LZ Granderson: Democracy has become a tool for the left in its promotion of anti-American values. He says he had a weird dream last night about Senator John McCarthy, who ushered in the Red Scare of the 1950s. LZ: I actually had thought that I would never in my lifetime hear anybody, much less Republican office seekers, speaking with nostalgia about such a man as Joe McCarthy.
In kicking off the midterms, Joe Biden talked about American democracy as a shared value, enshrined in the country’s founding — a value that both Democrats and Republicans should join together in defending. But there is another possible view of this moment. One that is shared by two very different groups: the voters who propelled Biden to the presidency … and the conservative activists who are rejecting democracy altogether.
“The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.