Massachusetts First

If you’ve read any of my other pieces, you know that I’m a tad touchy about being pre-judged. The judgey ones should know that I didn’t fall off the MAGA cabbage truck yesterday. It’s been a protracted awakening. I grew up in a Kennedy-loathing Republican household. My folks were traveling in Europe during the 1964 election. I remember them assiduously filling out their absentee ballots. A lot of good it did – they voted for Goldwater.

In 1969, I was a junior at Cushing Academy. I remember standing outside the dining hall when a couple of friends received their draft cards. A low number on your card meant you were most likely headed to the Mekong Delta. One kid with a head full of hallucinogens when he received his induction papers. Talk about a bad trip. The war sucked. I followed the crowd in those days, railing against the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty. My heart wasn’t in it, though. By the following year, I was partying my ass off at the gay bars.

As a silent protest, I voted for the far-Left McGovern in 1972 and Perot in ’92. Again, my heart wasn’t in it. After that, I threw in the towel and returned to my Republican roots, but it wasn’t until 9/11 that I woke up. That was when I turned on cable news. CNN, no less! My favorite show was Lou Dobbs Tonight. Lou opened my eyes to the growing problem of government overreach and illegal Immigration. Lou and I departed CNN for Fox News when Obama became the Dems’ golden boy. CNN was fine with Lou beating up on the Bush Administration. When Obama came into office, and Lou didn’t soften his anti-government populist narrative, he got the boot and landed at Fox.

One day during Obama’s 2008 campaign, as I clicked through channels on my way to CNN, I caught Sean Hannity ranting about Reverend Wright and Bill Ayres. Hey, how come I don’t know about these guys? Hmmm . . . Could it be the well-documented CNN Lefty bias? Bingo! I hopped to Fox and stayed there until they called Arizona in 2020. I was all for the Patriot Act. I joined the “I don’t have anything to hide!” chorus. What a dope! I trusted our government. I trusted both Bushes. I trusted Dick Cheney and John McCain. I believed there was WMD in Iraq. I believed we were the good guys.

I swore off Fox after 12 years of blind loyalty. The 2020 election (read: “selection”) was the final straw. I started watching Steve Bannon’s War Room, which followed Newsmax’s prime-time programming. Today, War Room is one of the world’s fastest-growing and highest-ranking political broadcasts. The audience is activist. The alternative media I voraciously consume is always a year or three ahead of corporate media if they choose to mention it all. Think Ivermectin. The contributors that make the rounds on independent right-leaning media are intelligent (as well as brave) political pundits, investigative journalists, politicians, media figures, authors, physicians, and lawyers, many of whom have their own shows and columns. For the crime of independent thought, most have been de-platformed, de-banked, disbarred, swatted, arrested, indicted, and imprisoned. In the case of the Liberals who dared to deviate from the state-mandated narrative, they are derided, discredited, and thoroughly canceled.

I stream War Room, Jack Posobeic’s Human Events Daily on Real America’s Voice for hours every weekday. I absorb and follow up on as much information as I can. I admit I am obsessed, like a sports fan – I know the players, the stats, the trades, and the rules. I want to learn more and rectify what I missed, help change the trajectory of this country, and fight for the freedoms our forefathers bequeathed us. Please don’t turn away from our legacy. Don’t assume others will save it. Stay informed. Step up. Every little bit helps.

by Laura Tampagno