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Ramaswamy is the future of the GOP? Actually, he's a traditional GOP type. And maybe an Alien? [1]

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Date: 2023-09-08  

Farhad Manjoo has a piece up at The NY Times discussing Vivek Ramaswamy, and what’s he’s observed from encounters going back before he decided to run for president.

...In the wake of his breakout performance at last month’s Republican primary debate, much has been made of Ramaswamy’s irrepressible annoyingness — is it a bug that could prevent him from winning the G.O.P. presidential nomination, or is it the featurethat could help him secure it? But what I found striking about Ramaswamy, both in our conversations and on the debate stage, was not that he’s especially irritating (how many people who run for president aren’t?) but that he represents a distinct, very familiar flavor of irritation: He’s the epitome of millennial hustle culture, less a Tracy Flick know-it-all than a viral LinkedIn post come to life. The guy who’s always mining and nurturing new connections, always leveraging those connections into the next new thing, always selling and always, always closing.

There are those in the pundit class who seem dazzled by Ramaswamy’s prospects, as though he’s a break from the conservative movement. The truth is he’s just the latest in a long tradition in the conservative movement. They’re not wrong when they speculate he may be the future of the party — except it’s an integral part of the party’s past and present.

Here’s some observations I offered up in a comment (without the links, of course):

There's a word to describe Ramaswamy: grifter, AKA snake oil salesman. Always has a hustle going, always ready to pivot to wherever the main chance lies, will say anything that he thinks will fill his pockets and give him an edge. If you close your eyes and listen to him, he could easily pass for a Ferengi. For those who have never watched "Deep Space Nine," the Ferengi are an alien race of businessmen whose religion is capitalism. Literally - their bible is "The Rules of Acquisition." Rule 1: Once you have their money, you never give it back. Ramaswamy is not the ‘new’ future of the GOP - he's just the latest iteration of a staple in the conservative universe: the con man who has found a way to cash in - just like his idol Trump. "The Long Con" by Rick Perlstein is a must-read essay for anyone trying to understand this side of the GOP. Here's an excerpt: "The strategic alliance of snake-oil vendors and conservative true believers points up evidence of another successful long march, of tactics designed to corral fleeceable multitudes all in one place—and the formation of a cast of mind that makes it hard for either them or us to discern where the ideological con ended and the money con began." How shameless are they? Trump selling t-shirts of his mug shot to his base is just the latest example.

Words used to describe Ramaswamy are “irritating” and “annoying”, as Manjoo notes. Which, are also often applied to this person.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/8/2192178/-Ramaswamy-is-the-future-of-the-GOP-Actually-he-s-a-traditional-GOP-type-And-maybe-an-Alien

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