SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Politicon's lineup for 2019 features more than a few controversial figures. (Image: Politicon)
Politicon Lineup Exposes Event as 'Circus': Critics
"Why should the average voter invest in US politics if those running it think it's all a sport?"
Sep 10, 2019
Progressives beomaned the fact that the nation's premiere political convention, Politicon, is once again placing hard-right figures like Jordan Peterson and Ann Coulter onstage with mainstream political commentators in a now-familiar move by the nation's media and government elite that uses the event's lineup to launder the extreme right.
"Politicon is a circus for godless political grifters and it's shocking that so many decent people still participate," tweeted Vox's Carlos Maza.
\u201cPoliticon is a circus for godless political grifters and its shocking that so many decent people still participate.\u201d— Carlos Maza (@Carlos Maza) 1568127961
It's not just Coulter and Peterson--the duo will be joined at the event by former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Iraq War booster David Frum, and others. Former Sen. Al Franken, former Democratic operative Donna Brazile, and CNN's Chris Cillizza are among the mainstream politicos at the event.
"Al Franken coming to you live with my good friend Ann Coulter, with whom I may have some collegial disagreements but at the end of the day we're both Americans god dammit," Twitter user @zlingman said sardonically.
Some of the attendees with history could run into one another, creating the potential for stick situations, The Week explained:
Politicon, now in its fifth year, brands itself as an "unconventional political convention," though unconventional is perhaps too soft a term. Sure, former FBI Director James Comey has made the morning (and evening, and late night) show rounds, but now he'll appear on the same stage as Sanders, who spread misinformation about his firing. And Jordan Peterson, a men's rights advocate who, as far as we know, only eats beef, will for some reason give an uncontested keynote.
But it appears unlikely that there will be any conflict as the event is billed as a tony celebration of politics where everyone sets aside their partisanship in order to take part in "endless humor and exhilarating conversation."
The event is the kind of thing that leads people to take a jaundiced view of politics, media critic Adam Johnson said in a tweet.
"This ethos is the single biggest driver of cynicism," said Johnson. "Why should the average voter invest in US politics if those running it think it's all a sport?"
Maybe it's time to start over, opined Willamette University professor Seth Cotlar.
"Is it possible to hit the reset button on a nation's political culture," Cotlar wondered, "and start over from scratch?"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Progressives beomaned the fact that the nation's premiere political convention, Politicon, is once again placing hard-right figures like Jordan Peterson and Ann Coulter onstage with mainstream political commentators in a now-familiar move by the nation's media and government elite that uses the event's lineup to launder the extreme right.
"Politicon is a circus for godless political grifters and it's shocking that so many decent people still participate," tweeted Vox's Carlos Maza.
\u201cPoliticon is a circus for godless political grifters and its shocking that so many decent people still participate.\u201d— Carlos Maza (@Carlos Maza) 1568127961
It's not just Coulter and Peterson--the duo will be joined at the event by former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Iraq War booster David Frum, and others. Former Sen. Al Franken, former Democratic operative Donna Brazile, and CNN's Chris Cillizza are among the mainstream politicos at the event.
"Al Franken coming to you live with my good friend Ann Coulter, with whom I may have some collegial disagreements but at the end of the day we're both Americans god dammit," Twitter user @zlingman said sardonically.
Some of the attendees with history could run into one another, creating the potential for stick situations, The Week explained:
Politicon, now in its fifth year, brands itself as an "unconventional political convention," though unconventional is perhaps too soft a term. Sure, former FBI Director James Comey has made the morning (and evening, and late night) show rounds, but now he'll appear on the same stage as Sanders, who spread misinformation about his firing. And Jordan Peterson, a men's rights advocate who, as far as we know, only eats beef, will for some reason give an uncontested keynote.
But it appears unlikely that there will be any conflict as the event is billed as a tony celebration of politics where everyone sets aside their partisanship in order to take part in "endless humor and exhilarating conversation."
The event is the kind of thing that leads people to take a jaundiced view of politics, media critic Adam Johnson said in a tweet.
"This ethos is the single biggest driver of cynicism," said Johnson. "Why should the average voter invest in US politics if those running it think it's all a sport?"
Maybe it's time to start over, opined Willamette University professor Seth Cotlar.
"Is it possible to hit the reset button on a nation's political culture," Cotlar wondered, "and start over from scratch?"
Progressives beomaned the fact that the nation's premiere political convention, Politicon, is once again placing hard-right figures like Jordan Peterson and Ann Coulter onstage with mainstream political commentators in a now-familiar move by the nation's media and government elite that uses the event's lineup to launder the extreme right.
"Politicon is a circus for godless political grifters and it's shocking that so many decent people still participate," tweeted Vox's Carlos Maza.
\u201cPoliticon is a circus for godless political grifters and its shocking that so many decent people still participate.\u201d— Carlos Maza (@Carlos Maza) 1568127961
It's not just Coulter and Peterson--the duo will be joined at the event by former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Iraq War booster David Frum, and others. Former Sen. Al Franken, former Democratic operative Donna Brazile, and CNN's Chris Cillizza are among the mainstream politicos at the event.
"Al Franken coming to you live with my good friend Ann Coulter, with whom I may have some collegial disagreements but at the end of the day we're both Americans god dammit," Twitter user @zlingman said sardonically.
Some of the attendees with history could run into one another, creating the potential for stick situations, The Week explained:
Politicon, now in its fifth year, brands itself as an "unconventional political convention," though unconventional is perhaps too soft a term. Sure, former FBI Director James Comey has made the morning (and evening, and late night) show rounds, but now he'll appear on the same stage as Sanders, who spread misinformation about his firing. And Jordan Peterson, a men's rights advocate who, as far as we know, only eats beef, will for some reason give an uncontested keynote.
But it appears unlikely that there will be any conflict as the event is billed as a tony celebration of politics where everyone sets aside their partisanship in order to take part in "endless humor and exhilarating conversation."
The event is the kind of thing that leads people to take a jaundiced view of politics, media critic Adam Johnson said in a tweet.
"This ethos is the single biggest driver of cynicism," said Johnson. "Why should the average voter invest in US politics if those running it think it's all a sport?"
Maybe it's time to start over, opined Willamette University professor Seth Cotlar.
"Is it possible to hit the reset button on a nation's political culture," Cotlar wondered, "and start over from scratch?"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.