By Steve Hynd
Last night, our tireless researcher Kat sent me a link to a piece by Time's Michael Scherer which claimed that the Republican Governors Association has "embraced the symbolism" of infamous British traitor and terrorist Guy Fawkes with a new website and video. It's a claim that has been swiftly taken up by Josh Marshall, Steve Benen and others.
So I watched the video and looked at the website. And the vids a slickly done and properly twisted bit of agitprop.
But other than the vague connection of the title, "Remember November", there's nothing about Fawkes anywhere. And the title could just as easily be a reference to the elections. If it's some kind of wingnut dog-whistle, it's too high pitched for this Brit to hear.
So I re-read Scherer's piece and nowhere in it does he actually quote anyone from the RGA saying its meant to invoke the Gunpowder Plotter. In fact, he doesn't appear to have asked the Republican Governors Assoctation for a comment at all. That's shoddy journalism, at best, and partisan counter-spinning at worst.
As conservative blogger Allahpundit rightly says, if they are "purposely alluding to Fawkes, it�s both unwelcome and very politically stupid." But Scherer has absolutely nothing substantial to base his claim on.
Perhaps he wants to hint at a maximalist Catholic uprising. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic conspirator, looking to put a Catholic king on the British throne.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it.
But it would be ironically clever.
I had the same feeling when I watched the clip, to be honest. Right wing talk being what it has been lately kind of leads people to assume the worst, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteA protestant good-old-boy from Mississippi paying homage to a 17th century Catholic radical? That's a ridiculous accusation.
ReplyDeleteWhat have the libs been smoking?
Umm, RightKlik...this is a lib blog :-)
ReplyDeleteRegards, Steve
I guess when Scherer said the "mythology has come full circle" he might have meant that the GOP embraced and diluted the mythology to the point where the only recognizable feature left is a childrens' nursery rhyme.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad I wasn't the only person on the left to question whether Scherer was reporting or conjecturing a Guy Fawkes allusion. If you go over to Allahpundit or Protein Wisdom (please don't), they're just certain that the Fawkes connection is completely made-up by TEH LEFT to slur conservatives as ultra-violent when IN FACT (of course) it is the libtards who are violent!1!
ReplyDeleteI wish Scherer hadn't connected it to V for Vendetta because I think we would have a much more productive conversation about racial issues in the video, than some made-up conversation about who's a bigger terrorist.
a piece by Time's Michael Scherer:
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: I notice quite a bit of electronic dust this post has stirred up on the interwebbing. A couple points: First, as I suggest in the post, the tale of Fawkes has been so thoroughly appropriated by so many that it is just not right to associate the latest appropriators with the intent of the original criminal in 1605. The RGA is not calling for a violent uprising here. It is tapping into well-established online anti-government memes. (Remember 1984.) The Wachowski brothers, who were themselves referencing a comic book adaptation of the Fawkes story, were not calling for violence when they made their movie. Ron Paul supporters were not calling for violence when they decided to raise $4 million in 2007. To suggest that this is what the RGA is doing now is, it seems to me, overly simplistic and inflammatory. Second, there has been some speculation in the comments that the RGA fed me the Fawkes reference. They did not. But the connection is not exactly a stretch for anyone who has closely followed Republican politics online (and yes, here I am counting Paul as a Republican). Aside from the Remember November refrain, the classical music, the near-apocalyptic crises messages, the suggestions of totalitarian intent, the imagery of Castro and marching soldiers, the sound of a ticking clock all points to a well established online narrative, where Fawkes thrives as a sort of folk hero for all ideologies. These sorts of videos are made to go viral. They are intended to be edgy, provocative. They are meant to tap into running passions, online story lines. This one is very successful at accomplishing its viral mission.
Followed by 200+ comments -- with several people pointing out wingnut-meme links to recent acts of domestic terrorism, and others pointing out the factual discrepancies and racist overtones in the video's imagery.
Thanks Kat.
ReplyDeleteIf ever I read a weasel-worded attempt to excuse a lack of journalistic due process, that was it.
Regards, Steve