A Deep Dive on Leonard Leo — RadPod’s Interview with Tom Carter
RadPod’s interview with newsman Tom Carter details how media’s neglect to investigate democratic wrecking ball Leonard Leo early in his rise to power led us to the brink of a Christofascist takeover
“If you want to create a fascist society, you get the judges.”—Tom Carter
Last week, veteran newsman Tom Carter allowed me to publish his op-ed in Bette Dangerous about the media failures to warn about the threat of Leonard Leo, who is responsible for six religious extremists on the Supreme Court. Here is that report:
As I noted in the intro to his op-ed, Shadow Network author Anne Nelson sent me Carter’s report originally, and I then reached out to our mutual friend Greg Olear to make contact. Thankful for my network of allies, many of whom are being systematically attacked/infiltrated by those paid to discredit and disparage my team. It is more vital than ever that we understand that solidarity is the cure for these targeted attempts at dividing us from within. A united front foils their attempts to break us.
As I have written before, I don’t need my heroes to be perfect, we are all human, but as Jason Stanley writes, none of us demons.
A little solidarity will go a very long way. Those trying to demonize our brave friends and allies in this fight for democracy are likely on the wrong side of the battlefield.
I am very grateful to all those who are stepping up during this time, and Tom Carter is one of them.
“Coming up on November 2024 and a possible Leonard Leo Christofascist takeover of the United States, as detailed in his 900-page Project 2025, it looks like 1930s Germany to me”.—Tom Carter
RadPod had the amazing opportunity to interview Carter directly this week for Ep94: Leonard Leo and the Catholic Mafia with Tom Carter. Please take an hour and watch or listen below:
You can also follow Tom Carter on Medium directly.
Among the amazing takeaways I got from Carter was his thoughts on the Unholy Trinity, which he defines as the libertarian billionaires, the Christian nationalist foot soldiers, and the extremist Catholics.
Another haunting takeaway was his reporting on how in post-WW2 Germany, between 1945 and 1950, about 35 percent of the population still thought Hitler was good and that those who perished “deserved what they got.”
As shocking as that sounds, let’s look at the US in this moment.
We appear to have lost about the same to authoritarian voodoo in the form of MAGA and QAnon cults spun by the Russian military and US traitors aligned with the Russians.
It becomes more clear each day that no one is coming to save us, and that is why I ask you to join me in continuing to apply public pressure to force the agencies that are supposed to protect us from threats from within and without to do their jobs. Don’t let today’s breaker on even more evidence that Charles Flynn delayed aid to police officers on J6 get buried under a sea of distraction.
We asked Carter if he believes had the New York Times done its job and warned America about Leonard Leo earlier if it would have made a difference.
He said that at the very least, it would have opened the flood gates for other media to also report on Leo.
I believe that had that happened, Americans might have heard Hillary Clinton’s warning in 2016, instead of falling under the spell of Russia’s reflexive control.
She warned us:
We might have heard her.
We still have half a year left to right this ship, and it’s going to require solidarity, public pressure, pro-democracy coalitions, and solidarity ffs.
As my podcast partner Jim Stewartson says, we are experiencing “a literal invasion by a foreign adversary. It’s just wearing American clothes.”
I hope this interview assists everyone in seeing and identifying the threats more easily.
Stay for the ending, when Carter plays the tune “Sleepwalk” on guitar.
Thankfully, if you are reading this, you are not asleep.
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More about Tom Carter:
Tom Carter is a retired journalist, who spent 25 years as a print reporter at the Washington Times, the last 16 on the foreign desk covering Latin America, Global Health (HIV, malaria, TB, etc.) and human rights. He was hired for the media/PR flack position at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in 2008. He also spent three years as communications director at the US Commission for Religious Liberty (2009-2012). Celebrating 42 years of marriage, he enjoys spending time with his two adult children and three grandchildren.
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Those who are having trouble affording membership renewals, please do reach out to me directly at bettedangerous/gmail for assistance.🤍
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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter/producer, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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Stunning, Heidi.... No words but to thank you, Jim and HiFi (and Mr. Carter, of course) for bringing the weight of this to us.
We should still know that we are more. Much more, if we hold together.