This morning, Mediaite tool Andrew Kirell thought it would be a worthwhile endeavor to write up a post on Michelle Malkin’s tweets about *NSYNC’s VMA reunion. From Kirell’s post:
Yes, you read that correctly. Last night during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, conservative pundit and author Michelle Malkin was really pumped over the reunion of 11-years-dormant boy band NSYNC.
Kirell also suggetsed that it’s somehow hypocritical for a conservative to pay attention to things like pop music:
Let’s put it this way: Malkin tweeting excitement over a boy band’s reunion would be as surprising as, say, Bill O’Reilly declaring himself giddy over the rumors of a Led Zeppelin international reunion tour. Or, conversely, it’s like MSNBC’s Martin Bashir going on-air to express glee over a recent Big & Rich country show he attended.
In other words, we conservatives are supposed to be like the Church Lady. If we delight in Breaking Bad or relish The Walking Dead or gush over Bruno Mars, then obviously we are blatant hypocrites.
Isn’t that special?
Left would prefer that conservatives all be seen as hate-filled fuddy duddy ignoramuses. Dehumanizing us keeps us in our places.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
We're much more threatening if we can talk as comfortably about Drake's horrendous flat singing & Miley twerking as we can about Obamacare.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
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We're even more threatening if we can seize on the backlash against extreme pop culture excesses & reach young people who agree.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
Yes @twitchyteam covered #MTVVMAs wall to wall last night. Unflinchingly, unapologetically & thoroughly. http://t.co/hq692BCvr8
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
1) You can't influence/combat/engage pop culture if you aren't fluent in it. 2) You can be in it, but not of it.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
Some conservatives have convinced themselves that few Americans pay attention to pop culture:
https://twitter.com/PhillipCMcGuire/status/372021142351269889
@michellemalkin yes! All 50 of those young people
— Milo™ (@chasbottom) August 26, 2013
Justin Bieber (who, by the way, is pro-life) has 43.7 million Twitter followers. Katy Perry has 41.6 million. Lady Gaga has 39.9 million.
@chasbottom You're wrong.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
It's terrifying how much our side underestimates how much the power of pop culture can have on candidates. @RBPundit @michellemalkin
— Mcfly (@Sleepyjoe55) August 26, 2013
Others suggest that paying attention to pop culture (or, Heaven Forbid, enjoying it) means endorsing every last bit of it, including the twerking:
https://twitter.com/jackmcoldcuts/status/371803386393681921
https://twitter.com/LilMissRightie/status/371809833583779840
As clichéd as it sounds, the children really are our future. We need to help America’s young people (many of whom are largely apolitical) understand why conservatism is better for them. And that can’t be done if we’re constantly sneering at things that matter to them.
Twitter & @TwitchyTeam are effective ways to help change the Inhuman Conservative narrative *without* pandering.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
@BattagliaPat Schools. And culture.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 26, 2013
If he were still alive, we think Andrew Breitbart would agree:
The thing I loved the most abt @AndrewBreitbart was his understanding abt how cons. MUST win on the culture war front, or all else is lost.
— Sister Toldjah ? (@sistertoldjah) June 2, 2012
To conservatives: "If you want to make the culture, invest in the culture." — @andrewbreitbart #wcpac
— Melissa Mackenzie (@MelissaTweets) October 18, 2009
#hhrs #TCOT @andrewbreitbart compares CPAC w/Oscars and says conservatives need to engage the culture. http://snipr.com/ciuky
— Mysterious_1 (@Mysterious_1) February 24, 2009
Writing the day after the 2012 election, Breitbart.com’s Mike Flynn noted,
Andrew always pointed out that politics was far downstream from media and pop culture. By ceding the media and pop culture space, conservatives were always at an extreme disadvantage whenever a specific political debate arose. They could occasionally win certain battles, but they would always be fighting against extreme headwinds. Last night was a brutal reminder that Andrew was right.
Breitbart got it. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Mediaite doesn’t.
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