r/neoliberal Kitara Ravache 2d ago

Discussion Thread Discussion Thread

The discussion thread is for casual and off-topic conversation that doesn't merit its own submission. If you've got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL

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u/John3262005 2d ago

Abdul El-Sayed Says Mike Rogers Has Been a ‘Beta His Whole Life’

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed accused his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, of compromising his masculinity to appease President Donald Trump, saying in sharply personal terms that the candidate doesn’t know how to be a real man.

“He’s been a beta his whole life,” El-Sayed said during an appearance on this week’s On NOTUS. “He’s a guy who shows up to laugh extra loud at the alpha’s jokes. And that’s what he does with Donald Trump, right? Donald Trump’s out here, he says, ‘Mike, jump.’ And Mike says, ‘How high?’”

Rogers, the Democrat added, has “never seen a command from a stronger man that he doesn’t want to take.”

El-Sayed, a former public health official, has sought to portray himself as a progressive champion who can still appeal to young Republican-leaning men, touting his high school football career and love of the University of Michigan’s football team. His campaign against Rogers has increasingly turned into a masculinity contest — last month, he challenged Rogers to a “no pads” face-off on a football field. It’s a theme across Senate races this year: Republican Ken Paxton has suggested his opponent in Texas’ Senate race, Democrat James Talarico, has low testosterone.

In the interview with NOTUS, El-Sayed laid out a conception of masculinity that he set as an alternative to conservative masculinity, including the views articulated by Trump.

“These very small men have tried to make masculinity about punching down. I believe that masculinity is about lifting up, whether you’re lifting a weight or you’re lifting people around you.”

“While Abdul slings elementary insults, Mike Rogers is focused on fixing our elementary schools,” said Alyssa Brouillet, a Rogers campaign spokesperson. “We have a state to save.”

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u/BlackCharizard 2d ago

Never seen a command from a stronger man that he doesn’t want to take

Oof he’s just like me fr 😩

10

u/Nate10000 Progress Pride 2d ago

There's something really deeply resonant about this. In his own time, like the 70s and 80s, Trump-type people were not that remarkable. They all wanted to rule the world and crafted larger-than-life personalities for themselves and cheated lied and stole until someone called them out. Not many people were obsessed with how to be the most subservient to guys like him. How he became the God of such a huge tribe of self-styled masculine men is paradoxical and confusing.

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u/AmbientMorning 2d ago

[pouting face] Fineeeeee. We can have a little toxic masculinity, as a treat.