It’s called “Calendargate,” and it’s raising the question of what — and whom — the right-wing war on “wokeness” is really for.
While most people were enjoying the holidays, extremely online conservatives were fighting about a pinup calendar.
Last month, Ultra Right Beer — a company founded as a conservative alternative to allegedly woke Bud Light — released a 2024 calendar titled “Conservative Dad’s Real Women of America 2024 Calendar.” The calendar contains photos of “the most beautiful conservative women in America” in various sexy poses. Some, like anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines and writer Ashley St. Clair, are wearing revealing outfits; others, like former House candidate Kim Klacik, are fully clothed. No one is naked.
But this mild sexiness was just a bit too much for some prominent social conservatives, who started decrying the calendar in late December as (among other things) “demonic.” The basic complaint is that the calendar is pandering to married men’s sinful lust, debasing conservative women, and making conservatives seem like hypocrites when they complain about leftist immorality.
“Grab-em-by-the-pussy” Conservatives vs. Puritan Conservatives is pretty funny to watch. However, I presume that both sides will vote for Trump because they have no sense of hypocrisy or irony.
There’s a reason “woke” became the rallying cry over the past few years. It’s the only common thread holding the political coalition together. Everything else in each camp is nearly antithetical to one another. They vote together because they have the same enemy, not because they have the same interests or values.
That’s every election cycle with them, they need a boogyman to get people to vote. For “us” it’s Trump, (try to imagine how many people wouldn’t give a shit about voting if it was “only” Biden vs Romney.) For “them” it’s whatever fox says to keep them glued to the t.v, so last time it was vaccine conspiracies and abortion, before that it was the big bad Hillary boogyman and abortion, and now it’s “Woke.”
(As a side note, I get so unbelievably disgusted when I see discussions on “Steam” with new games where it’s always some form of “woke game? Bad! Bad woke game! Don’t buy, woke!” Like for fucks sake, if you don’t want to set a pronoun then don’t! If you don’t want a male character with female hair styles then don’t you don’t have to do these things, they’re options!)
Who knows what it will be next time, maybe they’ll come back around to holding snowballs in Congress to “debunk” climate change… Then again if Trump wins I’m not really sure if there will be a “next time.” I think Republicans know long term they’re going to lose so they need to consolidate power permanently this time.
They willingly ignore those things and embrace that discordant feeling, calling that sensation of unease “loyalty”.
Honed through a lifetime of indoctrination and belief in the unknowable, calling that sensation of unease “faith.”
I’m not sure if you mean in primaries or election, but wouldn’t their situation in elections be the same as the other sides: you vote for the less bad (from your pov) of the two. Surely it’d be Trump rather than Biden for them, even if they’re on the wrong side of that right-wing divide
I have a hard time understanding any justification a Christian puritan would have for voting for Trump. The man embodies the excess of every sin that they obsess over, but I guess he’s the only politician who’s so open to lying to them about the things they most want.
Would Biden and Democrats be more up their alley?
I don’t think I’ve met anyone of any political leaning who would like Biden to be president. People, myself included, still see him as practically perfect compared to Trump.
I’m not defending the Democrats (I’m independent and have no party loyalty). I’m just noting the outrageous state of American politics where puritanical conservatives are so terrified of change that they’d rather vote for a person who openly hates them and their way of life because he lies to them that he’ll maintain the status-quo.
Trump is trash. Biden is trash. Almost all people with any proximity to the presidency are party-loyal trash or wannabe dictators (I.e. Desantis). That said, I’d still rather vote for trash who isn’t openly quoting Hitler and insisting he’s completely above the law.
I just meant in the sense of better out of the two. I know basically nobody thinks of him as a great candidate, but from what I understand of the American system, the only thing that matters is whether the other guy is worse.