President Obama did not create the candidacy of Donald Trump. “Responsible” Republicans like Ross Douthat have been pushing that banal meme since the Donald first reared his ugly head back in the primaries, a falsehood that received a proper beat down from Slate’s William Saletan at the time. As Bill put it, “Obama is an…
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Can’t stop the schadenfreude: Vivisecting the Republican Party
Well, if Trump wins you can laugh, but I won’t hear you because I’ll be sobbing too hard. Since I’m not too excited about a Hillary win—go here for a few dozen reasons why—it’s a lot more fun to speculate on what’s going to happen to the Republican Party post-November. For us Democrats, it’s going…
Ted Cruz, the current ninny and future king
In two recent postings, here and here, Ross Douthat concludes that the Republican Party as we know it will soon no longer exist. “There is now no possibility that the Republican Party will survive its rendezvous with Donald Trump unbroken.” Which means that on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017, there will be two Democratic presidents…
John Podhoretz, half right on Trump—okay, make that a quarter
Over at Commentary, definitely not one of my fave rave’s, Editor John Podhoretz has “A New Theory of Trump”, taking another crack at explaining the Donald. Podhoretz’s argument is stated rather elliptically—or perhaps obliquely—but what he’s getting at, basically, is that George W. Bush got a lot of things wrong, but Republicans were so obsessed…
Glenn Greenwald, going sideways
I’ve long been a huge fan of Glenn Greenwald, perhaps the supreme foe of the Bush/Obama Forever War ever since the hostilities started. That’s why I’m so pained to read his reaction to the reaction to PEN America’s decision to give an award to Charlie Hebdo. Part of Glenn’s problem is that he’s reacting to…
The case against the case against the case against the Crusades
Ross Douthat, whom I’ve more or less left alone for some time, has a considered pushback against President Obama’s recent prayer breakfast talk during which he alleged that Christians could, at times, be as bad as Muslims, citing the Crusades and the Inquisition as examples. Douthat wisely leaves the Inquisition alone1 but is not completely…
Alan Vanneman, eternally naïve
Yeah, it seems like it was only a week ago I was praising Ross Douthat for speaking intelligently about the situation in Ukraine. Well, that was then. Now Ross is on a roll, to wit: Is it really so ridiculous to believe that the Syria crisis confirmed certain impressions that Putin had already cultivated about…
Government Spending, the Climate Change of the Tea Party Right
To function properly in Washington, everyone needs a bogyman. One of the first things a newcomer learns in the nation’s capital is that the Chinese ideogram for “danger” also means “opportunity.” Whether this ubiquitous device exists anywhere outside the text for Motivational Speaking 101 is a moot point. What is not a moot point—what is…
President Obama’s Excellent Syrian Adventure
Was there ever a schadenfreude so multi-faceted? One would think that the Republican Establishment would be roaring with delight as the leading lights of the Obama Administration take turns shooting the President in the foot—Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Advisor Susan Rice in particular lying their bureaucratic buttocks off, frenziedly concocting non-existent…
And if God wanted a competent Pope, he’d get one of those, too
Ross Douthat has some interesting/amusing thoughts on Pope Francis I, who it appears is scaring conservatives by talking as though he doesn’t hate homos as much as he ought to. Ross is pretty agnostic, so to speak, on the whole homo thing, but he kind of likes the idea of a pope who pisses conservatives…