Darling, you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

—The Clash

The mainstream media is America’s looking glass: If you gaze through it at just the right angle, you’ll see the true face of our country. But the challenge is, because of all the bias, lies, and deliberate propaganda, it’s usually more like a “fun-view” carnival mirror, where everything’s distorted. 

The image being reflected is still “us,” but you’ve gotta be aware of the exaggerations. Those carnival mirrors, where you look way too tall and skinny (or short and fat), are based on something real, but if you plan your next wardrobe on how you looked in the reflection, you’re kind of missing the point. Yes, it’s still YOU… but not literally.

So let’s look at the media and see what we can learn: Last night, Politico ran an explosive article about the GOP, “The MAGA split over Israel.” 

Among the highlights:

Israel’s early-morning strikes targeting Iran have supercharged a debate that has been simmering for years on the MAGA right: Is America’s “special relationship” with Israel consistent with the realist principles of an “America First” foreign policy?

The clash — which is taking place between two powerful factions of the MAGA movement — is unfolding primarily at an ideological level, but its consequences are far from academic. As the U.S. and Israel weigh their response to retaliatory strikes from Iran, the position that the Trump administration eventually adopts in this intra-conservative skirmish will almost certainly shape its involvement in the next stages of conflict — and, by extension, the long-term trajectory of the Middle East.

Politico’s analysis is based on something true: There are two opposing movements in MAGA right now. And one of the camps, which is strongly identified with Tucker Carlson, has sounded the alarm:

The other side includes the overwhelming majority of MAGA, the GOP, and the Republican political establishment. In fact, support for Israel is now one of the key differences between conservatives and liberals: What was once a bipartisan issue has become hyper-politicized. 

When Quinnipiac asked voters whom they supported, Israel or the Palestinians:

Among Republicans, 64 percent say the Israelis, while 7 percent say the Palestinians, and 29 percent did not offer an opinion.

Among Democrats, 12 percent say the Israelis, while 60 percent say the Palestinians, and 29 percent did not offer an opinion.

The numbers are basically reverse-images of each other. So make no mistake, the Tucker Carlson camp is firmly in the MAGA minority. But because their thought leaders carry such a large megaphone, their grievances are amplified.

The world is a complex place; there are no easy answers. A smart president uses all the tools in his toolkit. There’s a time for interventionism and a time for pacifism: History is replete with examples of each.

That’s why one of the telltale signs of intellectual dishonesty is when one side keeps insisting the world is black and white:

Reframing this as a battle between “warmongers” and “peacemakers” is absurdly simplistic. It’s how a child sees the world.

Carlson, of course, puts himself on the side of the “peacemakers.” (Very noble.) So, if you disagree with him, guess what that makes you?

Right: a warmonger.

Ignoring the all-too-obvious contradiction of “peacemakers” objecting to the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear WMD program(!), there are broader issues at play.

First and foremost is, what lessons did we learn from our misadventure in the Iraq War?

According to the Tucker Carlson worldview, the big takeaway is that the neocons are pure evil, interventionism is wrong, and Israel is utterly irrelevant to U.S. interests — which means, if you support Israel, your “loyalty” is clearly suspect.

Hmm…

One of the benefits of age is perspective. You’ve been alive long enough to see the pendulum swing to and fro. You remember, for example, when the pendulum swung all the way to the left during the height of the #MeToo Movement, and now you’re watching it resettle somewhere closer to the middle.

In the aftermath of 9/11, sure, Americans were hyper-vigilant about connecting the dots of international terrorism. The thought was, had we been more vigilant beforehand, perhaps that horrible, awful tragedy could’ve been avoided.

And in doing so, the pendulum swung too far to the interventionist side.

But that doesn’t mean the sane, rational solution is to swing the pendulum all the way back to the isolationist side. Radical isolationism is just as stupid as radical interventionism!

Instead, I want President Trump to be “America First” in the truest sense: Use ALL the tools in the American toolkit to maximize the safety, security, peace, and prosperity of the American people.

When the situation necessitates isolationism, let’s isolate like monks on the mountaintop. When it necessitates interventionism, let’s pack a passport and get to work. 

“America First” is as much a destination as it is a tactic.

Back to that Politico article: Exactly 11.5 hours after “The MAGA split over Israel” brouhaha ran, The Hill ran an article from, ahem, a slightly different perspective: “Israel-Iran conflict poses new dilemma for Democrats.”

Wait, what?! 

Among the highlights:

While many Democrats quickly condemned conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for launching Israel’s assault on Thursday night, many others hailed the decision as a necessary step to put a halt to Tehran’s nuclear expansion.

The disagreement is an unwelcome one for Democratic leaders, who had rallied forcefully behind Padilla on Thursday afternoon and were hoping to take that unified front into the weekend, when President Trump is staging an elaborate military parade, and then into next week’s holiday, when the House is on a long recess and lawmakers will be back in their districts to confront voters. 

Instead, Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program — a mere coincidence of timing — has dragged Democrats back into the quarrelsome discussion over Netanyahu’s aggressive military strategy, which has already been a topic of internal strife amid Israel’s demolition of Gaza in search of the Hamas terrorists who attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Earlier we noted how the media distorts images like a “fun-view” carnival mirror. It’s happened again with this so-called “MAGA split over Israel.” Because, the truth is, it’s not just a MAGA split. And it’s not just a Democratic Party split, either! 

Any story that claims otherwise is distorting reality.

Unfortunately, on both sides of the aisle, there’s a percentage of people who get very, very weird when it comes to Jews. Inside America; outside of America; it’s as close as you can get to a historical constant. 

Some of ‘em — such as Nick Fuentes on the right and The Squad on the left — come right out and let their antisemitism freak flag fly. But most of ‘em mask their antisemitism, focusing instead on “Jewish influence” and various conspiracy theories about the Israeli lobby pushing poor ol’ America around. There are many more antisemites on the left than the right, but sadly, neither party has a monopoly on ancient hatreds. They’re a bit more universal than that.

Once again, the Jews are the canary in the coalmine.

But there’s an important upside: Now, at least we have a much clearer picture of certain MAGA “thought leaders” who are claiming to speak on our behalf. 

‘Cuz they sure as hell not speaking for me: Go Israel.

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