Yeah Cheney seems like the obvious choice from the political space. From the non political space I’d say whichever Koch brother isn’t currently resting in piss
I pick Genocide forever war Joe. There's no war he didn't put 2 feet into (our young men and woman, not his). He could have avoided the current wars in Somalia, Ukraine, Isreal, and Yemen _ Can I add Syria, Iraqi, Jordan Too_ to name a few, excluding previous wars elsewhere around the globe.
Yours is the only answer here so far I like, but my nomination is for Brett McGurk.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/brett-mcgurk-resignation A group of progressive lawmakers in the U.S. House is reportedly planning to ask President Joe Biden to seek the resignation of White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk....McGurk "has laid out his vision in a top-secret document shared in some circles of the Washington national security establishment—a plan that envisions Biden traveling to the region in the coming months on 'a victory tour' to claim credit for an Israel-Saudi deal as an answer to Gaza's pain."
Interviewed for a 2022 HuffPost profile, one former U.S. official said that colleagues inside the government viewed McGurk as “the most talented bureaucrat they’ve ever seen, with the worst foreign policy judgment they’ve ever seen.”
Genocide Joe is the obvious and mainly only answer. He's the only person who's been around long enough and who's been involved in every single horrible foreign policy idea of the last 50 years and you can be damn sure he'll live to be 100 too
A lot of these are good options but kind of irrelevant. Alito and Clarence seem to be reasonable options as (allegedly) so crooked that they have to screw their pants on every morning (h/t to Hunter Thompson, in regards to Dick Nixon). Little Stevie Miller is just a Trump suckfish who is irrelevant except that when he wants some headlines has his group make some kind of shitty move (the latest is suing the NFL for forcing teams to use the Rooney Rule; no plans to get into the importance of it at this point). Cheney is out of politics, more or less, and can be ignored with impunity especially given the Repubs treatment of Liz. George W. Bush is too lazy to want to control the world or at least project his worldview, which is...a good barbecue?. Mitch doesn't have the ability to affect world events except in a crude "No money for Ukraine!" sort-of way.
The thing is, what we need is someone who has a world view that is icky and wrong, but is convinced is so correct that it is The Only Way To See Things, and has other people believe him and follow his every utterance.
The true and only answer is: Thomas Friedman. He has undue influence, he writes books that are dumb as shit but are considered Tomes of Political Discourse, he gibbers on about Centrism uber Alles, and he has a constant perch on the NYTimes op-ed page. I think he's our boy.
Is the answer Steve Bannon? It is, isn't it? Only ever had a murky role in government, wants to be famous for being the hand behind the throne rather than for being on the throne, looks like the Crypt Keeper.
People suggesting Thomas and Alito, their bagman Leonard Leo is the behind-the-scenes guy who's spent his life weaponizing the judicial branch on behalf of the GOP and its contributing oligarchs. And this has the bonus of equating the Federalist Society with the Trilateral Commission or CFR or the goddamn Bilderbegers, whatever freaky shit Hank the K was into.
It's gotta be Peter Thiel. Most of the other candidates mentioned don't share Kissinger's discomfort with the spotlight. Cheney has not maintained the same iron grip on influence in his post-service years. W, McConnell, Pelosi, Trump, etc. are all elected officials, whereas a huge part of the Kissinger mystique was that his "genius" defied electoralism. Thiel has been trying to play chessmaster for decades now.
This may be way too obvious but Donald J Trump is the only person who infiltrated the world of entertainment/pop culture/celebrity the way that Kissinger did while also being an evil right wing ghoul
Isn't Rupert Murdoch the obvious answer?
God damn it you're so right.
Is Dick Cheney still around?
first name that came to mind for me as well. sam alito or clarence would be #1 seeds
Yeah Cheney seems like the obvious choice from the political space. From the non political space I’d say whichever Koch brother isn’t currently resting in piss
Has he maintained a high degree of power or visibility since he left office though?
Also came here to suggest this villain.
I pick Genocide forever war Joe. There's no war he didn't put 2 feet into (our young men and woman, not his). He could have avoided the current wars in Somalia, Ukraine, Isreal, and Yemen _ Can I add Syria, Iraqi, Jordan Too_ to name a few, excluding previous wars elsewhere around the globe.
