The mother of the conservative movement told me Roe v. Wade would be overturned. She also told me that marriage equality wouldn't hold, and gay rights wasn't "inevitable."
I am old enough to remember when she started this crap. She took down the ERA. As dogged as she was, she was a hypocrite. Bashing the establishment yet working to get Reagan elected so she could have a job in his administration. Despised her then; despise her now.
Conservative means pushing your religious beliefs into legislation. GOP played the long game, starting with Reagan. Where are the Democratic leaders? They should be screaming about separation of church and state.
Very brave of you to interview her! She was right, though, they play the long game, as we all know. She undoubtedly would support Christian Nationalism today. I remember she got very angry with Bill Maher when he casually mentioned that her own son is gay. She didn't like that known publicly! In her circles, having a gay child is a reflection on the parents, because they somehow were not good Christian parents. It's a huge embarrassment for them, and likely for her.
If I’m not mistaken I believe that Margaret Atwood’s Serena Waterford character in The Handmaid’s Tale is loosely based on Phyllis Schlafly. With the state of the world today, and her books consistently being banned, it would be great if you could interview Margaret Atwood on your Sirius XM show. She always has a lot of interesting and spot-on things to say. I am an avid listener of your show and appreciate all the good you do, Michaelangelo. Thank you!
Yes, she was “right,” dreadfully right, pathetically far right, wasn’t she? It simply means that there are far too many of our fellow citizens who want the appalling authoritarian worldview of the Republicans to take hold of the country and turn back the clock. It’s the people, my friends. It’s shocking and disgusting that she asserts the American way to be an adversarial way. The way of conflict. I’m an American and she is not speaking for me.
It is possible to have a way based in dynamic harmony, collaboration and unity if each of us cherishes and works at those principles and values in our own lives, no matter what. This is the American way if we make it so. This Schlafly person did not speak for me.
One last thing. I think we should stop using the word “conservative” to describe the far-right extremism that is so dominant now. Those people are not conservative, they are reactionary. We give them a small pass of legitimacy every time we call the far right “conservative.” It’s reactionary. So try it out a few times. When you’re about the say the conservative this, and the conservative that – don’t! Say the reactionary this and the reactionary that. Maybe it will help with communication.
Great learning piece Michelangelo! It’s important to realize that this fascist tendency has always been so deeply entrenched in America. It’s up to all of us, doing whatever we can do, to establish active harmony, balance, collaboration, unity and – you name it – in ourselves, and as the American way.
I enjoyed reading your response; so well stated. I agree these people are reactionary, not conservative, and of the “old” America which reeked of supremacy.
The soul of America is about forming a more perfect Union, not conflict and discord. Reactionaries don’t speak for forward thinking Americans.
They will never stop. Being a ”devout” Christian in an authoritarian church makes these things inevitable. Too many Americans do not believe in the principle of the church/state separation. The only hope is to keep them in as small a minority as possible, and not elect them to office.
She was vile!! She was a woman of privilege, she didn't have to work, had help raising her children, even meddled into to her husband's political career, all to push this anti-ERA BS. We can thank her for not having the ERA, we were very close to having that passed, until she stuck her nose into this.
You make an excellent point: she was extremely wealthy and privileged. She didn't understand (or care) what it was like for single mothers, and women like my mother who worked because it took two incomes to make ends meet. She stood in the way of women getting equal pay or fair treatment at work. Yet she was such a hypocrite. She criticised career women who worked because they were ambitions--yet she herself was an ambitions career woman.
What a sad commentary about what extremist supremacists (they are NOT conservative) have been allowed to get away with. These loud bullies have no regard for moving forward, using archaic thinking to guide their judgement, forcing the rest of us to conform and thus suppressing freedom of thought and expression. And they are in the minority; a solid majority of America supports Roe V. Wade, LGBTQ rights, and climate reform. Schafly and her hypocrite cronies have taken us backwards as a society.
What’s so telling about their contempt for others, and inner hatred for themselves, is that people like Schafly and Santorum have children who are gay and they STILL supported anti gay legislation. They’d deny equal rights to their OWN children, exactly like the mindset of the America who owned slaves and denied equal rights for centuries, to anyone not white. Schafly, cruel and loveless in spirit, and others of her ilk who wish to deny equal rights to human beings, and think that is okay, are the antithesis of what it means to be American. While she made “prophetic” comments about going back to supremacist ways in the future, she died seeing legislation change against her way of thinking. Karma to her as a member of the un-American “loveless.”
