The Debasement of the Heritage Foundation
Heritage CEO Kevin Roberts simps for Nazis and their enablers. He (and Heritage) would have been much better off staying silent.
Note: My reaction to Kevin Roberts’ video is very strong. Strong enough that I do ask myself whether it’s too strong. But I don’t think so. It’s really conservatives who need to push back on this. I’m conservative-adjacent but not conservative. These folks don’t care about me or people like me, and that’s fine…I haven’t given them a reason to other than occasionally having some great Heritage scholars on my show. I can only think of one reason that Roberts would do what he did: money. Because he has to know that Fuentes is evil and trying to polish up that turd for public consumption, as Tucker did, is evil.
Although I’m libertarian rather than conservative, I’ve long respected the Heritage Foundation. But the new-ish leader of Heritage, a Christian Nationalist (my conclusion based on his words) named Kevin Roberts, just put out a video telling conservatives not to be critical of Tucker Carlson who, despite his claims to the contrary that are disproven by his show, has become either a raging anti-Semite or at least a willing enabler of such. He just had one of the nation’s best-known Nazis, a guy named Nick Fuentes, on his show and barely challenged any of his hateful bigoted garbage. And Tucker has “platformed” multiple other idiot anti-Semites. And now Heritage is going to stand up for that? Seriously, what the hell is wrong with Roberts? I hope the Heritage board boots him...but I don’t expect that.
I can’t embed the Roberts video but you can watch it here:
https://x.com/KevinRobertsTX/status/1983958755613262324
Note that Roberts claims that the people who criticize Tucker for fondling one of Americas best-known Nazis are the ones “sowing division.” Might it be that Tucker and Fuentes are the divisive ones? Furthermore, might it not be proper for principled conservatives to “sow division”, if only for the purposes of moral clarity and choosing your friends and associates, among those who like people who publicly praise Hitler and those who think that’s not an awesome idea…or, actually, just evil? Roberts sure seems confused about where the problem is here. In fact, he seems too confused to deserve to run a prominent think-tank.
To be fair to Tucker, there were one or two times where he pushed back VERY gently against Fuentes, almost more like coaching him as to how to be more socially acceptable when spreading his bile. But as a lot of people note, nothing like the fiery shouting that Tucker and Sen Ted Cruz had. Sure makes one think that Tucker’s minor disagreements with the Jew-hater were more for show.
Let’s be super clear about something: Yes, you can be critical of Israel without being an anti-Semite. But I think that most critics of Israel these days actually are anti-Semites. You can find a few honest ones, but very few. Because Jew-hatred is cool again on both the far right and the far left in America. Look at Candace Owens; look at Zohran Mamdani. Look at so so many disgusting hateful comments on Twitter/X.
I think Cliff Asness has it right: https://x.com/CliffordAsness/status/1983992170269827561
So my personal note to Kevin Roberts (who probably doesn’t know who I am):
What the heck happened to Heritage? Oh, I know, you caught on to the profitability of the MAGA grift and are taking it to its logical conclusion in much the same way that a drug addict often needs more and stronger drugs to get high. Well, supporting Nazis — or those who promote Nazis — is about as strong as your drug gets, Kevin. Feeling good yet? You should be ashamed of yourself. The Heritage board of directors should be ashamed of you too.
And of course, Tucker is well aware of who Fuentes is. He’s basically this generation’s Goebbels.
I am very glad you have the courage and fortitude to write about this stuff. Thank you for all you do to shine the light on evil. I wish these cockroaches would slither back into their holes in the ground and stay there.
Not to push back on your points, because I largely agree with the major point about antisemitism becoming way more ascendant now on the left and right, but you're calling nick Fuentes goebbels is a bit off. Even Carlson called him a weirdo or whatever a year prior. I think a lot of what you're doing closes off discussion with people by saying there are a very few people who criticize israel and aren't antisemites. It is a global supersupermajority who is critical of israel and zionism and anything there. Fundamentally, I think israel is completely in the right (they won two wars for dominion and we took germany's lands (who had majority Germans on them) post ww1 and ww2). Whether that was right or wrong, it is the best decision we have given the crazy ideologies thatwere happening there.
I'm not here to criticize Israel. I'm happy so long as they're not doing anything anti religious. I don't trust anyone on the subject of the war itself and, even if I did, why would I want to waste time or energy there. You gain very little.
My main point is that it's probably better and easier to figure out how to be amenable to a foreign policy goal for the west with people like Tucker Carlson. I haven't watched them in a minute but the people you're criticizing have a family and are well adjusted people. Nick Fuentes is Nick Fuentes. He's a lolcow or not who occasionally says something that might become mainstream. I've never actually watched him aside from a debate with atheism is unstoppable. He cannot be goebbels.
Israel needs to figure out new foreign policy because everything is shifting away from them. It'd be very ridiculous to be focusing on deplatforming Tucker Carlson (or not being conservative because of that). It's honestly time to start taking account of the situation and figure out solutions. Israel is a far way off from not being a state anymore, but it's now closer.