Explaining the right: Why Republicans are praising a dead squirrel
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Like most Americans, you probably have never heard of Peanut, the now-deceased squirrel with an Instagram account. But one of the most powerful people in the United States, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, gave a shout out to the animal—also known as P’Nut and PNUT—during a speech before the highly influential Federalist Society on Thursday night. “I’m speaking of Peanut the squirrel,” Gorsuch said, during a section of his remarks discussing purported government overreach. “Raise your glass for Peanut the squirrel, and ask yourself: Can we do better?” he asked, rallying the lawyers at the conservative summit. What is this all about, and how is this squirrel a prime example of the destructively influential role conservative media plays in steering the national conversation? New York resident Mark Longo found the squirrel, adopted it, and featured it on a social media account that attracted a following. Longo did not have a license to own wild animals, which is required under New York law. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation said it received anonymous reports about Peanut and a raccoon in Longo’s custody being kept illegally. The department took the animals from Longo after a state employee was bitten during the investigation, then euthanized them to test them for rabies—the tests turned out to be negative—and the right went wild. Right-wingers love to promote narratives about government overreach and emphasize alleged abuses of government power—particularly under Democrats. These extremists have less of a problem with government overreach when it is conservatives like Donald Trump pushing to take broadcast licenses for what he deems unfair coverage, tear-gassing protesters, or encouraging police brutality against Black and Latino people. Sometimes this spectacularly backfires. Right-wing media figures like deceased racist radio host Rush Limbaugh loved to use the ATF raid on the Branch Davidian compound in 1993 as a rallying point for this argument—until right-wing terrorist Timothy McVeigh used the incident as justification for his deadly bomb attack on Oklahoma City. But Peanut represents much lower stakes, so figures including billionaire Trump sugar daddy Elon Musk began to promote the case. Musk amplified memes about the squirrel and wrote, “The government should not be allowed to barge into your house and kill your pet! That’s messed up.” Donald Trump Jr. then absurdly connected the story to bizarre lies about Democrats taking custody of children “if parents don’t go along with minor children wanting to permanently mutilate their bodies through ‘gender affirming care’.” As is the case with stories like these, the right’s quasi-official propaganda organ, Fox News, became the unofficial Peanut network. The cable news channel repeatedly aired clips about the squirrel and framed the story as an example of Democratic overreach—noting the state’s Democratic leadership and the presidency of Joe Biden. Greg Gutfeld, host of “Gutfeld!” on the network, argued that the state agents who confiscated the animal treated it as if it were Osama bin Laden. Gutfeld went on to claim the incident was an example of Democrats focusing on the wrong issues while purportedly neglecting crime and homelessness. The New York Post, which, like Fox News, is owned by conservative billionaire Rupert Murdoch, also pumped out a stream of squirrel content to continue feeding the right-wing narrative. Elected officials from the Republican Party, like Utah Sen. Mike Lee, then appeared on Fox to point back at the story—creating an echo chamber and validating the issue. The official Twitter account of the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee joined in by tweeting, “Justice for Peanut.” This is a level of concern that conservative media and their Republican allies do not exhibit for women who die due to abortion bans, children murdered in school shootings, or desperate migrant families exploited by traffickers. Because those victims do not serve a right-wing narrative of grievance. Win or lose at the polls, most conservative ideas are losers with the American public. The vast majority of people would not like a rabies-infested animal being kept by an unlicensed owner running wild in their apartment building or neighborhood. So instead of offering up honest discussion or debate about the story, conservatives turn a squirrel into a mythological martyr and amplify the dishonest storyline via media propaganda. And Gorsuch, one of the most powerful people in the world, is invoking a dead squirrel while advancing conservative policies that will hurt people—and squirrels as well. Daily Kos remains uncompromised in our mission to bring facts, context, and perspective to our community without the gagging influence of corporate interest or political pressure. That is because you, the reader, power this operation with your donations. Help us continue this mission by donating just $5. YOU keep the lights on and make it possible for truth and accountability to shine.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/16/2286498/-Explaining-the-right-Why-Republicans-are-praising-a-dead-squirrel?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
