW45aWNyaTJ3YS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3VXA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Woman who posed as sick, wounded Marine gets nearly 6 years in prison," [CBS News](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdHh2djh3eG5xYy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3VXA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) "I need a woman who looks like she got punched": Republicans become more openly pro-abuse "I need a woman who looks like she got punched." So sayeth a recent hire by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Andrew Kloster. As [Roger Sollenberger of the Daily Beast](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvczVpYXlmY2p2NC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3VXA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (and formerly Salon) reported, this self-proclaimed "raging misogynist" is hardly just some random troll the famously provocative Gaetz picked up off Twitter. Kloster denounced sexual consent as a "pernicious fetish" and argued "Natalie Portman should have stayed 11 years old." [Kloster is also a member of the Federalist Society](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZ3FmMmMwZXJ0Zi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3VXA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo), the GOP pipeline for their far-right federal court judges. He also worked for the Donald Trump administration and was once a clerk at the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He's worked with religious right groups like the Heritage Foundation, while also tweeting, "If you don't defend child pornographers, we are only one step away from naziism." [Read the rest from Amanda Marcotte.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvanRsem1jb3Zoci8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTNtMHZyYTE3N3UmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKZAl7PhNk9z4N9lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Win McNamee/Getty Images) [Unsubscribe from this list](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9yZWFkLmxldHRlcmhlYWQuZW1haWwvY3Jhc2gtY291cnNlL3Vuc3Vic2NyaWJlP2lkPUAzNTQzOTUyVwNzcGNCCmQJez4TZPc-DfZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) Copyright © 2023 Crash Course, All rights reserved. 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, DE 19801 [Made with Letterhead [Letterhead logo]](~/AASU4wA~/RgRl9cN6P0QiaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbmVwbm83czh5c1cDc3BjQgpkCXs-E2T3Pg32Uht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~)