Is there something about being a historian on cable news that makes you say absurd things? History Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat joined the Saturday edition of Velshi on MSNBC to warn that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, or whoever “Fox News and Murdoc and the GOP elites” support intend to install an autocracy that will make it easier to wage coups. Meanwhile, the election results were said to reflect “reality” because a bunch of candidates won believe the country is for more than just Christian white men.
Host Ali Velshi had asked about “election deniers” like Arizona’s Kari Lake, but Ben-Ghiat wanted to talk about someone else, “But we can't forget about that and also, the anointment of Ron DeSantis is very worrying to me because he is a smoother and more disciplined extremist and so we can never forget that the ultimate goal whoever, you know, Fox News and Murdoch and the GOP elites protect—protect and proclaim, the goal is to make it easier to have an autocratic system prevail.”
That is not the ultimate goal and Ben-Ghiat either knows that and is trying to scare people or PhDs are too easy to obtain nowadays. Still, Ben-Ghiat continued, “and to convince Americans and we did have a lot of election deniers who won, that elections are too compromised and too corrupt to be a valid way of choosing leaders and that opens the door to coup attempts and other kinds of authoritarian machinations.”
Later, in a second segment, Velshi asked how voters can put an end to the Trump movement, “But, how do pro-democracy people hone that message for the next two years? “
After waxing poetic about the wonders of voting, Ben-Ghiat shifted gears, “And the other thing it’s-- I was actually tearing up when you are speaking to Ruwa Romman because the results that we have had with so many Muslim and black, LGBTQ candidates running for office and winning makes government, U.S. government reflect the multi-racial progressive inclusive democracy that we actually are.”
It's telling that Ben-Ghiat is just a hack with a fancy degree when she cites someone who was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, but that she and the rest of the media couldn’t be bothered to tout the potential Dr. Mehmet Oz had to be the first Muslim senator or, speaking of Georgia, their attacks on Herschel Walker.
Putting all that aside, Ben-Ghait joyfully proclaimed, “So, this was a vote, this was a success for reality versus this brutal attempt by Republicans to kind of impose minoritarian rule and just turn back the clock and say no, America is just white Christian and male dominated, right?”
Wrong, but since Ben-Ghait mentioned minoritarian rule, as of Velshi’s Saturday airing, Democrats still trail the House popular vote by over four percentage points.
This segment was sponsored by Flonase.
Here is a transcript for the November 12 show:
MSNBC Velshi
11/12/2022
10:45 AM ET
RUTH BEN-GHIAT: But we can't forget about that and also, the anointment of Ron DeSantis is very worrying to me because he is a smoother and more disciplined extremist and so we can never forget that the ultimate goal whoever, you know, Fox News and Murdoch and the GOP elites protect—protect and proclaim, the goal is to make it easier to have an autocratic system prevail and to convince Americans and we did have a lot of election deniers who won, that elections are too compromised and too corrupt to be a valid way of choosing leaders and that opens the door to coup attempts and other kinds of authoritarian machinations.
…
10:53
ALI VELSHI: But, how do pro-democracy people hone that message for the next two years?
BEN-GHIAT: Well, that’s-- one of the things is to feel confident that the system works and that your vote means something, that your activism, your organizing, your phone banking, canvassing. A lot of people who are in my Lucid newsletter, they do those things and I'm looking forward to congratulating them and so if you know somebody who skews Democrat, but didn’t vote, this is the time to contact them and say, “you know what? This really does work and we need more of it.”
And the other thing it’s-- I was actually tearing up when you are speaking to Ruwa Romman because the results that we have had with so many Muslim and black, LGBTQ candidates running for office and winning makes government, U.S. government reflect the multi-racial progressive inclusive democracy that we actually are.
So, this was a vote, this was a success for reality versus this brutal attempt by Republicans to kind of impose minoritarian rule and just turn back the clock and say no, America is just white Christian and male dominated, right? So, these are tangible results of organizing, of voting that we need to build on and I think that's where the confidence and feeling optimistic and having hope that the system works and proof that the system works is really important.
