Reminder: Beware of Right Wing Lingo [View all]

Especially MAGA lingo — never let it take hold in public discourse or mainstream media.

1.
The latest lingo:

“Weaponization of the federal government" -- instead, say tyranny.

One example of how MAGA lingo gets mainstreamed is from THECONVERSATION.COM, which comes out of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Author Ken Hughes purports to "explain" the history of the "weaponization of government" as an intellectual exercise. He does what Koch wants all his professors at his universities to do -- manage public perception of "government," "policy," and "history."

This "conversation" site has shown up on Facebook and probably other feeds. It's not that Ken Hughes himself doesn't speak of abuse of power under Nixon and other presidents, he does. It's that his headline validates the phrase as a mainstream political idea, which itself is a right wing form of perception management and political discourse.

Professor Timothy Snyder can put right wing lingo in its proper political context, but too often, people don't read behind the lingo used in blogs or op-ed headlines. They perhaps bookmark it, maybe go on to use the "idea" of the headline in their own discourse, often called punditry. What we've seen, historically, is that too many readers and media people can't, or won't, recognize right wing lingo when they see it. We hate when they drag us into chewing over it, giving it meaning and validity through inter-party political wrangling.

https://theconversation.com/the-weaponization-of-the-federal-government-has-a-long-history-197848?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=bylinefacebookbutton&fbclid=IwAR0cZmMYicNS3gs7tLly9lWLCR4Z6SP6EzyV0JxMIhNGztT8mjilnZI-Hrs

Lingo is a long game power strategy; e.g., MAGA itself is a play on the old Nazi slogan.

2.
The overall point: DO NOT CONFLATE ABUSE OF POWER WITH "weaponization of the federal government."

If a whole government were "weaponized" -- which has only happened once in U.S. history -- if it were even possible for 3 million people to be unified under some "weaponization" scheme -- that power would, in fact, be tyranny. If it has happened in American history, it has only happened as
a) our revolution against monarchial tyranny, and
b) the the slavery government setup with Jefferson Davis in the US civil war.

What "weaponization" has really been is the abuse of power by specific individuals in government who want to establish "rule of men" over "rule of law."
Some people in government have allegedly weaponized their roles and power, but that is legally known as abuse of power, or fraudulent use of power. To call it "weaponizing government" is to confound and obscure these individuals' unlawfulness. Which is what the current coup caucus are trying to do.

Abuse of power, when organized, sets up "rule of men" tyranny over "rule of law" democracy. It's what "we the people" fought a revolution against. Rule of men is what we the people now vote against.
Any organized or pervasive "Rule of men" system -- billionaires, AI, media propaganda, bankers, or Big Corps.-- never gets consent of the governed.

3.
Every election is our reminder to those rule of men entities that their front men do not have consent of the governed, that they may not run this nation the way they run their own systems.

In the future, every statement their scripted bag men make is our chance to stop their perception management game.
Others call it "controlling the narrative," or "alt," or even "George Santos."

As soon as liberals (anywhere, but mostly in government) say or do anything moral, fair, or democratic, the Right calls it "woke" or "cancel culture."
In the House, it's now a "select" committee to "study" the "weaponizing of government." We rule of law Americans call that lingo an attempt to obstruct due process of law.

If we don't fight the Right's lingo — the self interested use of language of self proclaimed “insiders” — the Right will eventually confound people's perception, then more easily control it. As they’ve done from "Contract ON America" days to the T.E.A. "party" to their trumpcult base to their party platform.

4.
"Perception management," even sounds like lingo. But when it's done right, it's called reality, also, history.
When it's done wrong -- for power over past, present and future -- perception management is a right wing, fascist, and corporate, Koch thing. It processes itself into mainstream media and discourse through "think" tanks and universities.

Identify and put RW lingo in their proper contexts, and leave "government" systems out as a context for "weaponizing." When it comes to this phrase, it's operatives and power abusers in government who weaponize.
Not government.

When it's done right, is when Senate candidate Ruben Gallego reminds us of the basis of government:
"At the core, if you're more likely to be meeting with the powerful than the powerless, you're doing this job incorrectly."