Like most Americans, you probably have never heard of Peanut, the now-deceased squirrel with an Instagram account. But one of the most powerful people in the United States, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, gave a shout out to the animal—also known as P’Nut and PNUT—during a speech before the highly influential Federalist Society on Thursday night. “I’m speaking of Peanut the squirrel,” Gorsuch said, during a section of his remarks discussing purported government overreach. “Raise your glass for Peanut the squirrel, and ask yourself: Can we do better?” he asked, rallying the lawyers at the conservative summit. What is this all about, and how is this squirrel a prime example of the destructively influential role conservative media plays in steering the national conversation? New York resident Mark Longo found the squirrel, adopted it, and featured it on a social media account that attracted a following. Longo did not have a license to own wild animals, which is required under New York law. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation said it received anonymous reports about Peanut and a raccoon in Longo’s custody being kept illegally. The department took the animals from Longo after a state employee was bitten during the investigation, then euthanized them to test them for rabies—the tests turned out to be negative—and the right went wild. Right-wingers love to promote narratives about government overreach and emphasize alleged abuses of government power—particularly under Democrats. These extremists have less of a problem with government overreach when it is conservatives like Donald Trump pushing to take broadcast licenses for what he deems unfair coverage, tear-gassing protesters, or encouraging police brutality against Black and Latino people. Sometimes this spectacularly backfires. Right-wing media figures like deceased racist radio host Rush Limbaugh loved to use the ATF raid on the Branch Davidian compound in 1993 as a rallying point for this argument—until right-wing terrorist Timothy McVeigh used the incident as justification for his deadly bomb attack on Oklahoma City. But Peanut represents much lower stakes, so figures including billionaire Trump sugar daddy Elon Musk began to promote the case. Musk amplified memes about the squirrel and wrote, “The government should not be allowed to barge into your house and kill your pet! That’s messed up.” Donald Trump Jr. then absurdly connected the story to bizarre lies about Democrats taking custody of children “if parents don’t go along with minor children wanting to permanently mutilate their bodies through ‘gender affirming care’.” As is the case with stories like these, the right’s quasi-official propaganda organ, Fox News, became the unofficial Peanut network. The cable news channel repeatedly aired clips about the squirrel and framed the story as an example of Democratic overreach—noting the state’s Democratic leadership and the presidency of Joe Biden. Greg Gutfeld, host of “Gutfeld!” on the network, argued that the state agents who confiscated the animal treated it as if it were Osama bin Laden. Gutfeld went on to claim the incident was an example of Democrats focusing on the wrong issues while purportedly neglecting crime and homelessness. The New York Post, which, like Fox News, is owned by conservative billionaire Rupert Murdoch, also pumped out a stream of squirrel content to continue feeding the right-wing narrative. Elected officials from the Republican Party, like Utah Sen. Mike Lee, then appeared on Fox to point back at the story—creating an echo chamber and validating the issue. The official Twitter account of the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee joined in by tweeting, “Justice for Peanut.” This is a level of concern that conservative media and their Republican allies do not exhibit for women who die due to abortion bans, children murdered in school shootings, or desperate migrant families exploited by traffickers. Because those victims do not serve a right-wing narrative of grievance. Win or lose at the polls, most conservative ideas are losers with the American public. The vast majority of people would not like a rabies-infested animal being kept by an unlicensed owner running wild in their apartment building or neighborhood. So instead of offering up honest discussion or debate about the story, conservatives turn a squirrel into a mythological martyr and amplify the dishonest storyline via media propaganda. And Gorsuch, one of the most powerful people in the world, is invoking a dead squirrel while advancing conservative policies that will hurt people—and squirrels as well. Daily Kos remains uncompromised in our mission to bring facts, context, and perspective to our community without the gagging influence of corporate interest or political pressure. That is because you, the reader, power this operation with your donations. Help us continue this mission by donating just $5. YOU keep the lights on and make it possible for truth and accountability to shine.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/16/2286498/-Explaining-the-right-Why-Republicans-are-praising-a-dead-squirrel?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main