Behind the Bastards – It Could Happen Here Weekly 197

Date: August 30, 2025
Host(s): Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, David Forbes (guest), Danielle Kurd (guest)
Podcast: Cool Zone Media / iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

This week’s compilation dives deep into the state of U.S. politics, focusing on Democratic Party dysfunction, the rise of "meme politics," GOP authoritarianism, anti-academic/anti-queer backlash, and the dangerous landscape for marginalized groups. The hosts critically dissect viral Democratic strategies (with a focus on Gavin Newsom), analyze the failures of establishment resistance in contrast to grassroots populism, and provide an in-depth look at the legislative landscape in states like North Carolina. Key themes are the emptiness of performative social media politics, the real-life fallout from attacks on trans rights, academia, and civil liberties, as well as resistance strategies for the left. The episode further covers a major mass shooting linked to true crime fandoms, the Trump's administration's move to seize Federal Reserve independence, “national socialism” in U.S. chip policy, the rise of federal/state repression, and more.

1. The Gavin Newsom "Meme Politics" Meltdown

[02:40–16:25]

Key Points & Discussion

• Gavin Newsom’s intentional adoption of Donald Trump’s social media style (all-caps tweets, excessive exclamations, AI-generated images) in an attempt to troll and “mirror” Trump’s bigotry is critiqued as deeply unserious and politically ineffective.
• Newsom’s actual record stands in stark contrast: rather than taking meaningful action to protect marginalized groups in moments of danger, his “resistance” has been relegated to shallow online posturing.

Notable Quotes

• “He’s confusing engagement with actual political action.” – Unnamed Co-host [07:11]
• “Good things piss off conservatives, but pissing off conservatives is not inherently a good or useful thing.” – Unnamed Co-host [07:44]
• “I don’t think there’s a single voter, especially in a fucking swing state, who is like, I wasn’t gonna vote for Gavin Newsom until I saw him mimicking Donald Trump’s tweets.” – Robert Evans [08:31]
• On Newsom’s approach to anti-trans policy:
  “He believes...that there’s a whole huge chunk of voters who are just itching to vote for a Democrat if they weren’t in favor of all of these icky cultural issues.” – Robert Evans [10:02]

Context & Takeaways

• The hosts eviscerate both the tactical and moral bankruptcy of Democrat “move-to-the-right” strategies.
• Newsom is seen as the symbol of a party addicted to imitation and short-term engagement at the expense of real resistance.

2. The Limitations of Establishment Liberalism vs. Grassroots Populism

[21:20–25:26]

Contrasting Example: Graham Platner Ad

• An effective, straightforward populist campaign ad by Graham Platner (Maine) is played, featuring direct language about economic struggle and anti-oligarch sentiment.
• Hosts praise the grounded, working-class authenticity and highlight what establishment Democrats don’t seem to grasp: material needs and honest messaging trumps “meme wars.”

Notable Quotes

• “The bar is reasonably low, but, like, that dude hit it, I think.” – Unnamed Co-host [23:53]
• “This guy seems like he rips. I would vote for that dude.” – Robert Evans [24:25]
• “Let’s compare this... Newsom has not done the material things that he could be doing instead of tweeting.” – Unnamed Co-host [25:19]

3. The Democratic Party’s Real Failures in California

[26:00–30:39]

Detailed Critique

• Newsom is called out for inaction on ICE raids, surveillance, police overreach, and the targeting of unhoused communities.
• Legal mechanisms actually protecting vulnerable people are ignored in favor of spectacle.
• The pattern: Democrats seek “middle ground” or “parity” with right-wingers in the media, but betray marginalized people and never display actual risk-taking for the oppressed.