Yours is the only answer here so far I like, but my nomination is for Brett McGurk.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/brett-mcgurk-resignation A group of progressive lawmakers in the U.S. House is reportedly planning to ask President Joe Biden to seek the resignation of White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk....McGurk "has laid out his vision in a top-secret document shared in some circles of the Washington national security establishment—a plan that envisions Biden traveling to the region in the coming months on 'a victory tour' to claim credit for an Israel-Saudi deal as an answer to Gaza's pain."
Huffpost article:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/congress-brett-mcgurk-biden-middle-east_n_65a98154e4b041f1ce65448b?ga
Interviewed for a 2022 HuffPost profile, one former U.S. official said that colleagues inside the government viewed McGurk as “the most talented bureaucrat they’ve ever seen, with the worst foreign policy judgment they’ve ever seen.”
Article from 2022: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mcgurk-biden-middle-east-adviser_n_628f97a4e4b0933e73705793
Genocide Joe is the obvious and mainly only answer. He's the only person who's been around long enough and who's been involved in every single horrible foreign policy idea of the last 50 years and you can be damn sure he'll live to be 100 too
Mitch McConnell is his name & hating everyone is his game.
Except for the Koch family. He loves him some money.
A lot of these are good options but kind of irrelevant. Alito and Clarence seem to be reasonable options as (allegedly) so crooked that they have to screw their pants on every morning (h/t to Hunter Thompson, in regards to Dick Nixon). Little Stevie Miller is just a Trump suckfish who is irrelevant except that when he wants some headlines has his group make some kind of shitty move (the latest is suing the NFL for forcing teams to use the Rooney Rule; no plans to get into the importance of it at this point). Cheney is out of politics, more or less, and can be ignored with impunity especially given the Repubs treatment of Liz. George W. Bush is too lazy to want to control the world or at least project his worldview, which is...a good barbecue?. Mitch doesn't have the ability to affect world events except in a crude "No money for Ukraine!" sort-of way.
The thing is, what we need is someone who has a world view that is icky and wrong, but is convinced is so correct that it is The Only Way To See Things, and has other people believe him and follow his every utterance.
The true and only answer is: Thomas Friedman. He has undue influence, he writes books that are dumb as shit but are considered Tomes of Political Discourse, he gibbers on about Centrism uber Alles, and he has a constant perch on the NYTimes op-ed page. I think he's our boy.
Ooh, Frank Luntz might be another good one there. A person whose every move made every bad problem worse.
My first two thoughts are Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi. Peter Thiel would also be a good candidate.
Pelosi is as good as any from the other side of the aisle.
Thomas and Alito, as a pair.
Cheney, as Hawkeye said.
Rove, W., Roger Stone.
Forgot about Rove, that’s a good shout. How are all these ghouls still around?!?
Karl Rove isn't even super old (73)
Too old.
Are we beholden to politics? Because Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein are RIGHT THERE.
If we’re going outside pure politicians, throw the Mercer and Ricketts family patriarchs onto the pile.
Is the answer Steve Bannon? It is, isn't it? Only ever had a murky role in government, wants to be famous for being the hand behind the throne rather than for being on the throne, looks like the Crypt Keeper.
Kissinger had actual influence.
Too young. Altho inshallah and given his lifestyle I doubt he’ll be long lived.
Not as influential, and not as smart, but Elliott Abrams is just as evil.
People suggesting Thomas and Alito, their bagman Leonard Leo is the behind-the-scenes guy who's spent his life weaponizing the judicial branch on behalf of the GOP and its contributing oligarchs. And this has the bonus of equating the Federalist Society with the Trilateral Commission or CFR or the goddamn Bilderbegers, whatever freaky shit Hank the K was into.
although he's not yet 60, FUCK
It's gotta be Peter Thiel. Most of the other candidates mentioned don't share Kissinger's discomfort with the spotlight. Cheney has not maintained the same iron grip on influence in his post-service years. W, McConnell, Pelosi, Trump, etc. are all elected officials, whereas a huge part of the Kissinger mystique was that his "genius" defied electoralism. Thiel has been trying to play chessmaster for decades now.
Too young but I happened upon noted torture enthusiast John Yoo on Fox a couple weeks ago and man was that a fucking downer
This may be way too obvious but Donald J Trump is the only person who infiltrated the world of entertainment/pop culture/celebrity the way that Kissinger did while also being an evil right wing ghoul
I nominate Lady Liberty herself, in whose name all great American evils have been enacted. Time to retire, babe.
Not sure if Newt Gingrich is old enough but I'll nominate him for his role in designing the modern republican party