* Axios…
Charlie Kirk is the 24-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit whose 130,000 members claim to be “culture warriors” in the fight “to save Western civilization” from liberals, writes Adam Rubenstein for The Weekly Standard.
Why it matters: With more than 650,000 Twitter followers and the sworn fealty of some of Washington’s most prominent conservatives, Kirk is a provocative firebrand whose proclaimed goal of “owning the libs” all-too-perfectly captures the present state of Donald Trump’s base. Kirk’s messaging and networking in conservative circles has been so effective, in fact, that he claims TPUSA will have raised $15 million by the end of 2018.
The backdrop: Kirk founded TPUSA in 2012, opting not to attend Baylor University and instead use his “rhetorical gifts” to launch a conservative, youth-focused organization with the financial backing of investor Foster Friess and Bruce Rauner, now the Republican governor of Illinois. […]
The big picture: Critics have called Kirk a provocateur — pointing to misleading and outright false tweets that drum up outrage like, “83%, 10 out of 12, of all rapes in Denmark are committed by migrants or their descendants.” But the reality is that Kirk’s influence in Trumpworld is unbridled, and as the 24-year-old leader of a growing movement of right-wing, “own the libs”-driven populism, he won’t be disappearing anytime soon.
Rauner gave Kirk’s group $100,000 in 2014 and then another $50K in 2015.
* From the Weekly Standard article…
“Owning the libs” is one of the constants of the summit. This form of political schadenfreude is a big part of the TPUSA playbook. The term originated in campus pranks designed to upset, i.e., “trigger,” liberals. “Trigger the libs” quickly morphed into “owning” them. At the University of New Mexico, a TPUSA group in 2017 held an “affirmative action bake sale” where it charged Asians more than whites and whites more than blacks. The bake sale is suggested in the eighth section of TPUSA’s “chapter handbook.” Other ideas include creating your own “safe space” or constructing a “unionized hot dog stand” to show the excesses of liberalism. At Kent State the same year, members of the TPUSA chapter wore diapers in a simulated safe space. It’s the triumph of the put-down as political principle.
“Owning the libs is easy,” Bak says. “It’s fun. It’s my favorite pastime.” He came to the conference to be among like-minded people. He’s heading to Temple University in the fall to study medicine. He doesn’t yet know if there’s a TPUSA chapter on Temple’s campus, but “if they don’t have one, I will definitely start one. I’ll be happy to.” Bak thinks Trump has fared pretty well in his first two years: “I mean, the numbers speak for themselves. The economy, the way it is, a lot of people who are negative towards him in his presidency don’t really know how good of a job he’s actually doing compared to past presidents.” His favorite book is Nineteen Eighty-Four, which he sees as relevant today, “with everyone misrepresenting facts.”
Charlie Kirk himself made a similar journey. Initially he supported Scott Walker for president and then turned to Cruz. The decision that many Republicans faced during the general election—to brace for Trump or to embrace him—Kirk took with unqualified enthusiasm. TPUSA identifies itself as conservative but nonpartisan and holds the self-proclaimed remit to “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.” It is a mission that suggests some dissent from the Trump agenda. But Kirk tells me that it is not his job to criticize those with whom he agrees “on the big things.” Maybe that’s the price of politics today—one can’t call balls and strikes anymore without attracting the enmity of fellow conservatives. Intra-party debate on the right is “sinking one’s own ship” or “siding with Hillary.” Kirk happily rationalizes every aspect of the Trump administration and its policies. Protective tariffs? Trade wasn’t free to begin with, and Trump is making it more free: “Fair and free,” Kirk insists. He does add the caveat, though, that he usually wouldn’t support tariffs.
* Bernie Schoenburg has written about the Rauner connection to Kirk several times. From June of last year…
The Rauner Family Foundation, which provides charitable contributions from Rauner and his wife, DIANA, gave Turning Point USA $100,000 in 2014 and $50,000 in 2015. Rauner was keynote speaker at a Turning Point event, a 2014 group newsletter said. Rauner called Kirk “one of the greatest patriots and one of the greatest advocates for limited government and great conservative principles in the entire United States. … I think the world of this young man. He’s a superstar. I personally will do everything I can to help him expand his reach … because his vision of America is the right vision for America.”
Audio of part of that speech is here. “The American dream will be brought back with Charlie Kirk leading the message, leading the charge for all of us,” Rauner said.
* From Bernie’s latest…
The group that hosted a high school leadership summit that featured Attorney General Jeff Sessions laughing and repeating “lock her up” chants from students has ties to Illinois and has been supported by Gov. Bruce Rauner. […]
The “lock her up” chant at the event Tuesday in Washington, D.C., refers to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate who lost to Republican President Donald Trump in 2016. It was a staple of Trump campaign rallies as the FBI investigated Clinton’s use of a private email server. She was never charged with a crime. […]
Turning Point USA seeks to mobilize students who believe in free markets and limited government. Kirk has tweeted statements including “There is no such thing as ‘government money’ … It is OUR money the government TOOK FROM US! #TaxationIsTheft” and “The #1 reason poor kids stay poor is failing schools run by the corrupt teacher unions. They only care about their power. Time for change!” […]
Rauner’s campaign had no comment when asked about Sessions on Wednesday.
