There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the downfall of a public figure like Tucker Carlson, but you should be smart about it.
In all of the media landscape—and this is not political—the last person I would gloat over losing his job is Tucker Carlson.
For example, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Fascist) and Hasbeen Hollywood are all having a pretty smug time over Tucker’s “separation” from Fox News, but that just proves how stupid and shortsighted they are. Pointing and laughing at a Brian Stelter, Chris Cuomo, Shepard Smith, Megyn Kelly, Don Lemon, or Keith Olbermann getting fired is a pretty safe bet. Without a powerful network behind them, they’re not much.
Tucker is different.
Tucker is very different.
The Brian Stelters and Chris Cuomos might have some fans, but as far as their ability to affect the national conversation, those days were over the moment they lost their network perch. The difference is that Tucker has something more than fans. He has a following, and firing him at the height of his hard-earned popularity should remind all those leftists of a scene from Shaft (2000) after John Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson) quits the police force:
Peoples: You ain’t shit. You ain’t even a fucking pig no more.
Shaft: You think that makes me less dangerous or more dangerous?
And that wiped the smug smile right off of Peoples’ face, which is what’s about to happen to all the dummies currently lol’n at Tucker Carlson.
Before I go any further, let me clear the air… I don’t know Tucker Carlson. I’ve never met Tucker Carlson. And my overriding disgust with all things cable news stops me from being a Tucker Carlson fan. Obviously, I agree with him more than not. But there are things he’s said and done I disagree with. In other words, this is pure observation on my part. I have no investment in what I’m about to say, which is this: However Carlson decides to roar back, he will do so with even more power and influence than he had at Cuck News.
This is true for several reasons…
The first is that, like Donald Trump, Tucker has a real following, and it’s millions strong. A following is something very different from a fanbase. It’s also rare, especially in the media business. People still buy Bill O’Reilly’s books and listen to Megyn Kelly’s podcast, but their respective impact on the national conversation is gone. Whatever power they held was given to them by the network.
This is not the case with Tucker Carlson.
To begin with, Carlson’s one of the most intelligent people—I’m talking raw IQ—on cable news. His only competition for this crown is Rachel Maddow and Maria Bartiromo. Most of the people you see on TV are dolts. Believe me, America’s Erin Burnetts, Neil Cavutos, Nicole Wallaces, Wolf Blitzers, and Jake Tappers are not on TV because they’re smart. They’re on TV because they do what they’re told, the camera likes them, and they can read a teleprompter and Democrat talking points. Why do you think CNN flamed out as soon as its anchors stepped out from behind their scripts? Because those people are dumb and they are unlikable.
Secondly, Carlson is willing to speak truths and launch debates no one else in cable news is willing to touch. This takes guts. In this conformist media environment, people respect guts.
Third, Carlson educates his audience. Listening to a Tucker Carlson monologue frequently results in the listener learning something he or she didn’t know before. Unlike almost everyone else in the pundit game, he’s not there to spoon-feed comfort. Instead, he’s looking to open your eyes, to show you the Matrix. This is something else Tucker has in common with Trump. It is also what made Rush Limbaugh the undisputed king of talk radio for more than 30 years.
Most importantly, people trust Tucker. They know he’s smart, connected, willing to bolt the fascist establishment’s debate plantation (even at the expense of his job and position), and will lay things out in a way that’s refreshingly blunt.
So…
Now that the Fox News badge no longer hinders Tucker…
Does that make him more dangerous to the establishment or less dangerous?
Whatever Carlson does next, people will buy his NFTs for the same reason they buy Trump’s NFTs, to support a guy willing to take flaming arrows in the back on their behalf.
As far as Fox News—well, Fox News will be just fine.
As angry as people are over Fox News showing Carlson the door, don’t underestimate the network’s true appeal. We live in a culture where half the population is under constant assault. We’re insulted in movies, TV shows, novels, songs, and even advertisements. Therefore, coming home to Fox News, to that one island that says we’re not alone… Well, if Fox News can hold on to its audience after doing its part to rig the 2020 election by calling Arizona early, its audience is going nowhere.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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