This is the narcissism of minor differences. We will react more strongly to disagreement within our tribe than a greater threat from outside the tribe. Sunnis and Shiites; Catholics and Protestants.
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The illiberal politically correct, identity politics, cancel culture was behind his first success and these forces only seem to have become worse. You do not persuade just because you have silenced someone, and the voting booth is the ultimate safe space. Political power requires the building of coalitions; identity politics is the opposite.
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The big question when Trump won in 2016 was whether his victory was the result of the rejection of the ideology of the left or the rejection of the deeply flawed Hillary Clinton. The question few of us considered was if it was the attractiveness of either the character or policies of Donald Trump.
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Even supporters have trouble reconciling Trumps flaws with his success. Half of Trump supporters like him as he is, and half just like him more than the Jacobins running for the Democratic slots. They prefer Trump’s character flaws to the bad ideas of the Democrats which pour forth uncontrollably. The mobocracy fo the Kavanaugh hearing scares them more.
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If it had appeared in Breitbart or a similar political tilt, the airwaves would be jammed with condemnations and no apology would suffice. Its proximity in time to the recent shooting at the Chabad in Poway near San Diego would have made it unforgivable. That is how the New York Times treated far less offensive remarks from Republicans; Sarah Palin’s use of the word ‘cross hairs’ in a political speech was enough to blame her for the Gabby Giffords shooting.
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“…Trump’s success will likely depend upon his ability to articulate the ground of a common good that is still rooted in the past—a common good established by a government that protects the rights of its citizens in a constitutional manner and establishes limits on the authority of government by demanding that the rule of law replace that of bureaucratic privilege and status.”
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“President Trump’s governance this year has been more conservative than that of George W. Bush or even Reagan. He has slashed the bureaucracy, cutting regulations at a maniacal clip. He has inserted constitutionalist appellate judges at a historic rate. He’s cut taxes. He’s looked to box in Russia in Ukraine while building up our alliances in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. He’s ended the individual mandate and he’s cut taxes.”
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I feel like I am channeling my dad when I say that the more I read and think I know, the less I understand what is going on, especially in politics. I have not bought into the defenders of Trump
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by Henry Oliner Both parties are fragmented, trying to assemble a consensus from groups that do not want to concede. Populist movements are defined by their demons. It is why they are prone to seduction by saviors. They would settle
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How Trump Won, in Two Dimensions by F.H. Buckley in the WSJ: Most Hillary Clinton voters were deeply liberal on both axes. The surprise was the Trump voters, who were very conservative on social issues but moderate on economic ones.
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by Henry Oliner The Democrats are 0 for 4 in recent state elections, losing in Montana, Kansas, South Carolina, and Georgia. They bet big on Georgia’s sixth district and had hope they could win, proving that Trump’s victory was a
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Over the years, I discovered the difficulty of conversation with some people. Interruptions can be annoying and often rude, but it often seems justified by a long-winded response or statement. We should avoid interruptions, but we should also avoid monopolizing
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From a book review of Conserving America? by Patrick Deneen- review by Micah Medowcroft- Trump Didn’t Kill Conservatism in The Wall Street Journal: The two dominant alternatives to this fixation on the present are progressivism’s focus on the future and what
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We have been a politically fragmented country since its founding. That is the nature of a Federalist republic where power is dispersed and checked, and it is the genius of our constitution. A two-party system requires a coalition of interests,
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from the editors at The Wall Street Journal, Trump and the Democrats: excerpts Blaming “white-lash” is silly—of the roughly 700 U.S. counties that Mr. Obama won twice, about one-third broke this time for Mr. Trump—but these cultural rationalizations are lamentable
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Some advice for the new president from economist John Cochrane in the Wall Street Journal, Don’t Believe the Economic Pessimists: The ideal tax system raises revenue for the government while distorting economic decisions as little as possible. A pure tax
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from Mark Judge in The National Review, Is Contemporary Liberalism Creating a Soulless Monoculture? Legutko’s thesis is that liberal democracies have something in common with communism: the sense that time is inexorably moving towards a kind of human utopia, and
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“This may be too much for a blunt instrument to understand, but arrogance and self awareness seldom go hand in hand.” “M” to Bond in Casino Royale. Trump may have used his swagger and ego to get the nomination, but
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Did Donald Trump insinuate a call for the assassination of Hillary Clinton? No. Get real. Did he literally claim that Obama created Isis, as if sitting at a table with the rag heads and saying, “follow me guys, I have
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from Mona Charen at National Review Online, Republican Self Sabotage: For the past several years, leading voices of what Matt Lewis has called “con$ervative” media, along with groups like Heritage Action, and politicians such as Senator Ted Cruz, have ceaselessly
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