Rush, Tucker, and Conservative Commentary
The Road Ahead is Full of Opportunities and Potholes
With the firing of Tucker Carlson at Fox (or, as I prefer, Faux), the conservative-o-sphere is now devoid of a single major notable populist voice. In the early 2000s, one couldn’t have called Carlson that. As he admitted, he finally came to see the media—-and himself, in that role—-as the problem. Sometime around 2020, Carlson became the voice of reason on Faux.
Of course, that voice looks like the voice of conspiracy to spoodlepigeons such as Ru Paul (Paul Ryan) or any of the analsnatcher consultant class advising Ron DeSantis right now. To them, there was no stolen election.
To us, that was just the first stolen election.
Carlson began to take on the Black Looters Matter even before then; then afterwards started to challenge wokism everywhere. He was the first one on Faux—-and the only one—-to run the Patriot day (J6) video that shows overwhelmingly peaceful protesters not only let into the Capitol but encouraged by the police to enter. And then there’s the likely fed, Ray Epps, who despite being the loudest voice for assaulting the buildings, magically managed to avoid prosecution.
Remember that Rush Limbaugh’s path to populism was also slow: in the early 2000s he supported the Iraq War as did Tucker (and as did I, and yes, I still believe there were WMDs there and that the Russkies removed them to Syria in the days before the invasion). Rush refrained from attacking Republicans until it just grew impossible with the likes of John McCain (McTurd) and Mitt (Minion) Romney. Even then, he spent more time and energy on Barack Obama (Zero) than on the shortcomings of the Deep State GOP. But by the end of Trump’s first term, Rush had pretty much seen the light and patiently explained the dangers of the Deep State and the consultant class.
To that, he owed a lot to another late hero, Angelo Codevilla.
By 2020, in his final full year, Rush had become the leading voice of American populism, skeptical of overseas engagements, critical of de-industrializing—-even if it meant tariffs—-and totally aware of the magnitude of the Deep State threat. I could be wrong, but as I recall he was not yet a vax critic.
Rush could hold an audience for a full three hours by spreading his conservative philosophy to all walks of life—-music, movies, sports. So his was not just a political show.
Tucker Carlson, on the other hand, was the traditional “mainstream” conservative, right down to the bow tie. I found it interesting, if I read between the lines correctly, that Rush did not trust Carlson, referring to him by the nickname “Chatsworth Osborne Jr.” That was significant, because Rush did not apply nicknames, especially those that had a pejorative tint, to friends, although he always referred to Ronald Reagan as “Ronaldus Magnus.”
Likewise, I never trusted “The Tuckster” as I called him, but did notice a steady, significant change in his reporting. He took on increasingly stronger attacks on the left. I do believe he had an epiphany.
We won’t be left without Carlson’s viewpoint for long: he will land on his feet. As lawyer Robert Barnes said, if Rumble was smart they’d sign him to a $50 million contract immediately. Meanwhile, Faux looks to lose at least 1/3 of its evening audience, permanently. And the youngest 1/3, as well.
But until Carlson finds his footing, we are left in a giant void without Rush. The yahoos who have filled his time slot do only that, occupy time. Sean Hannity is a caricature. The once-great Glenn Back managed to destroy his brand and his empire in a few short years. There are opportunities ahead, but numerous land mines and potholes are in the path. We’ll see if the Tuckster can successfully navigate them and seize greatness.
Larry Schweikart
Rock drummer, Film maker, NYTimes #1 bestselling author, Political pundit
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