With news of Steve Bannon’s surrender to Federal authorities in Washington, DC for failing to comply with a federal subpoena to be deposed regarding the Jan 06 riots in the nation’s capital, the long-time conservative activist and would be Hollywood dealmaker faces fines of up to $100,000 and up to two years in prison.
No one would ever think of Bannon as being a political opportunist; he’s been a right-wing muckraker for ages. But with Donald Trump no longer in the White House and the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party no longer ascendant, where does that leave Bannon and his lackeys like China expert wannabe Chris Fenton?
While he may have tacked to the right and chummed up with Steve Bannon when it was politically convenient, Fenton now appears to be shifting in the opposite direction, appearing on some liberal outlets and more importantly agreeing with his Critical Race Theory (CRT) pushing spouse, Jennifer Fenton. Mrs. Fenton is the president of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) and supports CRT instruction, and its doppelganger EDSJI (Equity, Diversity, Social Justice, and Inclusion), based on a program recommended by the radical Center for Leadership, Equity, and Research (CLEAR) which Fenton and her board members voted to fund. After parents protested the policies, Ms. Fenton is now apparently using the MBUSD attorneys – Fagan, Friedman & Fulfrost – to send cease and desist letters to parents who object to her strongarm tactics. The irony of the MBUSD using taxpayer monies to bully taxpayers who object to their actions and apparent policy preferences is the very definition of entitlement. And some people in the press are noticing.
According to sources familiar with Mr. Fenton before he published his book, it seems he was a liberal who looked down on the right. Although, with the hope of raking in big bucks from riders on the Trump Train, Fenton quickly switched to a conservative POV when his book was released, appearing on conservative news outlets to sell his book.
Hollywood agents have always been opportunists, but even they tend to avoid embracing conservatives for fear of alienating themselves from the majority of liberal Hollywood. Except for failed Hollywood agent Chris Fenton who, seemingly out of desperation, took a jump to the right in hopes of re-igniting his failed career. The right, who are heavy on country music entertainers, is light on anyone supporting their cause in the Hollywood film and television world. In Hollywood, it’s a group think mentality. Fenton apparently thought the lack of supporters on the right would make him their entertainment expert – golden boy. Apparently, when you don’t have the JJ Abrams / Tom Hanks / any major studio execs behind you, a failed agent can look at least somewhat appealing. Now the veneer is wearing off and his true colors are shining through. But there is a problem in Hollywood: once you go right it’s hard to try and jump back to the left. Evidently Fenton did not get that memo.
There is a story that Genghis Kahn during his conquests approached a city and demanded its surrender but the leader refused. The next day a group of men come out from the city and offer the head of their leader to Genghis Kahn and their surrender of the city. The great Kahn had them all killed. His reason: if those men were willing to turn on their leader they had served under for years, given the slightest shift in the wind they would surely turn against him as well.
Now that people like Chris Fenton have lost both protection and direction from the likes of Steve Bannon, how long will it take Fenton to clearly switch his alliances and officially jump from conservative to liberal outlets? Fair weather friends hold no loyalty as none should hold for them.