Thanks Michelangelo for another enlightening piece.
A formidable strategist but a horrendous mother. How could she do that to her son? Where was her justification? Necessary collateral damage? A sacrifice for the greater cause? Tragic for both of them. And Michael, I love and respect you greatly but "coronated,"?
Ironic, isn't it? She went around preaching how women should be happy mothers and homemakers, but she always working outside her own home and was a lousy mother.
Nods. Because I was keeping tabs on Schafly and--most important--noticed that she and her peers were heavily pushing grassroots organization where people like me would holler and holler for years about having a long game and organizing at the grassroots level in the Dems--I had come to a very similar conclusion back in the '90s.
I wish things had been different, but for too many on the left and liberal side, national-level politics was everything while grassroots organizing wasn't worth considering.
I remember listening to your show, you're one of the few who've been properly warning folks that someone like Trump was coming, and one bad President can forever taint SCOTUS. IMO I am just so, so tired of proping up Democrats like Joe Biden and Obama, who do not go full measure to fix things. Jan 6th is a shame to this whole country, what a half assed prosecution.
Just because abortion has been over turned, doesn't mean it will stay that way. Especially at the state level. The Republican candidates don't even want to talk about it because they know it could hurt their election chances. Qevin McCarthy doesn't even what to hold a vote in Congress on banning it nationally.
Take a look at recent history in Ireland and how a total ban on abortion has been completely reversed. The results of unnecessary deaths of mothers who were forced to carry a defective pregnancy to term. The citizens were shown the horror of government controls over personal decisions.
You are absolutely right. It's costing them. and I so, so hope people will see the horrors you mentioned, of women forced to carry unviable pregnancies. We need to mobilize this anger and get people out to vote.
But what concerns me is what this article points out: the Right had a long-range strategic plan they put into place years ago that included getting their judges appointed, taking over media, and suppressing votes. I feel the Left is so far behind and at a disadvantage now. And the Left is divided now, with many will vote third party or not at all.
How do we become united? How do we get people to use their vote to save our Democracy, during this little time that they still have that right to vote?
I am old enough to remember when she started this crap. She took down the ERA. As dogged as she was, she was a hypocrite. Bashing the establishment yet working to get Reagan elected so she could have a job in his administration. Despised her then; despise her now.
Conservative means pushing your religious beliefs into legislation. GOP played the long game, starting with Reagan. Where are the Democratic leaders? They should be screaming about separation of church and state.
Yes, SCREAMING; republicons only recognize the constitution for its second amendment!
This is so awful and why I hate living in America right now.
Very brave of you to interview her! She was right, though, they play the long game, as we all know. She undoubtedly would support Christian Nationalism today. I remember she got very angry with Bill Maher when he casually mentioned that her own son is gay. She didn't like that known publicly! In her circles, having a gay child is a reflection on the parents, because they somehow were not good Christian parents. It's a huge embarrassment for them, and likely for her.
I will have to try to find that video.
If I’m not mistaken I believe that Margaret Atwood’s Serena Waterford character in The Handmaid’s Tale is loosely based on Phyllis Schlafly. With the state of the world today, and her books consistently being banned, it would be great if you could interview Margaret Atwood on your Sirius XM show. She always has a lot of interesting and spot-on things to say. I am an avid listener of your show and appreciate all the good you do, Michaelangelo. Thank you!
Thank you Alison.
Yes, she was “right,” dreadfully right, pathetically far right, wasn’t she? It simply means that there are far too many of our fellow citizens who want the appalling authoritarian worldview of the Republicans to take hold of the country and turn back the clock. It’s the people, my friends. It’s shocking and disgusting that she asserts the American way to be an adversarial way. The way of conflict. I’m an American and she is not speaking for me.
It is possible to have a way based in dynamic harmony, collaboration and unity if each of us cherishes and works at those principles and values in our own lives, no matter what. This is the American way if we make it so. This Schlafly person did not speak for me.
One last thing. I think we should stop using the word “conservative” to describe the far-right extremism that is so dominant now. Those people are not conservative, they are reactionary. We give them a small pass of legitimacy every time we call the far right “conservative.” It’s reactionary. So try it out a few times. When you’re about the say the conservative this, and the conservative that – don’t! Say the reactionary this and the reactionary that. Maybe it will help with communication.
Great learning piece Michelangelo! It’s important to realize that this fascist tendency has always been so deeply entrenched in America. It’s up to all of us, doing whatever we can do, to establish active harmony, balance, collaboration, unity and – you name it – in ourselves, and as the American way.
