Why Read it?
Vish Burra is a veteran MAGA movement provocateur. He was part of the initial handoff and distribution of Hunter Biden's laptop. He's at the center of the staid New York City Young Republicans organization's transformation into an alt-right haven. He was the producer of Steve Bannon's podcast. There are ten other things in the piece that will make your jaw drop.
But we recommend it for a different reason. In a way seldom seen, it captures the nihilism at the heart of the Trumpist far-right. Burra's politics depend on an oppositional personality, a desire to be transgressive. It's not really clear what if any policy positions he subscribes to and at various points he seems to suggest that his even being a Republican is a joke that is … on you?
Give it a read and we think you'll get a sense of what we mean.
Preview
As he watched Rep. George Santos (R-NY) become consumed by scandal, Vish Burra knew he wanted in. Burra didn't hesitate when asked by TPM if the scandal surrounding Santos' lies about his personal history and the myriad questions surrounding his campaign finances drew him to work for the newly elected congressman.
"Of course," Burra said during a phone call on Friday evening. "That's my brand."
Burra, who recently became Santos' director of operations, thrives on chaos and revels in controversy. As reporters have swarmed outside Santos' office each day, Burra has quite literally stood behind the embattled politico. And while Capitol Hill staffers typically stay away from the cameras, behind the scenes, that's not Burra style: He was a high-profile activist in his own right before joining Santos' team, and this isn't Burra's first time in the eye of the storm. In his wide ranging conversation with TPM, Burra talked about his political philosophy and past experience leading a controversial Republican club, standing by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) during another recent scandal, and playing a pivotal role in the Hunter Biden laptop saga.
Bald, bearded, and broad shouldered, Burra stands out in a crowd. That's just how he likes it. Prior to joining Santos' team, Burra was a regular on the right-wing podcast and web broadcast circuit. In one of these interviews last February, Burra talked to the YouTuber Silas Amunga about his philosophy for "activism and institutional infiltration." He turned to manga metaphors describing his "style" as "two katanas to the neck."
"For those out there who watch 'Dragon Ball Z,' you know, political activism is kind of like … trying to summon a spirit bomb," Burra said. "You need to sit there, and you need to gather the energies, organize the energies, and the resources, and the power into a spot where you can control it, manipulate it fully, and then you aim it out and shoot … and destroy."
Anime is an apt comparison since Burra's politics are clearly inflected with the aggressiveness, dark humor, and taste for publicity that are hallmarks of the Trump-era online alt right. Indeed, as the child of South Indian immigrants, Burra sees his very presence in Republican politics as an exercise in trolling.
"Talking about the quiet part out loud, we are not the demographic that should be at the forefront of defending these, quote en quote, 'values,'" Burra said in the interview with Amunga. "So, when we do it, it's like an extra shitpost."
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