”Twas the weekend before Christmas, and if you’re a younger person you’re statistically more likely than not to be headed home to family. But if you happen to be among those who felt especailly motivated and/or disenfranchised by the perils of life on Earth, you may have instead headed to Phoenix, Arizona, where tens of thousands of similarly soul-searching folk headed to Phoenix, Arizona to kick off the holidays with what they seem to consider a most desirable alternative. Given my own family history under far less dramatic circumstances than so many live with today, I can relate.
But what these otherwise well-intentioned folks instead got was a level of dysfunction and a Festivus-on-steroids experience which I suspect exceeded even their worst nightmares. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ Jonathan L. Cooper recapped what went down on just the first night:
A simmering battle over the future of President Donald Trump’s political movement exploded on one of the right’s biggest stages Thursday, as prominent conservative influencers used Turning Point USA’s annual youth conference to attack each other and their competing visions. The feuding threatened to eclipse efforts to memorialize Charlie Kirk, the organization’s charismatic founder who was assassinated in September, even as participants insisted they were honoring the legacy of a unifying figure within the Republican Party.
First up was Ben Shapiro, who described Tucker Carlson and others as grifters and charlatans, guilty of misleading their audiences with falsehoods and conspiracy theories. Shapiro sharply criticized Carlson, a former Fox News host, for interviewing outspoken antisemite Nick Fuentes on his podcast, calling it “an act of moral imbecility.”
Barely an hour later, Carlson took the same stage and mocked Shapiro’s attempt to “deplatform and denounce” people who disagree with him. “I watched it,” he said. “I laughed.”
NBC NEWS’ Jonathan Allen picked up the narrative from Night Two:
(Steve) Bannon fired back on Friday night from the same stage, accusing Shapiro of wanting to take over Turning Point USA and putting Israel’s interests ahead of the United States. “Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads,” Bannon said to cheers from the crowd of thousands at the Phoenix Convention Center.
Then throw in the ongoing soap opera-cum-catfight that’s been simmering between the movement’s current leader and a one-time comrade in arms that seems to channel an approach not seen since Glenn Close decided to indulge her penchant for rabbit stew–something Cooper’s byline-shy colleague(s?) also picked up on:
Turning Point has also faced turmoil over conspiracy theories spread by Candace Owens, a former employee who hosts a top-rated podcast. Owens has alleged without evidence that Israeli spies were involved in Kirk’s death and that he was betrayed by people close to him. Authorities say (Tyler) Robinson acted alone.
Asked about Owens and others spreading conspiracy theories during a CBS News town hall, Erika Kirk responded with one word: “Stop.” She said Owens is making money off her family’s tragedy, adding that conspiracy peddlers risk tainting the jury pool and allowing her husband’s killer to get away with it.
Last weekend, with the Turning Point conference looming, Kirk and Owens agreed to a temporary détente until a private meeting. It didn’t last long.
After the meeting Monday, Owens said on her show that she and Kirk spoke for four-and-a-half hours but she still doubted that Robinson acted alone.
Think that all sounds like mature, resp0nsible, “Christian” behavior? You should see what it looks like.
I’m not exactly surprised by this, as I’m generally aware that there are factions of Christian organizations that prey on those seeking something that their daily lives can’t provide. I’ve bene privy to how the old-school teleevangelists like Robert Schuller, Jerry Falwell, Jim Bakker, Charles Stanley and Benny Hinn felt about their flocks when they gathered together for a memorable $500-a-plate roast in honor of Pat Robertson I was obligated to attend in Century City about three decades ago. The alcohol was as free-flowing that night as the off-color jokes that a naive non-believer like me was stunned to hear spewing from this supposed paragons of decency and morality. When a couple of them started to compare their donations in a manner akin to how jocks compared belt notches in what some “modern day Cyruses” would chalk up to “locker room talk”, it etched a memory in my brain that I’ve never quite been able to shake.
The irony is that at a time when so many came together in search of a light at the first gathering since its youthful leader was murdered said light was actually provided to those of their virulent opponents. This throwdown evolved in the same week as Jasmine Crockett declared her determined intention to run for the senate in Texas with yet another flurry of ebonically peppered and choreographed social media and the cabinet being cobbled together by New York City’s answer to Kirk was already having serious fractions of its own. Per NBC 4 NEW YORK’s Melissa Russo:
One day after being hired by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Catherine Almonte Da Costa submitted her resignation after antisemitic statements in old Twitter posts dating back to 2011 surfaced Thursday. Mamdani transition sources tell NBC New York that he and his transition were unaware of the posts when they appointed Da Costa Wednesday.
When Mamdani put Da Costa in charge of hiring for the city, she pledged to recruit diverse talent. “They have to reflect the rich diversity of race faith ethnicity that defines this City,” she said at the time.
But today, 33-year-old Da Costa was apologizing for antisemitic posts dating back to when she was 18 years old. The posts were first found by the Anti-Defamation League, and then more problematic posts were uncovered by Timmy Facciola in a story on Substack. Soon after, Da Costa took down her Twitter account.
In a statement released by the Mamdani transition team, Da Costa said she apologized and expressed “deep regret” for her past statements. “These statements are not indicative of who I am. As the mother of Jewish children, I feel a profound sense of sadness and remorse at the harm these words have caused,” said Da Costa. “As this has become a distraction from the work at hand, I have offered my resignation.”
It’s a good thing that folks with Owens’ appetite for red meat aren’t on the case, at least yet. Who knows how many other skeletons might be in this closet that could add to the growing reality that so many of Mamdani’s ambitious plans that he rode to election on are simply not going to be funded when he begins his reign next month. We’ve never known New Yorkers to be an especially patient lot, and those for whom said patience is being further stretched by baseball free agency departures and stagnation and G-d-awful weather let’s just say they’re not exactly handing Zo an especially lengthy amount of rope.
I can’t imagine the entitled and distant young people who fell for this fever dream so heavily and arrogantly this past fall are feeling especially overconfident about their choices this weekend. But at least they’re still focused on supporting one person’s vision, much the same way that the older farts are still fawning over Fat Orange Jesus even as his own public appearances continue to devolve into increasingly rambling discourse that this past week alone included screaming at cameras and hijacking capitulant broadcast networks in the middle of reality show finales and telling a half-empty gathering in North Carolina that his missus steams her panties. It’s abundantly clear his own sunset isn’t all that far off. But based upon what we’re seeing from the next generation of “leadership”, it’s almost understandable that there are those determined to keep him going even in a “Weekend at Bernie’s”-ish fashion as long as possible.
I guess we can take some sort of solace that in the battle for control of young minds no singular demogogue is emerging in the same way as one did when descending from a golden escalator a bit more than a decade ago. And maybe once the shock and awe wears off they’ll be all the more capable of deciding for themselves, and possibly drag a few of their loved ones along with them. One can only hope that might make for a more constructive and less inflammatory holiday season.
May you at least enjoy yours.
Until next time…