Richard Simonelli
Fenton, Missouri
I enjoyed reading your response; so well stated. I agree these people are reactionary, not conservative, and of the “old” America which reeked of supremacy.
The soul of America is about forming a more perfect Union, not conflict and discord. Reactionaries don’t speak for forward thinking Americans.
They will never stop. Being a ”devout” Christian in an authoritarian church makes these things inevitable. Too many Americans do not believe in the principle of the church/state separation. The only hope is to keep them in as small a minority as possible, and not elect them to office.
She was vile!! She was a woman of privilege, she didn't have to work, had help raising her children, even meddled into to her husband's political career, all to push this anti-ERA BS. We can thank her for not having the ERA, we were very close to having that passed, until she stuck her nose into this.
You make an excellent point: she was extremely wealthy and privileged. She didn't understand (or care) what it was like for single mothers, and women like my mother who worked because it took two incomes to make ends meet. She stood in the way of women getting equal pay or fair treatment at work. Yet she was such a hypocrite. She criticised career women who worked because they were ambitions--yet she herself was an ambitions career woman.
What a sad commentary about what extremist supremacists (they are NOT conservative) have been allowed to get away with. These loud bullies have no regard for moving forward, using archaic thinking to guide their judgement, forcing the rest of us to conform and thus suppressing freedom of thought and expression. And they are in the minority; a solid majority of America supports Roe V. Wade, LGBTQ rights, and climate reform. Schafly and her hypocrite cronies have taken us backwards as a society.
What’s so telling about their contempt for others, and inner hatred for themselves, is that people like Schafly and Santorum have children who are gay and they STILL supported anti gay legislation. They’d deny equal rights to their OWN children, exactly like the mindset of the America who owned slaves and denied equal rights for centuries, to anyone not white. Schafly, cruel and loveless in spirit, and others of her ilk who wish to deny equal rights to human beings, and think that is okay, are the antithesis of what it means to be American. While she made “prophetic” comments about going back to supremacist ways in the future, she died seeing legislation change against her way of thinking. Karma to her as a member of the un-American “loveless.”
Thanks Michelangelo for another enlightening piece.
This is an historical gem, Michelangelo, and essential reading.
Thanks Steve. it's eery!
A formidable strategist but a horrendous mother. How could she do that to her son? Where was her justification? Necessary collateral damage? A sacrifice for the greater cause? Tragic for both of them. And Michael, I love and respect you greatly but "coronated,"?
Ironic, isn't it? She went around preaching how women should be happy mothers and homemakers, but she always working outside her own home and was a lousy mother.
Excellent recap, Michelangelo. You go right into the radical, UN-Christian, hypocrisy of the right wing GOP. Phyllis was an awful person.
Nods. Because I was keeping tabs on Schafly and--most important--noticed that she and her peers were heavily pushing grassroots organization where people like me would holler and holler for years about having a long game and organizing at the grassroots level in the Dems--I had come to a very similar conclusion back in the '90s.
I wish things had been different, but for too many on the left and liberal side, national-level politics was everything while grassroots organizing wasn't worth considering.
I remember listening to your show, you're one of the few who've been properly warning folks that someone like Trump was coming, and one bad President can forever taint SCOTUS. IMO I am just so, so tired of proping up Democrats like Joe Biden and Obama, who do not go full measure to fix things. Jan 6th is a shame to this whole country, what a half assed prosecution.
We must take action at the voting polls 6o stop this. Our votes are so important to stop this.
Just because abortion has been over turned, doesn't mean it will stay that way. Especially at the state level. The Republican candidates don't even want to talk about it because they know it could hurt their election chances. Qevin McCarthy doesn't even what to hold a vote in Congress on banning it nationally.
Take a look at recent history in Ireland and how a total ban on abortion has been completely reversed. The results of unnecessary deaths of mothers who were forced to carry a defective pregnancy to term. The citizens were shown the horror of government controls over personal decisions.
You are absolutely right. It's costing them. and I so, so hope people will see the horrors you mentioned, of women forced to carry unviable pregnancies. We need to mobilize this anger and get people out to vote.
But what concerns me is what this article points out: the Right had a long-range strategic plan they put into place years ago that included getting their judges appointed, taking over media, and suppressing votes. I feel the Left is so far behind and at a disadvantage now. And the Left is divided now, with many will vote third party or not at all.
How do we become united? How do we get people to use their vote to save our Democracy, during this little time that they still have that right to vote?