Notable Quotes

• “He hasn’t put his neck on the line once for marginalized people in California or anywhere else.” – Unnamed Co-host [27:55]
• "I think for a lot of people in the legacy media…the real tragedy...is that they have to see scary, nasty stuff on their telephones." – Unnamed Co-host [27:56]

4. The Assault on Universities, DEI, and Academic Freedom

w/ Danielle Kurd
[36:44–55:38]

Summary

• Universities are attacked as sites of power and diversity by the Trump administration.
• Crackdowns on DEI, faculty governance, and foreign students are linked to broader right-wing goals of social control and stifling dissent.
• Palestine is highlighted as the “canary in the coal mine”—academic freedom is suppressed first here, becoming a national precedent for broader attacks.

Notable Quotes

• “Are universities truly sites of power? The short answer is yes, for two reasons…” – Danielle Kurd [40:09]
• “The attacks on Harvard, Brown, George Washington, UCLA...is predicated on attacking DEI.” – Danielle Kurd [45:31]
• “Palestinian scholars have long been under attack in the American Academy.” – Danielle Kurd [52:38]

5. Anti-Trans Bills and Democrat Complicity in North Carolina

w/ David Forbes
[59:49–109:19]

Section 1: NC’s Recent Sweeping Anti-Trans Laws

[59:49–73:01]

• HB805: Bans state health plans from covering trans health care for any age, redefines which jails/prisons trans prisoners are sent to.
• SB442: Redefines child abuse, opens door to conversion therapy, legalizes anti-trans placements in foster care.
• Democratic politicians in NC (across House, Senate, and the governor) supported, signed, and refused to condemn these bills.
• Mainstream LGBT orgs in NC failed to hold Democrats accountable; NGOs prioritized party access over real resistance.

Notable Quotes

• “Nine Democrats joined with the Republicans to pass this, and then [Governor Stein] signed the bill.” – David Forbes [63:15]
• “It didn’t stop being [catastrophic] when Democrats started supporting it.” – David Forbes [70:30]
• "This is a collaborationist party in a lot of extremely important cases." – Mia Wong [71:04]

Section 2: Historical Roots—Democratic Control, Social Control, and Class

[73:23–84:57]

• NC Democratic Party has historically masked racist/anti-worker repression under “civility,” serving as a moderating force while enacting anti-civil rights violence and anti-labor policy.
• Legacies of the Wilmington massacre, textile labor crackdowns, and civil rights “containment” are tied directly to contemporary betrayals.
• The South’s role as a laboratory for both left and right-wing strategies is emphasized.

Notable Quotes

• “Beneath the green ivy of civility, but a stone wall of coercion.” – David Forbes quoting Timothy Tyson [74:29]
• "North Carolina’s the moderate example of the South... they were more careful about repression, but it still happened..." – David Forbes [75:00]
• "If you don't want the country to be like this, you have to fight in the South." – Mia Wong [83:53]

Section 3: The 2016 Bathroom Bills and the Democratic Response

[89:05–109:19]

• HB2’s “repeal” (HB 142) preserved anti-trans and anti-worker elements—Democrats actively compromised rather than lead.
• This set a national precedent: each capitulation made future, more extreme betrayals possible.
• Critique of “Gay Inc.” organizations safeguarding Democratic reputations rather than queer communities.

Notable Quotes

• “What the far right learned was that...the Democrats will fold if trans rights is made an issue.” – David Forbes [100:32]
• “Nazis always need quislings.” – David Forbes [102:52]
• “If you want even the most die hard bigot to start losing their nerve, you attack their money and their power…and you don’t stop.” – David Forbes [105:56]
• “The more you fight them, the weaker they are.” – David Forbes [108:19]

6. The Minneapolis School Shooting: Meme Maximum, True Crime Fandom, and Media Panic

[118:10–138:57]

Key Analysis

• A Minneapolis Catholic school shooting is dissected—not as an ideological attack but as the apex of “true crime community”/Columbiner fandom nihilism, obsessed with meme aesthetics and internet virality over coherent ideology.
• Shooter’s motives & influences: glorification of previous mass killers (referencing memes from Control-Alt-Delete’s “Loss” to “Remove Kebab”), nihilistic suicide drive, non-ideological use of slurs/images, and a journal fixated on violence/fandom.
• Right-wing attempts to frame the shooting as a trans or anti-Catholic hate crime are critiqued as opportunistic and disconnected from reality.

