Originally published at: Why A Nerve Center for MAGA Intellectuals is ‘Jubilant’ About JD Vance - TPM – Talking Points Memo
Weeks after Sen. JD Vance’s (R-OH) introduction at the Republican National Convention, few people seem excited about the would-be vice president. Liberals, arrayed around Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, are happy to dub him “weird;” Donald Trump himself downplayed the choice on Wednesday, saying that, historically, the vice presidential pick has “virtually no impact.” But…
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Is it possible to be MAGA and Intellectual?
Uneducated wants to know. 
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A couple of things.
- “MAGA Intellectuals” is an oxymoron.
- Even so, if “MAGA intellectuals” are jubilant about JD Vance as a politician, then I guess they will be thrilled about loosing in November.
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I suspect @uneducated is intellectual enough to know the answer already. 
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Is Claremont Institute a real thing or is it just the nom de plume for some group associated with the Claremont Colleges.
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Just came here to say “Trumpist intellectual” is an oxymoron.
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I’m sure that the fellows at Claremont Institute would have no problem going down into the various mining operations that exist here in the US to write corrections for members of Congress who write the regs. They can then move on to the meat packing plants.
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well, now that the curtain has been drawn aside and the cretins are emboldened and revealing themselves - we can dispense with the pretenses …
They are what they reveal themselves to be and yes, we now clearly see that they are racists and misogynists and zealous totalitarians - and are clearly diametrically opposed to everything that the founders of this nation sought to perpetuate.
Please note that - the EVIL zealotry emanates from the twisted minds at
- Claremont Institute,
a California think tank - with deep ties to Sen. JD Vance - that serves as a center for Trumpist intellectuals.
The Claremont Institute, Claremont Lincoln University, and Claremont School of Theology are not affiliated with:
Claremont McKenna College or The Claremont Colleges.
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According to Wikipedia, the Claremont Institute is not associated with any of the Claremont Colleges, though one of the founders was an emeritus professor of Claremont McKenna College and of the Claremont Graduate University (CGU). The Wikipedia article on the Claremont Institute is unclear as to whether it is affiliated in any way with CGU. Claremont Institute is located in Claremont, CA, which would be enough to justify its name – and, conveniently, to suggest an association with the highly regarded Claremont Colleges.
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Out of curiosity, why did I have to come to the Comments on this article via the backdoor? In the past, only the MM has required that of me (most of the time).
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Josh, thanks for a well written informative article. I appreciate the understatement and absence of provocative hyperbole. These people are frightening enough in clear clinical language. Thanks again.
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Oh hell no. They just borrowed the name to sound credible. The Claremont colleges include five undergrad schools: Claremont McKenna, Pomona College (one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country); Harvey Mudd (a very small but outstanding engineering school); Pitzer, and Scripps, a college for women only. Plus Claremont Graduate University.
As a musical side note, the town of Claremont is/was home to Ben Harper and the late, great David Lindley.
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It’s a nom de merde for a group of fascistes.
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Took several hours for it to even show up in the “autocategorized” TMP Article Topics listing. I think the hamster is tired today.
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Nom de merde 
- consider that so stolen! 
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Wonderful reply. I think I am going to steal that line.
A shitty name for a group of fascists. Shakes head.
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I need an ideology map to locate Claremont Institute, Heritage Foundation, Catholic fascists, Evangelical Christian Nationalists, and other Bannonesque ‘thought centers’. Something that visualizes the cross-fertilization among them.
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No one knows. I emailed TPM to ask why and said I wanted to post that MAGA Intellectual was an oxymoron but by the time I found the post up for comments several people had beaten me to the oxymoron comment.
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Oddly enough I can appreciate the need for the kind of ‘intellectual’ framework Claremont Institute provides: a malignant narcissist like Trump doesn’t need any justification but himself of course but many authoritarians are not so ‘fortunate’ and require a rationale allowing them to override moral traits that would otherwise forbid their baser instincts.
In short they need a story with enough explanatory power to not only drive their movement but forgive its transgressions including their own, selfish desires; guilt is such a bore. Libertarianism was too unstructured, too easy going, and paleo-fascism vulgar and frankly old fashioned. Something with some pizzazz and a dash of heroic nobility including good old American exceptionalism; enter Claremont Institute.
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.” ― John Maynard Keynes
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Young men, whether straight, gay, bi, pansexual, asexual, confused, uninterested, or none-of-the above, all agree that they do not want to be reached out to by JD Vance in any way at any time, ever.
ETA: As does everybody
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