Equivocal officeholders can delegitimize institutions without fully endorsing conspiracy claims
Evidence
Speaking truth to conspiracy is a moral and political imperative, and it is a sign of dangerous times that so few responsible officeholders do. Consider Representative John Ratcliffe’s charge in January 2018: “We learned today about information that in the immediate aftermath of his election, there may have been a ‘secret society’ of folks within the Department of Justice and the FBI … working against [Donald Trump].” Ratcliffe continued, “I’m not saying that actually happened.” Two days later, after the ominous text message about a “secret society” was widely identified as a joke between two FBI employees rather than evidence of a plot, another Republican, Senator Ron Johnson, backed off and allowed that it might have been written in jest. But still he equivocated: “It’s a real possibility,” Johnson said. This falls short of disavowal of a conspiracy within the FBI, clearly, and falls shorter still of a sober defense of the agency or the Justice Department. And the conspiracist purpose has been achieved. Doubts are planted, and a share of the country will discount anything federal law enforcement says about FBI investigations, particularly as regards Trump. Such officeholders are contributing to the delegitimation of a crucial government institution and the rule of law. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 333
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Delegitimation strips institutions of standing to persuade or govern — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 26; An officeholder’s specious claims carry destructive force once backed by institutional power — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 150; Compliant elite silence, not belief, enables conspiracism to delegitimize democracy — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 138 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Compliant elite silence, not belief, enables conspiracism to delegitimize democracy
#corroborates(0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 138 - New conspiracism obscures real power by delegitimating the institutions that render it visible
#expands(0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 363 - Presidential office converts personal conspiracism into publicly authoritative claims
#corroborates(0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 169 - Conspiracism’s purpose is delegitimizing opponents, not correcting error
#qualifies(0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 16