Notable Quotes

• “This is the natural extent of a bunch of things... a mass shooter putting a loss meme on the barrel of their gun before shooting up a school." – Robert Evans [121:49]
• "This nihilistic meme maximalism has no trans causation... there’s no coherent or ideological leftist screed." – Garrison Davis [136:55]
• “Combining all of these references to previous mass shootings. So they're incorporating everything they can and things they just think are funny… that's the point: to make everything mean nothing.” – Garrison Davis [137:40]

7. Trump’s Assault on the Federal Reserve & Growing Authoritarianism

[139:04–147:38]

Main Ideas

• Trump attempts to fire Fed Board member Lisa Cook, challenging the independence of the Federal Reserve.
• The long-term far-right project: bring money creation, interest rates, payment systems, and global settlement infrastructure under direct presidential control ("eliminating the independence" of the Fed).
• Potential catastrophe: If the Fed becomes a direct presidential tool, the world financial system (from money supply to gold holdings to World Bank settlements) could spiral into crisis.

Notable Quotes

• “This is the beginning of the fight over whether the Federal Reserve is going to be an independent entity.” – Mia Wong [140:44]
• “Handing the keys over to these people is something that is dangerous enough that it is creating significant pushback among the actual people in finance and in the banking system who matter.” – Mia Wong [147:38]

8. “National Socialism” – U.S. Chip Policy & Intel

[149:50–152:14]

Key Points

• The U.S. government purchased 10% of Intel and is expected to continue state ownership in "strategic" firms.
• Policy is described facetiously as “national socialism”—state control/guarantee over private capital for global power rather than any worker benefit.

9. Federal Repression, National Guard Deployments & Eroding Civil Liberties

[165:05–169:12]

Summary

• National Guard deployments by executive order to D.C., Chicago, and 19 other states, aimed at “quelling unrest” and targeting undocumented immigrants with ICE.
• Trump seeks to federalize National Guard duties, bypass non-compliant governors, and establish quick-reaction forces for civil suppression.
• New executive orders target "cashless bail" (punishing states that use it), criminalize flag burning, and ramp up DOJ & DOD repression.

10. Closing Notes on Political Possibilities and Resistance

[105:56–109:19]

Strategy & Hope

• Only pressure (material, economic, and militant resistance) makes the establishment budge.
• The “sky is falling” effect: American fascination with mass violence is numbed, but real political consequences accrue by confronting complicity directly—through divestment, protest, organizing, and never letting party hacks define "resistance."

Important Timestamps

• 02:40–16:25: Critique of Newsom’s meme politics; Trump imitation
• 21:20–25:26: Graham Platner populist ad vs. Dem timidness
• 36:44–55:38: Danielle Kurd on academia under attack, Palestine as precedent
• 59:49–109:19: David Forbes on anti-trans laws & the roots of Democratic complicity
• 118:10–138:57: Minneapolis school shooting, memetic violence & TCC fandom
• 139:04–147:38: Trump vs. the Fed; threat to global finance
• 149:50–152:14: U.S. “national socialist” chip policy
• 165:05–169:12: Executive orders, National Guard mobilization, and surveillance state

Overall Tone & Style

Direct, irreverent, and deeply informed, the hosts swing between gallows humor (“This is your one moment of levity…trying and failing to do math on air.” – Mia Wong [71:43]) and sobering analysis. They don’t mince words about failures on the left or the dangers posed by the right, underscoring throughout that resistance requires more than memes and voting blue. Instead, solidarity, militancy, and organized struggle—especially from those most affected—remains the only viable path forward.

For listeners:
If you want the real story behind the headlines, including how establishment politicians (Democrat and Republican) conspire to erode civil rights and what actual resistance might look like, this week’s Behind the Bastards has you covered.