The New York Times recently did a hit piece on Tucker and a friend asked me to comment on the Times article…. This is what I told him ….
I really wanted to learn something new about Tucker Carlson in the times article but I’ve concluded the article is mostly a hit piece using the left’s default call of … “RACIST!”. The 20,000 word format “suggests” lots of data, but bulk does not supplant quality. Tons of hearsay and supposition ; nothing I’d consider solid or can’t be readily dismissed by people who really listen to him.
Does Tucker sensationalize like all the other networks and shows? Yes. In doing so, Tucker breeds distrust of the government and its unexplained motives (a core theme). Tucker’s other targets of distrust are any media outlets he sees as incompetent propaganda engines for the left. Situations where the media floods the zone with premature assertions to satisfy the left’s narrative are especially hated by him. His approach of “just asking questions” has been criticized as being intellectually shallow and as I already mentioned tends to breed distrust. Tucker also has pejorative nick names for everyone in power he doesn’t respect….despite the accuracy of his sarcasm, it gets old and tends to weaken his journalistic intent in favor of his need to sensationalize and grab more market share. Am I a monster fan, no. But his foibles are easy to see and ignore and I get good info and insight from him. He is simply the most reasonable I have found so far who seems like he isn’t sucking up to someone.
At his core, he is a staunch supporter of democracy and our constitution. It is probably fair to call him a constitutional originalist. Most of his reports and monologues touch this theme. And to be clear, he is very critical of Republicans who fail to protect the integrity of our system of government. Every day we see more over reach, subterfuge, law breaking, two tier justice, and unexplained policies and actions that take place in our government without publicity. He will break the news, such as busloads and planeloads of immigrants being shuttled around the country under the shadow of night but nobody else will report it
Tucker has been imbedded at our southern boarder several times and has shown some seemingly authentic sympathy towards the plight of those coming into America for a better life. Tucker is deeply critical of any administration that doesn’t share with the American people the intent of their policy. What is their plan? How are they going to make it work? His show format regularly presents video evidence followed by questioning the intent of policy behind what’s happening.
Contrary to the claim of being racist, Carlson has run many stories on how government decisions are hurting the poor and people of color economically and socially. Why are we experiencing record inflation? Who is being hurt the most by inflation?
I did some digging on Jan 6 (overdue) and it seems Tucker is guilty of cherry picking videos to better fit his narrative. Still, I do not understand how anyone can justify the use of deadly force against an unarmed woman in another room resulting in her death. She posed no immediate threat to life in my my opinion. Heartbreaking. And I still believe there are many unanswered questions about the events of 1/6
Intrusions on First Amendment is another common topic of his shows. The impact of the “woke” agenda on our freedom to express an opinion is real. If your speech doesn’t align with, show support for, the woke agenda you become a target. Not just social shaming and deplatforming but violence as well. I would actually put some of the COVID & Vaccine claims against Tucker in this bucket. Questioning anything COVID related has become cause for action from the government and corporations. Tucker is not anti-vax; he is anti “do this and don’t ask any questions”
Tucker Carlson is not a “pundit” for any party. He always brings his comments back to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I think this is why I like him despite his shortcomings.
On finding clips to show you I have not given up but I am not done. “Landmark” monologues are out there but I have not yet isolated one or two for you. Honestly, they are mostly all similar in both the good and bad ways. If you really want a taste for him you might consider any of his daily monologues on Fox News Channel. Skip Fridays as they frequently are of lesser quality (taped in advance with less preparation). The opening monologues last about 20 minutes; the rest of the show I normally ignore unless its something really interesting.
Today he covered the reactions to the leaked SCOTUS opinion regarding Row v Wade. He enumerated the irony & hypocrisy of the left’s reactions; one of which was the “anti democracy” claim when the SCOTUS opinion specifically calls out giving Americans the right to vote on the issue of abortion instead of having SCOTUS decide our rights. As an aside, I would guess only a microscopic number of Americans understand Federalism and most of those don’t want it. Perhaps we have outgrown Federalism but we have ways to change it, using SCOTUS to nullify Federalism is not the way to do it in my opinion.