From Axios. My comments are intercalated and signaled by ‘BV.’
[Tucker] Carlson said any successor to America’s faltering political system should begin with a shared understanding of what the country “should be,” which he distilled into 10 points.
Fair: The same rules should apply to presidents, federal agents and elites such as Jeffrey Epstein, whose impunity Carlson cast as emblematic of an “Epstein class” enriching itself through a corrupt system.
BV: Of course!
Sovereign: Carlson claimed Israel pushed the U.S. into the Iran war through “bribery or threat or both,” while describing foreign lobbying, corporate control of government and high-interest debt as forms of “slavery.”
BV: As for the claim about Israel, I don’t understand why Carlson makes it. What’s his evidence? Of course, Israel would be the first nation to be nuked into oblivion should the Islamo-theocrats in control of Iran acquire nuclear weapons. So Israel, among all the nations of the world, ought to be, and presumably is, the most concerned about the Iranian threat, and is of course pleased that the USA, under Trump’s leadership, is doing something about it. But the Big Satan (USA) is also in the cross-hairs, as are the nations of Europe. The IRGC is a threat to civilization tout court. Tucker should praise Trump for his fearless leadership.
As for “corporate control of government,” Carlson may have a point that ought to concern conservatives. I understand that our government has a 10% stake in Intel Corp. This deserves discussion and not Hannity-style dismissal.
Productive: America should rebuild farming, manufacturing and craftsmanship while rejecting an economy dominated by finance, real estate speculation, surveillance systems and weapons.
BV: The things mentioned in the initial clause are taking place under Trump. As for the second clause, it is impossible that our economy not be devoted in large part to surveillance systems and weaponry given the external and internal threats we face from our adversaries: The Chi-Coms, NOKO, radical Islam, imperial Russia, and the commie takeover of the Dems by the DSA.
Beautiful: Carlson alleged that urban planners deliberately “uglified” American cities, and portrayed brutalist architecture, graffiti, public drug use and violent crime as deliberate attacks on the public.
BV: Deliberately? Attacks by whom?
Healthy: Carlson embraced RFK Jr.’s food agenda, called for universal sobriety and said widespread use of drugs such as Xanax, Adderall and SSRIs had left Americans “half-addled.”
BV: I agree completely.
Honest: Government officials should be punished for lying to citizens, and most classified records — including on the JFK assassination and 9/11 — should be opened.
BV: Yes! And Trump is doing just that. The transparency of the Trump administration is in stark contrast to the lack thereof in previous administrations. Example: UFOs/UAPs. Tucker should thank Trump.
Optimistic: Carlson argued that having children is a biological imperative and the foundation of long-term thinking, while blaming aging and childless elites for policies that disregard future generations.
BV: OK, but if one cares about future generations, then a terror-state such as Iran under the IRGC cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and the ICBMs to deliver them.
Wise: Schools should teach how the physical world actually works and what he called unchanging facts about human nature — including innate differences between men and women — rather than credentials, screens and technological fads.
BV: Bad writing, but I agree.
Decent: The U.S. should apologize and pay restitution for killing noncombatants, reverse Trump’s “Department of War” rebrand and stop funding allies that commit what Carlson called genocide, citing Israel.
BV: This is the unhinged Carlson 2.0. (I suspect that his being cashiered by FOX played a major role in his unhinging.) What noncombatants? The DOD rebrand is just honesty. War is not just defense: it is attack and defense. By the way, ‘DOD’ was itself an obfuscatory rebrand; Trump restored the original name. Finally, to refer to Israel as ‘genocidal’ is an Orwellian inversion of the truth.
United: Carlson called for halting immigration until the effects of AI become clearer, ending benefits for undocumented immigrants and making English the sole language of federal documents and ballots.
BV: I agree entirely re: the second and third points. The first point obviously needs qualification.
In conclusion, this manifesto is deeply flawed, but does make some good points. I used to think highly of Tucker Carlson, It is too bad he lost his way.