In his column for the Daily Beast, conservative Matt Lewis jumped all over Republican lawmakers who have made a career as avid proponents of "law and order" but have suddenly come to love the truckers who are crippling Canada with street blockades.
As Lewis notes, lawmakers like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have a long history of attacking Black Lives Matter protesters for shutting down streets but have no problem when it comes to anti-vaxx protests that threaten to leave store shelves empty.
Noting that is usually liberals who back street protests, Lewis pointed out that Republicans have suddenly found a type of "populism" they can get behind.
"A few years ago, the left might have supported these working-class heroes who are (as AOC might say) just making others uncomfortable. But the Canadian truckers who call themselves the “Freedom Convoy” are the new darlings of the right, who seem to be relishing this moment of stalling traffic and owning the libs, even as they refuse to get the jab," he wrote before adding, " I have a deep, abiding respect for the hard-working folks who make sure there’s food on the shelves when I go to the grocery store. When COVID-19 started, I dedicated an edition of my email newsletter specifically to truck drivers and other underappreciated workers. But these protests rub me the wrong way. And it has nothing to do with my position on vaccines (which may surprise you). As a conservative, I’ve always viscerally disliked disruptive protests—particularly the kind that metastasize into (or begin with) lawlessness."
After proclaiming, "You have the right to peaceful protest, so long as you are respectful and adhere to law and order," he added, "I think I speak for a great many commuters when I say that if you try to shut down street traffic, you’ve lost my support. It isn’t just inconvenient, it’s scary."
"While conservatives generally fear anyone wielding pitchforks and brandishing lanterns, right-wing populism is different—which is why I think we have the rise of this sort of behavior on the Trumpian right today (I didn’t love the Tea Party movement, but at least it didn’t engage in mob violence or intimidation)," he explained. "For decades, the Democratic Party was the party of organized labor and the 'working man,' while the Republican Party was called the 'party of business' or 'the rich.' That image has flipped in a lot of ways in recent years, and this is both a blessing and a curse for the GOP. It’s one thing to import a bunch of blue-collar Democrats into your coalition, but do we have to adopt the left’s tactics, too?"
"Personally, I’ll keep the tax cuts and Supreme Court Justices, thank you very much. But don’t expect to see me at your next sit-in," he added before warning, "And I wouldn't recommend trying to step in front of my car on I-95, either."
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