Lib Patriotism

Democrats hope this potent, and subversive, sentiment wins elections

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough knows exactly who really hates America. It’s not the leftists burning flags or teaching kids this country is racist. Instead, it’s Donald Trump and his MAGA followers that truly hate the land of the free.

This doesn’t make much sense. The Trump faithful drape themselves in Americana, declare themselves “America First,” and seek to make this country great again. It’s a patriotic movement. But Scarborough and other Biden loyalists declare them un-American because the Trumpsters aren’t thrilled with the current state of the country. True patriotism, according to those like Scarborough, requires one to love multiculti America, back an aggressive foreign policy, worship every institution, and vote Democratic. That’s the American way, according to Biden loyalists–and they hope they can convince the public it’s the true measure of patriotism in the upcoming election.

Scarborough is this view’s leading advocate. The former Republican is one of the most devoted Biden shills in the media, going as far as to insist that the clearly senile president is mentally sharp. What he says on his morning show aligns with the president’s re-election campaign. On a daily basis, the MSNBC host rails against the anti-patriotism of the Right.

Here are a few examples.

In March, he declared that Trump’s campaign message is “America sucks” and urged his supporters to leave the country if they think that.

“To me, the most offensive is that we’re a third-world country, that our economy sucks, that our military sucks, that our democracy sucks, when in fact just the opposite is true,” Scarborough continued. “We are the greatest in the world. I’m proud to be an American. This is the greatest country in the world, and yet Donald Trump wins votes.”

He asked of Trump supporters: “What is wrong with you people? Why do you hate America? Why do you vote for a guy that says America is terrible? That it is a third-world country when all the evidence is to the contrary.”

In April, he excoriated Fox and the MAGA base for “trashing America.”

Where are you from? Because you may claim to be from where I’m from, but you were not raised by the same teachers I was raised by and you don’t read… I’m getting tired of saying this to people who claim to be patriotic but hate America, because they’re always running America down… They’re always trashing America. They’re always saying America is horrible, its democracy doesn’t work, we need a dictatorship if Donald Trump doesn’t win.

This month, he denounced Republicans’ “situational patriotism” that doesn’t make them support every decision made by the justice system.

You know, we hear about situational ethics; in the case of Republicans, it’s situational patriotism. They love the justice department when their opponents are being prosecuted.

They love American democracy when their candidates win. But if they lose elections, suddenly, they hate American democracy, and they think it’s corrupt. If Donald Trump is convicted of crimes, of felonies 34 times, suddenly they hate the justice system. But if it goes the other way for them, situationally, it’s okay.

That last claim is particularly ridiculous since every liberal thinks our justice system is corrupted by “structural racism.”

Nevertheless, there is still an ideological coherence here. Liberals control the institutions of America. Their ideology is what’s broadcast to the world as “Americanism.” This form of patriotism demands its adherents see the country’s changes as fundamentally good and worthy of praise. Its diverse status quo is the “true America,” thus criticizing it marks you as un-American. In the past, “Love it or leave it” was the cry of the white redneck telling a libtard to accept the heritage and folkways of America. Now that phrase is used by the libtard to tell the white redneck to accept multiculturalism.

Matt Lewis, a once-known conservative pundit, made this point in an attempt to ingratiate himself to Scarborough on X. He claimed the Trumpists are now like the hippies Merle Haggard condemned in his country classic “The Fightin’ Side of Me.” Haggard sang about how he wants to fight those who run down the country.

In the minds of liberals, the ones running down the country are Trump supporters. The MAGA base now must worry about MSNBC viewers beating them up for apparent their lack of patriotism.

Biden himself utilizes this rhetoric. He regularly derides Trump and his ideas as “un-American.” Earlier this year, Biden used this term to describe his opponent’s criticism of NATO. It is our patriotic duty to spend tons of money to prop up a foreign alliance that our allies don’t pay their fair share for. 

Liberal intellectuals such as Matt Yglesias and Noah Smith expand upon this trait. In their writings, they imagine America as a glorious empire fighting to spread liberal democracy everywhere. It demands a strong military posture against China and other “autocratic” enemies that could easily lead to war. They advocate for open borders in the delusional belief that more “Americans” means a stronger America. It’s essentially neoconservatism that proudly flies the Progress Flag and declares “Black Lives Matter.” One could call it libtard imperialism. Naturally, these types castigate the Right’s lack of patriotism for not adhering to the imperial ideology, showing insufficient fervor for foreign adventures, and not wanting open borders.

It makes sense for libs to claim the mantle of patriotism. It’s obviously a popular sentiment and Democrats want to win an election. It still hurts for your party to be seen as the unpatriotic party, which is why Scarborough is trying to out-judo the Right on this matter. But campaign politics isn’t the only reason for liberals to act like true patriots. Liberal values are reflected in America’s popular culture. Their preferred history is taught in our schools. The country’s demographics embody the Left’s multicultural vision, as do many of our holidays. What’s there not to like for the Left?

Plenty, apparently. Many leftists still can’t resist calling America a white supremacist hellhole. They still want to abolish our heritage, traditions, and icons. It disgusts them to revere George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. They understand America is defined by whiteness, which is why they choose to hate America. Moderates want the radicals to calm down. They want the far left to be patriots and love this country. People like Joe Scarborough insist that diversity and tolerance is what this country is all about to win over the non-patriots. 

It doesn’t appear to be working. Just a few years ago, a “Morning Joe” guest said the American flag disturbs her as she sees it as a racist symbol.

While the hardcore DEI adherents may not be convinced by liberals’ patriotic appeals, a sizable number of voters might be. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who will believe Biden’s pitch that he’s standing up for the nation against the anti-Americanism of MAGA. Draping himself in the imagery of the civil rights movement and other iconography, the president can dupe many NPCs into buying into all this. They were trained from public school onward to associate liberalism with American ideals. Not everyone falls for the ruse, but a lot do.

While this patriotic pitch probably won’t work to re-elect a senile old man, it could work in the future. Democrats have a better shot of winning elections by moderating their image (but not their policies). They need to pretend they want to secure the border, punish criminals, and honor America’s past. They won’t actually do any of these things, but they can get the media to claim they will. Last month, the New York Times touted Democratic candidates who are pushing their own brand of patriotism. The article made it seem like these Senate candidates are the American mainstream against the right-wing fringe. That’s not true–but powerful forces want to make you believe it.

Conservatives know this is a bad argument. Liberals don’t truly love what made America great. They want to replace the fundamental character of this country and replace it with a darker shade. DEI and statue toppings are  part of the package. Libs can try to cover all this up with the flag and declarations of patriotism, but those with eyes to see can tell it’s bullshit. 

The problem lies with those without eyes to see. Normies are vulnerable to this message. A charismatic politician like Gavin Newsom could convince them that his side are the real patriots. The masses could be swindled into helping the Left transform the country while we all pretend we’re standing up for the flag. 

Lib patriotism seems cringe to right-wingers. But for the general public, it’s a potent pitch that could win elections–and that’s what makes it so subversive.