The Troll Behind the Curtain
The Troll Behind the Curtain
Behind every Republican politician, there are bootlicking gremlins that have worse opinions. Enter Tex Fischer, co-founder of H&F Strategies, and the man behind multiple terrible Twitter accounts.
Campaigning as a Republican in Ohio is a breeze. Local media has been destroyed by private equity losers and replaced with consolidated corporate media with zero interest in disturbing the status quo. And that’s not even getting into outright partisan outlets like Fox News, right-wing talk radio or online Nazi dens like Breitbart.com
It’s by design that every Republican sounds the same: Bibles, babies and bullets with racist hysteria about the border sprinkled into the equation. If gas prices are high and a Democrat is the president, throw that nonsense into the mixer, too. Republican donors put a lot of time and money into honing that glorious messaging strategy.
Here are two examples of the kind of argument that goes viral in Republican circles; the first is from State Senator Michael Rulli:
It’s literally the IRS’ business to monitor our bank accounts. Every functioning adult knows why this is. But taxes are bad in Republican World, so this tripe earns nearly 70,000 interactions.
Rulli has 70,200K followers on Twitter. By comparison, Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko has 3,600.
Here is another example from another Mahoning Valley politician; this one from State Representative Mike Loychik:
Elon Musk and Elizabeth Warren have nothing to do with Ohio. But weird nerds love Musk for some reason and would spending hours online crying if he were forced to pay his fair share in taxes, so Loychik earned roughly 70,000 interactions on that tweet alone. Most people probably thought he was a Congressman instead of an obscure state legislator.
Loychik has over 66,000 followers on Twitter. By comparison, House Minority Leader Allison Russo, who ran for Congress last election cycle, has roughly 12,300.
Do you see the problem?
Twitter is not real life, as the consultant class loves to remind us on Twitter. But it does offer a window into how effective even state legislators can be at weaponizing culture war horseshit. Arizona State Rep. Wendy Rogers, for example, speaks to white nationalists and calls for political violence and just smashed state fundraising records.
If you browse Loychik’s and Rulli’s Twitter pages, you quickly realize they’re speaking that same language. Rarely, if ever, do their accounts mention legislative accomplishments. Rarely, if ever, do their accounts talk about stuff that is under the purview of state legislators.
But the accounts do talk about whatever the newest faux outrage issue is, whether it’s Joe Biden giving away crack pipes or how Dr. Fauci is a war criminal who should die in prison. Their accounts act as one hand washing another by retweeting each other.
That is because in reality, neither Loychik or Rulli create their own content. They, along with State Treasurer Robert Sprague, outsource that creative labor to H&F Strategies co-founder Tex Fischer.
Gotta say—that’s good hair for a Republican. You don’t see that often. Fischer wouldn’t look out of place as a Joe Biden voter leaving a two-star review on his Uber driver because he insisted on making polite small talk on the .8 mile journey to a coffee shop in German Village. (Maybe there’s a portrait of Fischer in his attic that grows more grotesque by the day?)
Floppy hair, boyish smile and rosy cheeks aside—the first thing I noticed about Fischer’s Twitter bio is that he wants to abolish the United States Postal Service, which is enshrined into the Constitution.
That’s the kind of take that is so regal in its pomposity that you almost have to stand back in appreciation and clap. It’s the kind of take that makes sense to every politically driven teenager that has dabbled in libertarianism for 30 seconds after a couple bong rips. Something you would see from a college freshman trying to incite his more liberal classmates “for the lolz.”
There is a powerful mind at work in these parts. Let’s see what kind of mental acuity it takes to earn two nursing degrees from the University of Alabama:
Oh Dear God. Oh sweet Mary and Joseph. Elon Musk and his taxes. Somebody please bludgeon me to death with a hammer.
But wait! There’s more! Fischer thinks legalizing child labor would be better than raising the minimum wage:
Fischer also comes from a house with a father who gets emotional while trying to cancel other men for cheering the wrong way for their favorite football team:
Are we supposed to be surprised? Apparently.
Fischer celebrates the death of a cripple. Sure, Franklin Roosevelt was a racist war criminal like every other president, but he also led the country through the Great Depression, kept communism at bay internally, and beat the Nazis.
Framing FDR’s obituary makes sense when you realize Fischer sees the defeat of fascism as the worst thing that happened in the 20th century.
Fischer and his partner, co-founder Thomas Hern, brag about their past affiliation with Turning Point USA, the astroturfed political group aimed at turning Millennials and Zoomers into reliable Republican voters. Coincidentally, numerous group chats got leaked which show leaders and prominent members making rape jokes and using racist and homophobic language.
Guys like Fischer don’t represent the future of the Republican Party. They offer a crystalized version of what Republicans believe right now. And this is just the stuff they’re willing to post about on public social media profiles.
Maybe one day the Democrats will figure out how to message against this stuff.
THOSE WMDs. Lead in gasoline blunted IQ of about half the country, study says… The elephant in the courtroom… The 25 best Batman villains, ranked… Chipotle chicken (copycat)… Should we ban SUVs?
Democrats definitely need to do a better job in regards to counter messaging. I don't understand the Republican methodology, they say they don't like big government, taxes, and public health mandates but love regulating what schools teach and how municipalities regulate firearms.
I often wonder how many of these so called followers are just bots? Good essay, the add ons are interesting also! Show me a picture of that kid with the beautiful hair in 10 years. lol