If you pay attention to right-wing media, you may have heard various prominent members of the conservative commentariat mention that they were named on the TEXTY list. Glenn Beck was concerned, while Michael Knowles of The Daily Wire seemed to be a little amused by it all.
The list was published by the group TEXTY.ORG and is titled: "Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists. The forces in the U.S. impeding aid to Ukraine and how they do it.” Some are calling it a hit list or an enemies list. The TEXTY site makes a point of refuting both of those claims. The list in question contains the names of journalists, activists, organizations, legislators, and other well-known or semi-known entities who are not sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause. Or perhaps not as sympathetic as some may wish.
The TEXTY organizers spent a great deal of time not just on the list but on cross-referencing all sorts of information. Clicking on a name reveals not only who the person is and the organization for which they work, but also gives the reader a bio and explains to whom the person is tied professionally or politically. It is a bit like one of Beck's chalkboards.
The list is dominated by conservatives, but it contains more than a few left-wing names and organizations. To satisfy my curiosity and to save you the trouble of poring over all 47 glorious sections, I went through the whole thing and compiled a partial list of "offenders." Some of the names are ones you will recognize, and some may make you ask, "Why?"
- Donald Trump
- One America News Network
- Jordan Peterson
- The Daily Wire
- Ben Shapiro
- Brett Cooper
- Michael Knowles
- Ron DeSantis
- Robert Francis Kennedy
- Jim Jordan
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- Tucker Carlson
- Blake Masters
- Ron Johnson
- Lauren Boebert
- Matt Gaetz
- Marjorie Taylor Greene
- Scott Perry
- Kari Lake
- Andrew Napolitano
- The Cato Institute
- Rand Paul
- Ron Paul
- Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
- Jill Stein
- Elon Musk
- Noam Chomsky
- World Beyond War
- Antiwar.com
- Laura Loomer
- Jack Posobiec
- Alex Jones
- InfoWars
- Information Liberation
- ZeroHedge
- Glenn Greenwald
- Breitbart News
- Charlie Kirk
- George Demetrios Papadopoulos
- Mike Lee
- Andrew & Tristan Tate
- Jesse Watters
- Juanita Broaddrick
- Brigitte Gabriel
- Nancy Mace
- George Santos
- Tommy Tuberville
- Madison Cawthorn
- The Nation
- Tulsi Gabbard
- Peace in Ukraine Coalition
- Veterans For Peace
- Steven Seagal
- PAX Christi USA
- Resist US-Led War Movement
- People's Party
- Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE)
- United for Peace and Justice
- Women Against Military Madness
- Women Transforming our Nuclear Legacy
- Matt Taibbi
- Steven Crowder
- Candance Owens
- Cornel West
- Turning Point USA (TPUSA)
- Tara Reade
- Steve Bannon
- Roger Stone
- Joe Pags Pagliarulo
- Matt Walsh
- Tim Pool
- Glenn Beck
- The Blaze
- The Libertarian Institute
- The Squad (Yes, that Squad.)
- Peace and Freedom Party
- Party for Socialism and Liberation
- The Burning Spear
- Uhuru Movement
- The African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC)
- The Black is Back Coalition (BIBC)
- African People's Socialist Party
- Oakland Green Party
- The Federalist
- Real Clear Investigations
- Real America's Voice
- Fox News
- MAGA
- The Heritage Foundation
- Marsha Blackburn
- John Barrasso
- Cynthia Lumps
- Ted Cruz
- Rick Scott
- Marco Rubio
- Tim Scott
- Sarah Palin
- Libertarian Party
No, PJ Media did not make the list.
You can peruse the entire list here.
I have been involved as a conservative commentator/loudmouth/bloviator in one way or another since 2009. Frankly, I was surprised that at least one of those people is still around. The biggest surprise for me was Burgess Owens. He is my congressman. I've met him a few times, and he genuinely is concerned about doing right by the country and his district. Plus, I got to see his Super Bowl ring up close. Owens is a big guy, and he sports a big ring. If he accidentally dropped it, he might inadvertently take out a city block.
Knowing Owens as I do, which is not well but well enough, I wondered what he had done to land him on the naughty list. TEXTY cites his connection to Trump as one reason, but it also provides a fairly nice bio:
Clarence Burgess Owens is an American politician, nonprofit executive, and former professional football player serving as the U.S. representative for Utah's 4th congressional district since 2021. Since leaving the NFL, Owens has founded several businesses and is the CEO of a nonprofit dedicated to helping troubled and incarcerated youth. Owens is one of four black Republicans in the House of Representatives.
Owens' biggest offense was his "F" grade from Republicans for Ukraine. This same group offered two quotes from him to buttress its decision:
"We have a war right here right now. We have 107,000 Americans killed by Fentanyl."
September 29, 2022
"We have a president that is clueless about everything else. He just talked about people dying in Ukraine, he has not spoken about the amount of people coming in and the Americans that are dying… As of now, until we can get some answers, I’m against continued funding of Ukraine."
October 2, 2023
Related: Garland Demands an End to 'Attacks' on the DOJ
At first blush, this may seem like a little harmless grousing, fingerpointing, and pot-stirring. But there is more to the story. Fox News reports that J.D. Vance and Matt Gaetz are demanding answers from Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the ties the Biden administration has to TEXTY. The pair sent a letter to Blinken that read in part:
On June 6, 2024, a Ukrainian corporation, Texty.org.ua, published an online article entitled ‘Rollercoaster: From Trumpists to Communists. The forces in the U.S. impeding aid to Ukraine and how they do it.’ The title of this article oversells the product: it is a substantively thin piece, largely an excuse to smear a large group of Americans who have been skeptical of aid to Ukraine in one form or another.
But it is being broadcast as a part of a coordinated media strategy that has all the hallmarks of a U.S.-targeting influence operation.
The National Pulse noted that one of TEXTY's founders, Anatoly Bondarenko, is involved in the State Department's Tech Camp project. The outlet also said it had proof that TEXTY has ties to USAID, UKaid, the Eurasia Foundation, the European Union, and other organizations. Bondarenko's name is also on a U.S. Government website as being supported by the Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Gaetz and Vance have given Blinken until June 28 to turn over any information regarding all releasable material about the State Department's support of TEXTY and Bondarenko. They also want the secretary to:
Provide a list of any Department of State directives, master agreements, or other policies that outline obligations of grantees or subgrantees of the Department relevant to the above publication;" "Provide a list of any grants or other awards by the Department of State to Anatoly Bondarenko or Texty.org or Texty.org.ua;" and "Inform us whether or not the Department of State is initiating any investigation into violations of Departmental policy regarding this matter.
At this point, no serious person believes that Joe Biden is the decision-maker at the White House. And while Barack Obama may officially be out of office, the fundamental transformation of America continues apace. I suspect there are plenty more surprises out there waiting to be discovered.
