Sasha Stone is a former Democrat who has seen the light. The rage, hatred, and sheer evil of Democrats finally caused her to become a Republican, and she’s paid a price for it. Consider this from one of her recent Substack articles:
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I have lost so many friends over politics. Some friends of more than 15 years thought nothing of walking away. It shocked me. We’re all adults, after all. This isn’t middle school anymore. Don’t they know I’m still me? No, they don’t. Their pathological hatred for Trump means anyone who votes for him is their sworn enemy.
I was no longer someone they trusted or even liked. [skip]
Almost everyone I knew on Facebook for the past decade has become a stranger to me. I know the people I see around my town would not want to be my friend if they knew I voted for Trump.
My choice was to stay true to what I believed was worth fighting for, or stay silent to preserve my place on the Left and my friendships. No one should be asked to do that. I believe it shows weakness of character to abandon friends over politics. And yet, here we are.
Stone worries that Republicans may lose the House and Senate, at least in part because of JD Vance’s apparent refusal to clearly separate himself from Tucker Carlson’s recent descent into madness. No doubt, others share her concern, not only about losing the House and Senate, but about Vance, who, for the moment, might be the GOP front-runner for 2028.
Before Fox News fired him, Carlson did a great deal of good and seemed grounded in reality. His exposés of video footage from J6 did much to expose Biden Administration corruption. But Stone is right. Carlson seems so deranged by antisemitism that he said he’d vote for Islamist Abdul El-Sayed, and that’s among his milder mental lapses. I thought Carlson’s departure from Fox unfortunate. Perhaps they knew something I didn’t?
I’ve been generally impressed by J.D. Vance, but like Andrew Klaven, I’m concerned:
Graphic: X Post
Like Klaven, I have plenty of nutty friends too. I suspect I’m like most Normal Americans. Despite being knee-deep in politics due to my writing research, I’m content to let others live their lives as they choose. Unless they bring up a given political topic, I don’t feel compelled to be a missionary for the one true political faith. Even if they do bring it up, I’m gentle in explaining the consequences of lunatic Democrat positions and in explaining why being born American is winning life’s lottery.
I’m gentle because often, people are uninformed and willing to change their views when necessary. Democrat true believers, however, may be unreachable.
I was unaware that Carlson “has accused the U.S. of waging war on Russia because Putin is ‘reimposing Christianity’ there,” But Klaven is a careful, accurate writer, which only increases my concerns about Carlson and Vance. It’s unlikely a Marxist like Putin would be “imposing Christianity,” and we’re not in anything other than a muted cold war with Russia.
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And yes, in the throes of terminal TDS, Carlson also seems to be opposing America because Trump is President. That’s insane and dangerous.
I agree with Klaven. Vance really needs to say that while he considers Carlson a friend, he absolutely disagrees with his stance on Trump, his support for Russia and Iran, his antisemitism, and his repeated giving of a microphone to antisemites. He also, repeatedly and forcefully, needs to repudiate socialism/communism and extol constitutional liberty.
Some suggest Vance is subtly distancing himself from Trump and the MAGA movement he built and leads. Perhaps so, or perhaps it’s just his lack of distancing himself from Carlson that leads people to think that way. Either way, Vance needs to clean this up, and fast.
What seems certain is that Republicans—witness the Senate’s inability to pass the SAVE Act—continue to live up to the epithet “the Stupid Party.” A great many Normal Americans aren’t seeing the smart, consistent political messaging, which, using Democrats’ own words and actions, should be deadly to them in the midterms and in 2028.
By seemingly failing to clearly distance himself from Carlson, Vance appears to be part of that messaging and public-perception failure.
Vance doesn’t need to behave like Stone’s former friends—no one should–but as Andrew Klaven, a very smart fellow, suggests, he does need to be a clear and reliable ideological leader of the Republican Party, a party upon which Normal Americans can at least mostly rely. That degree of reliance may be about all Americans can hope for these days.
If they can’t, they’ll stay home on election day, and Stone’s fears will be realized.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
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